MARIETTA, Ohio —
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) recorded her first career double-double to lead Marietta College to a 60-52 win over visiting Ohio Northern University Saturday (Dec. 4) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference women's basketball.
Marietta improves to 6-0 on the season and 1-0 in the OAC. Ohio Northern slips to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in conference games.
"This was a really nice win to start the OAC slate. Kelly (Levering) really stepped up for us and was great on the glass and hit a lot of big shots," Marietta head coach
Kole Vivian said. "Jill (Congrove) showed a ton of leadership making big shot after big shot. This is really a selfless team, so we never know who the top scorers will be. Those two really pushed us to a 1-0 start in the OAC."
Levering poured in a career-high 19 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds. Both totals were tops in the game. Congrove drained four three-pointers and finished with 16 points.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair as neither team led by more than three points. The opening period saw the four ties and 10 lead changes.
Ohio Northern went cold in the second quarter allowing the Pioneers top scored 13 straight points and open their biggest lead of the game, 38-25, with 1:40 left in the period. Marietta led by 11 points, 38-27, at halftime.
It was Marietta's turn to struggle on offense in the third quarter. The Pioneers did not make a shot from the floor in the period and scored just two points on free throws in the period.
ONU scored the first 15 points in the quarter turning an 11-point deficit into a four-point lead, 42-38, with 1:28 left in the period. Two free throws from
Kate Liston (Little Hocking, Ohio/Warren Local) ended the Polar Bear run but Ohio Northern clung to a 42-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) hit a jumper to open the fourth tying the game at 42-42. After trading small leads over the next six minutes, A layup from Congrove gave Marietta the lead, 53-52, with 2:50 left on the clock.
The Pioneers held Ohio Northern scoreless over the final three minutes. Marietta scored the last nine points of the game to secure the 60-52 victory.
Senior
Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) added six points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Makenzie Wilson (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Wapakoneta) blocked four Polar Bear shots and grabbed six boards.
Jaidyn Hale led ONU with 18 points. Alissa Stahler and Brynn Serbin each had eight points and six rebounds.
Marietta hits the road next weekend for a game at No. 21 ranked Baldwin Wallace University. The Pioneers and Yellow Jackets will meet on Sunday (Dec. 12) at 3 p.m.
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.
