Box Score WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Senior
Tori Dixon (Londonderry/Vinton County) scored nine of Marietta College's 15 overtime points leading the Pioneers to a 76-71 win over Otterbein University Wednesday (Jan. 29) evening. Marietta improves to 9-9 overall and 3-8 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
Dixon's second three-pointer in the extra period gave her 1,000 points in her career. She is the ninth Pioneer in program history to reach the milestone. Dixon finished with four three-pointers and a team-high 17 points giving her 1,003 career points.
Otterbein (7-11 overall, 3-8 OAC) jumped out to an early lead and stayed in front throughout the first half. The Cardinals led by 10 points, 32-22, at halftime.
Led by junior
Heather Booth (Newport/Frontier)'s eight points, Marietta went on a 11-2 run early in the second half to trim the deficit to a point, 40-39. The Pioneers never led in regulation but managed to tie the game at 45 on a jumper from
Mackenzie Kiser (Windham/Champion) with 9:48 remaining and again at 61 on a trey from Dixon with 1:18 on the clock.
Neither team scored in the final 1:18 of regulation and the game headed to overtime tied 61-61.
Marietta scored first in overtime on a layup from
Jessica Brogan (Cincinnati/Anderson) and led for the first time in the game. Dixon's 1,000th point put Marietta in front by four, 69-65, with 3:21 left.
Otterbein responded with five straight points to jump back in front, 70-69 with just over two minutes left on the clock. Dixon was fouled behind the arc and went to the line and sank all three free throws for a two-point Pioneer lead.
The Cardinals were fouled on the ensuing possession but managed just one of two at the line and trailed by a point. Marietta turned the ball over on the next possession giving Otterbein a chance to take the lead. The Cardinals got two chances but missed a pair of shots and were forced to foul.
Candice Alexander (Fairborn/Fairborn) and
Emily Sabatino (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) each made two free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
In addition to Dixon's 17 points, three other Pioneers were in double figures. Alexander scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Booth had 14 points and seven boards. Brogan finished with 12 points.
Amariah Huck led Otterbein with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Pifher scored 14 points and Chelsea Reed added 12 points. Madi Miller chipped in with 10 points.
The Pioneers outrebounded Otterbein 46-38. Marietta shot 36.8% (25-of-68) from the floor, 30.4% (7-of-23) behind the arc and 86.4% (19-of-22) at the line. Otterbein was 27-of-68 (39.7%) from the floor, 4-of-21 (19.0%) from three-point range and 13-of-15 (86.7%) at the line.
Marietta plays at Ohio Northern University Saturday (Feb. 1) at 3:00 p.m. Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
