MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team was in action Thursday (Jan. 31) when they hosted Capital University inside Ban Johnson Arena. The Pioneers were victorious over the Crusaders, 77-49. With the win Marietta improves to 12-8 overall and 7-6 in Ohio Athletic Conference play and with the loss Capital falls to 12-8 overall and 7-6 in OAC action.
Head Coach
Kole Vivian said, "We did a great job being focused on both ends of the court tonight. We moved the ball much better on offense than we did in the past few games. This was a great way to open our four game homestand."
The first quarter opened as a defensive battle as Marietta led 6-2, four and a half minutes into the game. The Pioneer points were scored by
Marlo Taylor (Kimbolton, Ohio/Cambridge) and
Corrie Burkhardt (Zanesville, Ohio/Philo). The slow start continued but a three pointer from Taylor gave Marietta a 9-2 advantage, and with 2:36 minutes remaining in the quarter Capital took their first timeout. Burkhardt scored the final four points of the quarter and the Pioneers led, 13-2 to enter the second quarter. The Marietta defense forced 11 first quarter turnovers and held Capital to one first quarter field goal.
After the teams swapped buckets to open the second quarter, a 7-1 run propelled the Pioneers to a 22-5 edge, which forced a Crusaders timeout with just under six minutes to play in the half. The run was highlighted by an
Alexis Enochs (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye) three, and capped by a layup from
Jo Herd-Middlebrooks (Columbus, Ohio/DeSales). Capital was able to cut the Marietta lead to 22-14 with a 9-0 run, that spanned four minutes of the second quarter. The Pioneers ended the half strong as
Shay Lett (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) closed out the half with a three pointer. Marietta led, 31-17 at the intermission.
The third quarter started as a back and forth battle as the Pioneers maintained a 46-31 advantage with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter. Marietta continued its strong play and led, 53-35 to enter the fourth quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter the Pioneers were able to extend their lead behind shooting from Burkhardt and Lett, and Marietta led, 68-41 with 4:32 minutes to play in the game. The Pioneers closed out the game and won, 77-49. The 28 point margin of victory is the largest win over Capital in program history.
"Corrie was unbelievable tonight, she is one of the smartest defenders in the league, and everyone knows how special she is on offense. Marlo got rolling and her teammates found her in great spots", concluded Coach Vivian.
Marietta was led by Burkhardt as she had 23 points, six rebounds, and two steals in the game. Taylor pitched in with a career high 18 points, and tied a career high in assists with five. Lett added 13 points on 50 percent shooting from behind the arc. Enochs had a solid defensive game as she notched three blocks, five rebounds, and 10 points for the Pioneers.
Marietta will return to the hardwood Saturday (Feb. 2nd) when they host Ohio Northern University, with the tip scheduled for 1 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.
