MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College outscored visiting Capital University in all four quarters as the Pioneers beat the Crusaders, 89-64, Tuesday (Feb. 21) evening in the quarterfinal round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
The No. 4 seed Pioneers (16-10 overall) advance into the semifinals and will travel to top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Ohio Northern University on Thursday. Tip off in Ada is set for 7:30 p.m.
Marietta's win over Capital (11-16) was the first for the Pioneers in the OAC Tournament. The two schools had met five times previously with the Crusaders winning each time. This will be the Pioneers' first trip to the OAC semifinals in 27 years.
Brooke Borich (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye) led all scorers with 21 points and also dished out five assists.
Amisha Herd (Zanesville, Ohio/West Muskingum) finished with 14 points and five assists, while
Corrie Burkhardt (Zanesville, Ohio/Philo) notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Shay Lett (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) chipped in with 10 points off the bench.
Erin Risner led the Crusaders with 18 points, eight boards and three blocked shots. Colleen Fondessy had 12 points and six assists.
Turnovers were the difference in the game. Despite shooting over 50% from the floor, Capital found itself in a big hole as Marietta scored 44 points of Crusader turnovers. Couple that with 16 second chance points for Marietta and the outcome was never really in doubt.
Marietta led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter and 36-30 at halftime. The Pioneers pulled away in the third period and pushed its lead to as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter.
For the game, Marietta shot 45.2% (33-of-73) from the floor, 43.8% (7-of-16) from three-point range and 80.0% (16-of-20) at the free throw line. Capital was 25-of-49 (51.0%) from the floor, 0-of-1 (0%) behind the arc and 77.8% (14-of-18) at the line.
The Pioneers edged Capital on the boards, 37-34. Marietta turned the ball over 12 times, while the Crusaders committed 28 turnovers.
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.
