MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College gave league-leading Ohio Northern University all it could handle before falling 69-60 Saturday (Jan. 10) afternoon in women's basketball action. The Pioneers slip to 5-8 overall and 1-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Ohio Northern improves to 10-3 on the season and 6-0 in conference play.
Senior
Sierra Sigman (Chillicothe/Zane Trace) led three Pioneers in double figures with 12 points. Sophomore
Jordanna Rauch (Fleming/Warren) and freshman
Brooke Borich (Beverly/Fort Frye) each chipped in with 10 points. Seniors
Jessica Brogan (Cincinnati/Anderson) and
Candice Alexander (Fairborn/Fairborn) had five rebounds apiece to lead MC.
Jordan Kimes led the Polar Bears with 14 points. She also grabbed six rebounds. Amy Bullimore added 10 points, while Carly Thomas and Karissa Steffas each had nine points. Thomas dished out seven assists, while Brooke Espenschied had a game-high eight rebounds.
After trading the lead for most of the first half, the Polar Bears went on an 8-0 run to claim their biggest lead of the half, 30-22, with 1:08 remaining in the period. ONU maintained the eight-point advantage at the half leading 32-24 at the intermission.
Ohio Northern quickly pushed the margin into double digits early in the second half. The Polar Bears held onto the lead for most of the half but a 10-2 run by Marietta tied the score at 52 with 6:53 left in the game.
The Pioneers never managed to grab the lead and were forced to foul ONU down the stretch. The Polar Bears converted 10 of their last 13 free throws to secure the win.
Marietta had a slim 39-37 edge on the glass. Ohio Northern forced 18 Pioneers turnovers and committed 15 miscues.
For the game, Marietta shot 38.7% (24-of-62) from the floor, 41.2% (7-of-17) from three-point range and 55.6% (5-of-9) at the free throw line. Ohio Northern was 24-of-54 (44.4%) from the floor, 3-of-11 (27.3%) behind the arc and 18-of-24 (75.0%) at the line.
Marietta travels to Columbus on Wednesday (Jan. 14) for a 7:30 p.m. game at Capital 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 and Instagram.
