MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team earned a 68-54 victory over Saint Vincent College on Wednesday (Nov. 8) at the Ban Johnson Arena. With the win, the Pioneers start the 2023 season with a 1-0 record and the Bearcats fall to 0-1.
"We did a lot of great stuff tonight," said Head Coach
Kole Vivian. "Their point guard is a handful and we really made her work for good looks tonight. Schill had such great energy on both ends of the court tonight. And Levering had a great night offensively. I'd like to be better on the glass, but St. Vincent is a really good rebounding team. Hopefully we can learn from this game and keep growing."
The Pioneers got off to quick start as
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) opened with a three-pointer and then followed with a layup on the next possession, giving Marietta an early 5-2 lead.
Paige Tolson (Guysville, Ohio/Federal Hocking) and
Madison Cecil (Centerburg, Ohio/Highland) connected on layups to extend the lead to seven halfway through the first quarter.
Hannah Schill (Rootstown, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) nailed a jumper and then subsequently scored on a layup after a Bearcat turnover and the Pioneers led 22-12 after one quarter of play.
Both teams started the second quarter with some cold shooting, as they went a combined 0-13 from the field. Saint Vincent's Emily Cavacini finally ended the drought with the layup, but the Bearcats had difficulty chipping away at the lead. Levering connected on another trey and
Hannah Kroft (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) scored from the paint to give Marietta a 28-18 lead with less than four minutes to go in the half. Levering continued to make an impact, closing out the half with five points and Marietta led 33-22, at the intermission.
The Pioneers continued to extend the lead in the third period. Tolson connected on a driving layup to push the lead to 14.
Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) then hit from outside the arc with three minutes left in the quarter to give Marietta a 48-32 advantage. Levering finished the period with an offensive rebound and put-back layup and Marietta remained on top 52-35, as time expired in the third quarter.
Saint Vincent finally outscored the Pioneers in the fourth quarter but could not make up the difference as both teams emptied the benches. The Pioneers cruised to 68-54 non-conference victory.
The Pioneers were led by Levering who scored a career-high 19 points. Tolson chipped in with 11 points. Schill had nine points and led the Pioneers with six rebounds and four assists.
The Pioneers will be back in action Monday (Nov. 13) when they travel to take on Case Western Reserve University, 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 X and Instagram.
