Box Score MARIETTA, Ohio – Junior
Jessica Brogan (Cincinnati/Anderson) scored a career-high 15 points off the bench as Marietta College defeated Ohio Northern University 72-64 Saturday (Jan. 4) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference action.
The Pioneers improve to 8-4 on the season and 2-3 in OAC play. The win snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Polar Bears dating back to the 2005-06 season and kept Marietta undefeated at home this season with a 6-0 mark.
Ohio Northern, winners of five in a row coming into today's game, fell to 9-3 overall and 2-3 in league play.
After missing a couple of early three-pointers, Marietta trailed by five 13-8, with 14:46 left in the opening period. The Pioneers caught fire and went on a 26-5 run to take control, 34-18, with 4:37 left in the half.
A jumper from senior
Tori Dixon (Londonderry/Vinton County) gave Marietta that 16-point lead as the Pioneers were shooting 70.0% (14-of-20) from the floor as a team through the first 16 minutes of play.
Ohio Northern recovered and trimmed the Pioneers lead to 11 points, 41-30, at halftime. 11 Polar Bear turnovers and 58.6% (17-of-29) shooting for Marietta accounted for the halftime margin.
The Pioneers maintained their lead through the first 12 minutes of the second half. A three-pointer from Dixon with 8:04 left in the game to keep Marietta in front, 62-50.
ONU turned up the pressure on defense and took advantage of three Pioneer turnovers to cut the deficit to two, 65-63, at the 1:52 mark. Junior
Heather Booth (Newport/Frontier) stopped the Polar Bear run with an offensive rebound and layup pushing the lead back to four points with 45 seconds remaining.
Ohio Northern was forced to foul Marietta down the stretch and the Pioneers connected on 5-of-6 free throws to seal the victory.
Junior
Candice Alexander (Fairborn/Fairborn) led all scorers with 18 points. Dixon finished with 12 points, while Booth chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds. Brogan also grabbed five boards to go along with her 15 points.
Junior Jordan Kimes led the Polar Bears with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Senior Cenzie Yoder scored 11 points before leaving the game with an ankle injury midway through the second half.
The Pioneers edged Ohio Northern on the glass, 33-31. ONU committed 16 turnovers in the game to Marieta's 14.
For the game, Marietta shot 49.1% (27-of-55) from the floor, 50.0% (7-of-14) from three-point range and 68.8% (11-of-16) at the free throw line. Ohio Northern made 25-of-56 (44.6%) from the floor, 6-of-14 (42.9%) behind the arc and 8-of-12 (66.7%) at the line.
Marietta is off until next Saturday (Jan. 11) when the Pioneers travel to Berea for a 3:00 p.m. game against Baldwin Wallace University. 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.
