MARIETTA, Ohio – Marietta College women's basketball team took to the road for the first time this season and was defeated 83-58 by Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday (Nov. 18) afternoon. With the loss, the Pioneers fell to 3-1. The victory put Ohio Wesleyan's overall record to 3-1.
"Credit OWU, they took control of the game early in each half," said Head Coach
Kole Vivian. "We had some good battles in the 2nd and 4th periods, but we just weren't tough enough today. I am glad the loss happened early and we have a chance to work on ourselves a bit before we open OAC play in two weeks."
Marietta opened the game with a rough first quarter, shooting 3-of-13 from the field and committing 10 turnovers.
Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) got the Pioneers on the board with a three-pointer, but that would be the only points for the next four minutes. The Battling Bishops took the lead with a pair of buckets from Alyssa Griner and, after a three-pointer from Lauren Denison, they led 13-3. By the time Graci Semptimpheler hit a jumper with three minutes remaining, Ohio Wesleyan led 20-6.
Makenzie Wilson's (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Wapakoneta) layup and subsequent free throw cut the lead to 13 at the 1:30 mark, but ended the quarter trailing 27-11.
Marietta chipped away at the lead throughout the second period, getting three-pointers from Gribble and
Paige Tolson (Guysville, Ohio/Federal Hocking) and layups from
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) and
Hannah Schill (Rootstown, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban). With less than four minutes left in the half, Schill connected on another pair of layups to put the score at 34-25, their closest differential since midway through the first period. Another Gribble triple was answered by a three-pointer from Mia Guscoff and the Pioneers went into intermission trailing 40-28.
Wilson scored first for the Pioneer in the third period, but Ohio Wesleyan would then go on a 20-0 run to push out to a commanding 60-30 advantage.
Ally Grake (Morrow, Ohio/Little Miami) nailed a pair of three-pointers in the closing seconds to slow the momentum but the Pioneers ended the third trailing 63-36.
Marietta shot much better in the fourth period, outscoring the Battling Bishops 22-20 in the quarter, but the differential was too big to overcome. Schill hit once and Gribble hit twice from three-point range, but in the end, the Pioneers would fall to defeat, 83-58.
The Pioneers were led by Gribble with 15 points. Schill finished with nine points and collected three steals.
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) led the way eight rebounds.
Marietta will return to the court after the Thanksgiving holiday. They will travel to Heidelberg University Saturday (Dec. 2) for a conference matchup, with tip off scheduled for 2 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 X and Instagram.
