HOLLAND, Michigan — Last week, many on the campus of Marietta College thought the women's basketball season was over. After a 21-win season, the Pioneers were knocked out of the quarterfinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament by Mount Union. On Monday, the Pioneers discovered that they received an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament.
On Friday (March 4), the good news continued as the Pioneers made history, winning their first ever NCAA tournament game. Marietta defeated Wittenberg, 65-50, advancing to the second round of the tournament and providing Head Coach Kole Vivian his 100th career victory.
"I am so proud of how our team stayed locked in during the game," said Coach Vivian. "Wittenberg was getting whatever they wanted in the first period on offense, but then we had a great run to end the half to get us right back in. And then we were able to really thrive in the fourth quarter. So glad to win our first NCAA tournament game in program history with this team."
With the win, the Pioneers improved to 22-5 record on the season and will face Hope College in Saturday's second round game. Hope defeated LaRoche, 86-54, in the other first round match up.
Marietta jumped out to a quick lead as Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) ran around a ball screen and nailed a three pointer from the left wing. Wittenburg slowly built a lead throughout the rest of the quarter, shooting the ball at a 53 percent clip. Abigail Yunker and Semie Brar each scored six points in the stanza. Marietta turned the ball over five times, turning into five Tiger points. The Pioneers shot 18 percent from the field to close out the quarter.
Marietta came alive midway through the second quarter. Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) came off the bench to score a tough layup and hit from downtown, giving her five points in the quarter. Jill Congrove (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) scored six gritty 2nd Quarter points in the paint for the Pioneers and Marietta ended the quarter on an 11-0 run. The score at halftime was 30-29 in favor of Wittenberg.
"Jill and Kate Liston (Little Hocking, Ohio/Warren Local) also came up big in the second quarter," said Coach Vivian. "That was key, and it gave us a push in the third and fourth quarters, too."
Two minutes into the second half, Gribble again hit from the perimeter to tie the contest at 33. "I was feeling it, so I let it fly," said Gribble. "But I give credit to my teammates who found me on the perimeter off of the double screens, making that extra pass."
Erin Hahn's (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) midrange jumper at the 7:05 mark gave the Pioneers their first lead since the early in the 1st quarter at 35-33. The Tigers' hot start was a distant memory as they were only able to connect on 3-16 shooting for 19 percent. Wittenberg also got into foul trouble in the stanza as they sent the Pioneers to the line 14 times, Marietta making 11 of them. Hefner's pair of free throws at the two-minute mark gave the Pioneers a six point lead going into the final quarter.
Wittenberg started the 4th quarter on a 5-0 run, but Marietta answered back and then some. Gribble hit twice from three-point range and Camille Cummins' (MIddlefield, Ohio/Cardinal) long jumper at the 4:39 mark put the Pioneers up 11. The final dagger came when Hahn hit a jumper from 15-feet out with less than a minute and the victory was secure.
Gribble led all scorers with 15 points on five triples. Hefner shot perfectly from the free throw line (8-8) and finished with 13 points. Hahn overcame a slow start and ended with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Kristy Kalis led the Tigers with 14 points and six rebounds. Brar ended with 10 points.
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.
