TIFFIN, Ohio — Marietta College hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold off Heidelberg University in a 65-61 win Saturday (Jan. 14) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference women's basketball.  The Pioneers improve to 9-6 overall and 3-5 in the OAC, while Heidelberg slips to 6-9 overall and 3-5 in conference play.

Marietta grabbed the early lead and held it for nearly all of the first quarter. An old-fashioned three-point play from Marisa Liburdi gave Heidelberg its first lead of the game, 16-14, with 1:34 left in the period. MC's Corrie Burkhardt (Zanesville, Ohio/Philo) knotted the game at 16-16 as time ran out in the quarter.

The Pioneers carried the momentum into the second period and opened the quarter with a 9-2 run. Heidelberg stayed close but could not take the lead. A pair of free throws from Maggie Devault cut the HU deficit to three, 34-31, at halftime.

Heidelberg scored the first five points of the third quarter to pull ahead, 36-34. The lead was short-lived as Jordanna Rauch (Fleming, Ohio/Warren) drained a three-pointer on the next possession putting Marietta back in the lead, 37-36. The Student Princes closed the period on a 5-0 run and led 53-50 heading into the fourth quarter.

Liburdi started the final period with a jumper from the elbow to extend HU's lead to five, 55-50.  Marietta answered with a 10-2 run retaking the lead, 60-57, with just over five minutes left on the clock.

Theresa Jackson pulled Heidelberg within two, 63-61, with a pair of free throws with 1:03 left in the game. Marietta got two shots at the basket on its next possession but failed to score. Heidelberg grabbed the rebound and called a timeout with 16 seconds remaining.

Following the timeout, Marietta's defense forced a turnover when Brooke Borich (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye) drew the offensive foul. The Pioneers took possession of the ball forcing Heidelberg to foul to stop the clock. Borich sank two free throws with nine seconds left to seal the MC victory.

Rauch led Marietta with 15 points. Borich finished with 12 points, while Amisha Herd (Zanesville, Ohio/West Muskingum) chipped in with 11. Burkhardt pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Jackson led Heidelberg with 18 points. Liburdi added 17 points and a team-best seven boards. Mariah Pearson finished with 10 points.

For the game, Marietta shot 33.8% (22-of-65) from the floor, 27.3% (6-of-22) from three-point range and 83.3% (15-of-18) at the free throw line. Heidelberg was 22-of-51 (43.1%) from the floor, 1-of-13 (7.7%) behind the arc and 16-of-20 (80.0%) at the line.

The Pioneers outrebounded Heidelberg, 40-36. The Student Princes committed 17 turnovers, while Marietta turned the ball over 15 times.

After back-to-back road wins, Marietta returns home to play Capital University on Wednesday (Jan. 18). Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.