Ada, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team was in action Saturday (Jan. 12) as they traveled to take on Ohio Northern University. The Pioneers were defeated by the Polar Bears, 64-50. With the win Ohio Northern improves to 10-5 overall and 4-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and the Pioneers fall to 9-6 overall and 4-4 in OAC play.
Head Coach
Kole Vivian said, "We did a lot of good things. We out rebounded them and kept them off the foul line. We just could not get in a rhythm on offense and Ohio Northern had a lot to do with that."
The first quarter saw Marietta jump out to a quick 5-0 lead behind a pair of layups from
Jo Herd-Middlebrooks (Columbus, Ohio/DeSales) and a foul shot from
Marlo Taylor (Kimbolton, Ohio/Cambridge). The Polar Bears responded with an 8-0 run and they took an 8-5 edge midway through the first quarter. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter, and foul shot from
Jill Congrove (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) with 11 second remaining cut the Ohio Northern advantage to 13-12 to enter the second quarter.
The Polar Bears opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run that saw their lead swell to 23-14. The run was halted by Herd-Middlebrooks, as she made a jumper off an assist by
Shay Lett (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe). Ohio Northern continued its strong play and grabbed a 29-16 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the half. The Pioneers scored the final bucket of the half when Lett converted a layup, but Marietta trailed 31-20 at the intermission.
The Polar Bears came out of the locker room ready to play and extended their lead to 44-24 with just under six minutes left in the third quarter. The Pioneers ended the third quarter on 13-2 run, but Ohio Northern led 46-39. The run was sparked by three point shooting as
Bailee Brooks (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls), and Taylor each knocked down a three. Brooks knocked down her second three of the run as time expired in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a defensive battle early as each team scored two points in the opening four minutes of the final quarter. The Polar Bears were able to stretch out a 15 point edge with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Marietta battled down the stretch and cut the Ohio Northern advantage to 58-48, but fell 64-50.
The Pioneers were led by Lett, as she had a team high 12 points, and grabbed four rebounds. Herd-Middlebrooks pitched in with 10 points, six rebounds, and a career high three blocks.
Corrie Burkhardt (Zanesville, Ohio/Philo) provided a spark off the bench as she had seven points, and five rebounds in 16 minutes of play.
Marietta will return to the hardwood Wednesday (Jan. 16) when they travel to compete against Mount Union, with the game set to tip at 7 p.m.
Fans can follow all of 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.
