WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Marietta College women's basketball team lost 82-65 to Washington and Jefferson on Tuesday (Dec. 19) afternoon.  With the loss the Pioneers fall to 6-3 overall, and with the win the Presidents improve to 9-1 overall.  

Washington and Jefferson jumped out to a quick start in the first quarter, shooting 11-of-16 from the field and 5-of-9 from three point range.  After the two teams traded baskets to start the period, the Presidents went on a 10-point run with four of the five Presidents starters hitting from the field.  After Paige Tolson (Guysville, Ohio/Federal Hocking) scored from the free throw line, Washington and Jefferson hit three consecutive jumpers to extend the lead to 21-3.  With less than a minute in the period, Marietta started to get some rhythm back as Hannah Schill (Rootstown, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) scored on a driving layup and Hannah Kroft (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) scored on a layup and bonus free throw.  The Pioneer five-point run put the score at 30-15 going into the second quarter.

It took nearly two minutes, but Marietta scored first in the second period off of a Makenzie Wilson (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Wapakoneta) layup.  Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) followed with a three-pointer and Ally Grake (Morrow, Ohio/Little Miami) scored on a layup to cut the Pioneer deficit to 30-22.  W&J's Sarah Berardelli answered with a layup and Adalynn Cherry nailed a three to push the lead back out to 13 points.  Even though Washington and Jefferson did not shoot as well from the perimeter in the second period, they received two clutch treys from Stellanie Loutsion and Cherry to give them a 14-point cushion with two minutes remaining.  The final points scored in the half were from a pull-up jumper from Grake and the Pioneers went into intermission with a 41-29 deficit.

Both teams picked up the pace in the third period.  Jumpers from Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) were answered by the continued hot shooting from three-point range by the Presidents, keeping the lead at double-figure.  Kroft's driving layup at the 5:07 mark cut the lead to nine and Jenna Smith (Garrettsville, Ohio/Garfield) followed with a layup a minute later, putting Marietta down 54-47.  The Presidents would close out the third on a 7-2 run and took a 61-49 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Marietta started quick in the fourth period, getting a pair layups from Schill and a pair of free throws from Levering to cut the lead to six.  Later in the period, Loutsion and Berardelli scored on consecutive jumpers to push the lead back put to 68-56.  At the 4:32 mark, Berardelli scored after missing two consecutive layups, but getting the offensive rebound each time.  The Presidents would go on to score the next three buckets, pushing the lead to 20 points, and the Pioneers could not answer.  The Presidents closed out with a 82-65 victory.  

The Pioneers were led by Levering with 13 points and Gribble with 11 points.  Wilson scored eight points and led the Pioneers with nine rebounds and four assists.
 
Marietta will return to the court after the Christmas holiday to host the 37^th annual Jim Meagle Tournament.  On Friday (Dec. 29), the Pioneers will play the final game of the day against Gettysburg College.  On the following evening, Marietta will battle Oberlin College.  Carnegie Mellon University, Mount Aloysius College, and Trine University are the others teams participating in the tournament.

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.