MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College women's basketball team got off to slow start in the first quarter, but with the help of improved shooting in the second half, defeated Wilmington College 69-45 Saturday (Dec. 9) afternoon at the Ban Johnson Arena.  Marietta has now won six straight and improves to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Wilmington falls to 1-7 on the season and 0-3 in the OAC.

"Those guys are tough and are much better than their record," said Marietta head coach Kole Vivian. "They defended us really well in the first half. In the second half we did a better job of moving the ball and hitting the glass. Our guards were able to make great decisions and our forwards dominated the backboards."

The two teams battled through a rough shooting first quarter as both teams only had three made baskets apiece.  After the Pioneers missed their first three shots of the game, Wilmington's Stephanie Atlstaetter got the first points in the contest off a driving layup.  After Ky Walker converted a pair of free throws to extend the lead to four, Marietta finally got on the scoreboard as Hannah Schill (Rootstown, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) nailed a three-pointer.  Later in the quarter, the Pioneers were able to use the free throw line to take the lead.  Jenna Smith (Garrettsville, Ohio/Garfield) and Madison Cecil (Centerburg, Ohio/Highland) hit both of their attempts and Marietta led 7-6 at the 4:13 mark.  Cecil followed with a layup a minute later and Sophia Murray (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) scored a layup off the bench with a minute remaining in the quarter.  That was the final shot made in the period and the Pioneers took a 11-8 lead into the second quarter.

Both squads had a quiet start to the next period but Schill got things going with a three-point shot to extend the lead to five.  Cassidy Lovett, who played a great defensive game for the Quakers, answered with a three-pointer of her own to cut the lead to 14-11.  Paige Tolson's (Guysville, Ohio/Federal Hocking) trey at the 6:24 mark gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the game at that point but Wilmington again answered with a Lovett layup.  After Altstaetter scored a layup to cut the lead to two, the Pioneers went on a 6-0 run.  A pair of buckets from Tolson and a layup from Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) extended the cushion to eight points.  Adi Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) nailed a three-pointer in the closing seconds and the Pioneers led 30-20 at halftime.

The Pioneers steadily extended its lead in the third quarter. Altstaetter hit from three to open the period for the Quakers, but Marietta got three consecutive baskets from Schill on the way to a 10-0 run.  Wilmington tried to stay close as they answered with seven straight points, five coming from a pair of Olivia Trusty jumpers.  The rally was short-lived as Cecil buried a three-pointer at the 3:45 mark.  The Pioneers closed out the quarter with a step back jumper from Gribble and led 52-32 going into in the fourth quarter.  
 
Tolson kept the Pioneers rolling in the fourth period as she hit three jumpers, two from three-point range.  Wilmington could not overcome and Pioneers would cruise to victory, 69-45.
 
Tolson led the Pioneers with 15 points and collected four rebounds.  Schill finished with 14 points and dished out three assists.  Makenzie Wilson (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Wapakoneta) led the Pioneers with 12 rebounds and Levering collected eight rebounds to go with her nine points and two blocked shots.

Wilmington's Atlstaetter led all scorers with 17 points and Trusty finished with 13 points. 

Marietta next travels to Ohio Northern for a conference bout on Saturday (Dec. 16), scheduled for a 2 p.m. tipoff. 

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.