MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team secured the fourth seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament with a 66-47 win over Heidelberg University on Saturday (Feb.22) afternoon. The Pioneers finish the regular season with a 13-12 overall record and are 9-9 in the OAC, and with the loss the Student Princes fall to 8-17 overall and 4-14 in OAC play.
"Senior day is always emotional and I thought we did a really good job of being focused on defense," said Head Coach
Kole Vivian. "We were great on the boards and moved the ball pretty well again. Big win to get some momentum going into the OAC tournament."
After Heidelberg held a 3-2 edge early in the first quarter, Marietta opened up an 8-0 run that saw them take a 10-3 advantage five minutes into the game. The run was sparked by five consecutive points from
Marlo Taylor (Kimbolton, Ohio/Cambridge). The Pioneers maintained their edge to close out the quarter, and led 13-7 to enter the second quarter.
Marietta opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run that pushed their lead to 21-7 at the 6:47 minute mark of the second quarter. The run was a well rounded effort as
Alexis Enochs (Beverly, Ohio/Fort Frye),
Camille Cummins (MIddlefield, Ohio/Cardinal), and Taylor scored for the Pioneers. Marietta was able to hold the Student Princes at bay for the entire second quarter, and a last minute shot from
Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) put the Pioneers on top 28-16 at the intermission.
Marietta maintained its lead early in the third quarter, and led 36-20 behind a jumper from Hefner at the 6:20 minute mark. Heidelberg battled back into the game with an 11-2 run that saw them trim the Pioneers lead to 38-31. A layup from Cummins halted the run and the Marietta entered the final frame ahead, 40-33.
The fourth quarter saw the teams trade baskets to open the final frame, and Marietta led 54-44, behind a three pointer from
Bailee Brooks (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls) with just under six minutes to play in the game. The Pioneers did not allow the Student Princes to gain any momentum and Marietta won, 66-47.
The Pioneers were led by Enochs, as she had 15 points, five rebounds, and three steals in the game. Hefner added 14 points, pulled down five rebounds, and had a pair of steals. Taylor pitched in with 13 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Marietta will return to action when they host the quarterfinals of the OAC tournament Tuesday (Feb. 25) when they play Capital, with the game scheduled to begin at 6 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.
