WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team hit a school-record 16 three-pointers to earn a dominating road victory over Wilmington College, 96-66 on Saturday (Feb. 13) evening. The win improves the Pioneers record to 5-3 overall and 5-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference and the loss drops the Quakers to 4-4 overall and 4-4 in OAC action.
"We had a great bounce back win tonight. Our rebounding was so much better, and we were connected on offense," said Head Coach
Kole Vivian. "Jill Congrove got us off to a great start and we just kept rolling."
After each team scored a bucket to open the game, Marietta went on a quick 6-0 run with back to back three pointers from
Jill Congrove (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) and
Hannah Schill (Rootstown, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban). Wilmington quickly answered to tie the game at 8-8, at the 7:22 minute mark of the first quarter. The Pioneers stretched out an 18-10 edge, behind an 10-2 run that spanned four minutes of action. The run was highlighted by three pointers from Congrove and
Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin), and capped by a layup from
Jordyn Kiser (Dover, Ohio/Dover). Marietta maintained its lead to entered the second quarter ahead, 27-16.
The Quakers scored the opening basket of the quarter, but the Pioneers answered with a 6-0 run that stretched their lead to 33-18. The run was bookended by a pair of layups from
Luce Duritza (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area), and
Erin Hahn (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville). The teams swapped buckets through the middle of the quarter and Marietta held a 41-26 edge at the 4:26 minute mark. Wilmington went on an 8-0 run and trimmed the Pioneers advantage to 41-34 with two minutes to play in the half. Marietta halted the run, and a layup from Congrove with under a minute to play, put the Pioneers on top 52-39 at the intermission.
The Quakers opened the third quarter on a 6-1 run to trim the Marietta lead to 53-45, three minutes into the quarter. The Pioneers halted the run when Congrove knocked down a three. After a Wilmington bucket, Marietta opened up an 8-0 run and its lead swelled to 64-47, as
Kate Liston (Little Hocking, Ohio/Warren Local) knocked down a pair of three pointers during the run. The Pioneers continued to pull away late in the quarter, when
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) and Mackenzie Wilson each converted a layup with under 30 seconds to play in the quarter, and Marietta led 77-54.
The Pioneers opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run, behind five quick points from
Luce Duritza (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area) and a pair of foul shots from Hahn. Marietta never allowed the Quakers to go on a run, and the Pioneers won the game, 96-66.
The Pioneers were led by Congrove, she had a career high in points with 19, and dished out a career high five assists. Liston provided a spark off the bench with 18 points, on 66 percent shooting from behind the arc. Schill pitched in with 12 points, and pulled down a career high six rebounds.
Marietta will return to the court Friday (Feb. 19) when they host the University of Mount Union, with tip off scheduled for 7 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.
