MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College women's basketball team brought tempo and balance to the Ban Johnson Arena Friday (Dec. 16) evening as they raced out to a big lead and held on to defeat John Carroll University, 81-60. The Pioneers improve to 6-3 on the season and 2-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. John Carroll falls to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in conference games.
"I am so proud of how we competed and finished that game tonight," Marietta head coach
Kole Vivian said. "We haven't had a 40-minute game this year yet, but we did tonight. I thought every player on our roster did something that helped us be successful tonight."
Nearly two minutes passed to begin the game before a basket fell. JCU's Jaylen Hoffman hit a jumper after a Pioneer turnover for the first points of the game.
Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin),
Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South), and
Erin Hahn (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) all converted on layups in a Marietta 6-0 run to give them the lead.
Paige Tolson (Guysville, Ohio/Federal Hocking) and
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) came off the bench and brought instant offense, combining for nine points and extending the lead to 15-9.
Makenzie Wilson (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Wapakoneta) converted a couple of layups at the end of the period and the Pioneers led 19-13 going into the second quarter.
Hahn took over in the second quarter as she scored six points and dominated the glass. Her offensive rebound and put back gave the Pioneers a 10-point lead at the 7:40 mark.
Adi Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) had a strong quarter as well, converting on two free throws and then completing a three-point play with four minutes remaining in the half. Hahn got two more second chance points after yet another offensive rebound and Marietta led by 11. Carman Heuker hit the final shot of the half, but the Pioneers took a 39-30 lead into intermission.
The Pioneers pushed their lead to as many as 16 points in the third quarter. Hahn continued her dominance on the glass and Gribble converted shots from the paint and beyond the arc to help widen the lead. Hill's triple put the lead at 58-42, but Kaelyn Underwood's desperation three-pointer banked in as the final seconds ticked off and the Pioneers led 58-45 heading into the fourth quarter.
Marietta decided to keep the tempo up going into the final stanza and put up 23 fourth quarter points. Tolson's three-pointer at the 8:14 mark gave Marietta an 18-point lead. Hanna Schill's layup with four minutes remaining put the lead at 20 and the Blue Streaks could not get any closer.
Sophia Murray's (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) three-pointer with 1:25 left in the game gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the game, 81-60, which was the final score.
Tolson, Gribble, and Hahn finished with 13 points apiece. Hahn completed a double-double as she collected 13 rebounds. Hill finished 6 of 7 from the free throw line and ended with 11 points. Levering also finished with 11 points.
Halle Landies came off the bench to lead the Blue Streaks with 13 points. Ana Ryncarz ended the game with 12 points and Underwood finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Marietta will head to Puerto Rico for a couple of games before Christmas. The Pioneers will battle Colorado College on Monday (Dec. 19) and Kean University on Tuesday (Dec. 20).
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.
