WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team was defeated by Otterbein University, 67-56 on Wednesday (Dec.18) evening. With the loss the Pioneers fall to 3-5 overall and 0-3 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, and with the win the Cardinals improve to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in OAC action.
Head Coach
Kole Vivian said, "We weren't ready to go when the first and second half started. I love how we battled back, but we have to start our halves better. We grew up in some ways since our loss Saturday, and we have to keep maturing."
Otterbein opened the game on a 15-0 run to notch a 15-0 lead. The run spanned the opening six minutes of the match. Marietta answered back with 7-0 run to cut the Cardinals lead to 15-7, with just over two minutes to play in the quarter. The run was sparked by a
Jill Congrove (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) three pointer and capped off by a jumper from
Bailee Brooks (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls). Otterbein finished the first quarter ahead, 20-9.
The second quarter saw the Pioneers battle back into the game. Marietta cut the Cardinals edge to 25-16 behind a three from Congrove and a layup from
Alexis Enochs (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye). The Pioneers continued to fight when they tied the game behind an 11-0 run. The run was started by a
Luce Duritza (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area) layup and then finished off by three consecutive three pointers from
Kate Liston (Little Hocking, Ohio/Warren Local), to tie the game at 27-27, with three minutes to play in the half. Otterbein entered the intermission ahead, 32-29.
The Cardinals played a strong third quarter, as they outscored Marietta 12-3 in the third quarter. The Pioneer points were scored by
Emma Cannon (Wooster, Ohio/Dalton) and Liston. Marietta entered the fourth quarter behind, 44-32.
The Pioneers opened the fourth quarter on a 7-1 run to cut the Otterbein lead to 45-39. The run was led by
Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South), as she scored all seven of the Marietta points. The Pioneers battled for the remainder of the game. Hefner provided Marietta offense in the fourth quarter as she scored 14 of her 16 total points in the quarter. The Pioneers fell 67-56.
Marietta was led by Liston as she tied her career high in points with 17, which was a game high. Liston added career highs in rebounds with five and assists with four. Hefner added 16 points, and pulled down a career high eight rebounds. Hefner played solid defense as she notched four steals in the game.
The Pioneers will be back in action on Sunday (Dec. 29) when they host North Carolina Wesleyan University in the opening game of the 35th Annual Jim Meagle Holiday tournament.
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.
