MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team erased a 15-point second half deficit to defeat Otterbein University, 63-60 in Ban Johnson Arena on Wednesday (Jan. 29) evening. The Pioneers improve to 9-9 overall and 5-6 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, and the Cardinals fall to 10-8 overall and 5-6 in OAC action.
"Our team did a great job of picking up their intensity in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter," said Head Coach
Kole Vivian. "Really happy with the spark that Luce, Campbell, and Ross gave us off the bench. We needed their energy to help our starters."
Marietta got off to a quick start when they scored the opening seven points of the game. The early offense was led by
Alexis Enochs (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye) as she had five of the seven points.
Camille Cummins (MIddlefield, Ohio/Cardinal) knocked down two foul shot to put the Pioneers up 7-0, just over two minutes into the game. After Marietta led 10-4, Otterbein ended the first quarter on a 9-3 run and took a 13-12 edge into the second quarter.
The second quarter was a back and forth battle, as the game was tied or the lead changed hands seven times in the first five minutes of the quarter, and the Pioneers led 23-22. The Marietta offense was well rounded as
Luce Duritza (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area),
Mackenzie Campbell (Sabina, Ohio/East Clinton),
Marlo Taylor (Kimbolton, Ohio/Cambridge), and
Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) all scored for the Pioneers. The Cardinals ended the second quarter on an 11-4 run, and entered the intermission ahead, 35-28.
Otterbein opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run that saw them take a 42-30 edge, to force a Marietta timeout two minutes into the third quarter. Out of the timeout, the Cardinals continued to play well and lead, 46-31 which forced a second timeout by the Pioneers. After Otterbein held 46-34 edge, Marietta opened a 9-0 run that trimmed the Cardinals lead to 46-40. The run was highlighted by Duritza as she had two points and two blocks during the run. The Pioneers trailed 50-44 to enter the final quarter.
Otterbein held a 52-47 edge with six minutes to play in the game. Marietta went on a quick 5-0 run behind five consecutive points from
Bailee Brooks (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls). The run trimmed the Cardinals lead to 54-53 at the 5:25 minute mark. The Pioneers continued to battle and a layup from Taylor tied the game, and a steal and layup from Brooks put Marietta on top, 59-57 with three minutes to play in the game. The game remained tight, but a pair of foul shots from Hefner with 1.5 seconds remaining in the game gave the Pioneers a 63-60 win.
The Pioneers were led by Enochs as she had 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and three steals. Taylor pitched in with 12 points, four assists, and three rebounds. Brooks added 10 points. Duritza tallied a career high five blocks in the game.
Marietta will be back in action Saturday (Feb. 1) when they host John Carroll University, 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.
