MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought battle to Wilmington College, 76-72 on Friday (Feb. 12) evening inside Ban Johnson Arena. The loss drops the Pioneers to 4-3 overall and 4-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, and win improves the Quakers record to 4-3 overall and 4-3 in OAC action.
Head Coach
Kole Vivian said, "It was a tough night on the glass. We did a lot of good things, but rebounding the basketball was not one of them."
The first quarter opened as a back and forth battle, as the lead changed hands nine times in the opening five minutes of play, and Marietta led, 12-10 when
Kate Liston (Little Hocking, Ohio/Warren Local) hit a three. A majority of the early Pioneer offense came from
Hannah Schill (Rootstown, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) and
Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin). The game stayed tight for the remainder of the opening frame, as Liston and
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) knocked down three pointers, but the Quakers led 22-21 at the end of the quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Marietta outscored Wilmington 6-3, to take a 27-25 edge at the 6:44 minute mark. The Pioneer points came from Schill,
Erin Hahn (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville), and
Camille Cummins (MIddlefield, Ohio/Cardinal). The game stayed close for most of the second quarter, but the Quakers ended the half on a 6-1 run, and led 46-40 at the intermission.
Marietta opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run, to trim the advantage to 46-45. The run was sparked by a layup from Schill and capped by a three from Gribble. The Pioneers played solid defense for the remainder of the third quarter, and held Wilmington to 11 points in the quarter. Marietta got timely scoring from Levering, and Cummins down the stretch, and the Pioneers entered the final frame ahead, 59-57.
The fourth quarter was back and forth for the opening four minutes of action, as Wilmington tied the game at 63 points apiece. The Pioneers went on 6-0 run that saw them grab a 69-63 edge with just over five minutes to play in the game. The run was highlighted by back to back three pointers from Liston and Levering. Later in the quarter, a 6-0 run by Wilmington put them on top 73-71 with 31 seconds to play in the game, which forced a Marietta timeout. The Pioneers closed the gap to 72-71, but could not get over the hump, and fell 76-72.
Marietta was led by Schill, she had 20 points, and on 60 percent shooting from behind the arc. Levering added a career high in points with 18, and pulled down five rebounds. Liston added fire power off the bench with 15 points, tying a career high in three pointers made with five.
The Pioneers will return to the hardwood Saturday (Feb. 13) when they travel to battle Wilmington College, with tip off scheduled for 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.
