MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team fell in the championship game of the 35th annual Jim Meagle Holiday Tournament sponsored by BSN Sports. The Pioneers fell to the Tartans, 81-66. The loss drops Marietta to 4-6 overall and the win pushes the Tartans to 7-4 overall.
Alexis Enochs (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye) and
Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) earned all-tournament team honors. In addition to the Marietta players, Joie Culkin from Suny Canton, Kayla Johnson from North Carolina Welseyan, and Makayla Filiere from Carnegie Mellon were named to the all-tournament team. The tournament MVP was Leah Welock from Carnegie Mellon, as she had 28 points and seven rebounds in the Championship game of the tournament.
Head Coach
Kole Vivian said, "We played hard for a large majority of the game, but we didn't start halves well. I love our fight to get back in it, but we need to be ready to go."
The Pioneers and Tartans traded baskets on their opening possessions of the game with
Kate Liston (Little Hocking, Ohio/Warren Local) scoring for Marietta, and the game was tied at 4-4. Carnegie Mellon opened up a 14-4 lead behind an 8-0 run, which forced a Marietta timeout with just over six minutes to play in the quarter. Out of the break, Liston scored her third bucket of the game, but the Tartans scored the final seven points of the quarter and led, 21-6 to enter the second quarter.
The Pioneers battled back into the game with an 8-0 run to open the second quarter, which forced a timeout at the 7:33 minute mark. The run saw Hefner, Enochs, and
Camille Cummins (MIddlefield, Ohio/Cardinal) all score for Marietta, and Carnegie Mellon held a 21-14 edge. Out of the timeout, the teams swapped buckets before the Pioneers tied the game at 25 points apiece behind a 9-0 run. The run was sparked by a jumper from Liston and capped by a pair of foul shots from Cummins. After a three from the Tartans, Marietta scored four quick points to take a 29-28 edge, with just under three minutes to play in the half. The points were scored by
Haley Ross (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) and
Jill Congrove (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm). The Pioneers held their one-point edge, 34-33, at the intermission.
Carnegie Mellon opened the third quarter strong as they outscored Marietta 17-6, which forced a Pioneers timeout at the 4:08 minute mark of the quarter. The Marietta points were scored by Enochs and Hefner. The Tartans closed out the third quarter, and held a 59-44 advantage to enter the final frame.
The teams traded baskets to open the fourth quarter as Carnegie Mellon held a 70-55 edge with six minutes remaining in the game. The Tartans were able to halt any fourth quarter momentum by the Pioneers and Carnegie Mellon held on to win the game, 81-66.
Marietta was led by
Camille Cummins (MIddlefield, Ohio/Cardinal) as she notched her first career double-double. Cummins pulled down a career high 17 rebounds, and scored 10 points. Liston led the Pioneers in points with 14, and notched three assists. Enochs added 13 points, and had a game high three blocks.
Marietta will return to the court Saturday (Jan. 4) when they host Wilmington College with tip off scheduled for 3 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.
