SAN JUAN, P.R. – Marietta College women's basketball team returned to the court in day two of the Puerto Rico Clasico and battled Kean University. After trailing in the first half, the Pioneers took control in the third quarter and held on for victory on Tuesday (Dec. 20) afternoon. The win puts the Pioneers at 7-5 overall. Kean falls to 5-6 on the season.
The Cougars got off to a good start in the first quarter as Macy Seaman scored a couple of baskets to give Kean an 8-4 lead.
Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) nailed a three-pointer at the 6:18 mark to cut the lead to two. After Kean extended the lead to 15-9,
Adi Hill's (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) three-pointer closed the gap and the Pioneers converted a couple of free throws to cut the Kean lead to 15-14 to close out the quarter.
Early in the second period, the Pioneers tied the game at 16 on a Hefner driving layup. After Kean answered with a layup of their own, both teams went on a three-minute scoring drought. After Kean pushed the lead to 26-20 with less than two minutes left in the half, Hill hit from three-point range to cut the lead to three.
Erin Hahn's (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) layup with 30 seconds left finished the scoring in the half and the Pioneers trailed 28-25 into intermission.
The Pioneers began the third period on a 10-run, keeping Kean University off the board for over six minutes. Hahn scored five of those points and Hefner hit another three-pointer to give Marietta their first lead of the game. Kean hit two consecutive shots to cut the lead to one, but that is as close as they would in the period.
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) hit twice from midrange and the Pioneers kept the lead at 39-34 to end the third period.
The fourth quarter saw Marietta push the lead to 10 with eight minutes remaining. Hefner's layup got the lead to double figures, but Kean did not give up. They answered with an 8-0 run of their own, including four points from the charity stripe to put the score at 45-43 with two minutes left. The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the game.
Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) hit a mid-range jumper, a three pointer, and a free throw to close out the game and Marietta would hold on for a 55-52 victory.
The Pioneers were led by Hahn with 13 points. Hefner and Gribble scored 10 points apiece and Hefner chipped in five assists and five rebounds.
Marietta will take the rest of the holidays and return to the court Wednesday (Jan. 4) when they travel to battle conference foe Muskingum, with tip off scheduled for 7 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.
