TIFFIN, Ohio — Marietta College got off to quick 12-0 start in the first quarter and never looked back as they opened the Ohio Athletic conference schedule with a decisive 87-51 win over Heidelberg University Saturday (Dec. 2) afternoon. The Pioneers improve to 4-1 overall and are 1-0 in the OAC. Heidelberg drops to 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference games.
"I am really happy with how we played today, especially after a long bus ride," Marietta head coach
Kole Vivian said. "We haven't had the best starts at Heidelberg over the last few years, but we took it to them starting with the tip. We did a great job on the glass and moved the ball on offense."
The Pioneers got off a quick start as
Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) nailed her first two shots, one from three-point range, jumping out to a 5-0 lead.
Jenna Smith (Garrettsville, Ohio/Garfield) and
Hannah Kroft (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) then turned turnovers into layups and Marietta led 12-0 halfway through the first quarter.
Madison Cecil (Centerburg, Ohio/Highland) later answered a Student Prince three-pointer with one of her own and, shortly afterward,
Hannah Schill (Rootstown, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) gave Marietta their biggest lead of the game with a jumper from the paint. Gribble finished the quarter with another trey and the Pioneer took a 27-10 lead into the second period.
After Heidelberg scored first in the second period, the Pioneers rattled off seven straight points. The run was fueled by an
Adi Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) three-pointer and a jumper from
Paige Tolson (Guysville, Ohio/Federal Hocking). Heidelberg tried get back into the game by going on an 8-0 run of the their own, cutting the Pioneer lead to 15 points. The Pioneers got many chances from the paint, getting layups from Schill, Gribble, and
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) in rapid succession. Tolson closed out the half with a jumper Marietta took a 49-28 lead into halftime.
Gribble open the scoring in the third period with yet another three-pointer and Kroft and
Makenzie Wilson (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Wapakoneta) scored more layups to put the Pioneer lead at 28.
Sophia Murray (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) came off the bench to score the final four Pioneer points of the period and Marietta led 69-35 going into the final period.
With the big differential, the Pioneers got some good minutes from their freshman in the fourth period and would cruise to a 87-51 victory.
Gribble and Tolson led Marietta with 15 points each, with Gribble shooting 3-of-4 from three-point range. Kroft finished with 11 points and Hill had 10 points in the victory. Schill scored seven points and dished out four assists. Smith crashed the boards, leading with 12 rebounds.
Marietta will next travel to Columbus, Ohio Wednesday (Dec. 6) as they will battle Capital University. The contest is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollegeand @MariettaPioneer on X and Instagram.
