MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College women's basketball team put on a great performance at Ban Johnson Arena Saturday (Feb. 18) afternoon as they defeated Heidelberg University, 69-42.  The win cemented their place in the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament as the number two seed, giving them a first-round byte.  The Pioneers also honored their four senior ballplayers during the pregame.  Erin Hahn (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville), Haley Ross (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora), Mariah Goodard (Orrville, Ohio/Orrville), and Camille Cummins (MIddlefield, Ohio/Cardinal) were all honored for their fantastic careers.

The Pioneers improved to 19-6 on the season and 14-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Student Princes fell to 2-23 overall and 0-18 in conference games. 

"This team has been through a lot this year, but it's been a fun team to coach", said Marietta head coach Kole Vivian. "The way they celebrate each other and pump each other up, it's been a fun thing to be a part of". 

Marietta started the game with all four seniors and fifth year senior Devin Hefner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) on the floor and went on a quick 10-0 run.  The first basket was a three-pointer from Goodard and Cummins followed with a jumper from the paint.   Heidelberg was kept off the board for the first seven minutes, but finally broke the drought with a triple from Emma Keto.  Heidelberg stayed close as they scored the last four points and only trailed 12-7 going into the second period.

The Pioneers took firm control in the second quarter as they began on a quick 6-0 run, keyed by a jumper from Hannah Kroft (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) and a driving layup from Hannah Schill (Rootstown, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban). Hefner broke free and converted a layup at the 7:10 mark to extend the lead to 21-9.  Marietta ripped off the final eight points of the half, four from Hefner and four from Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin), to extend the Marietta lead to 13 points.  Heidelberg was only able to shoot 18% from the field in the first half and the Pioneers took a 31-14 lead into halftime.

Gribble started the 3rd quarter with two consecutive treys for the Pioneers as they began to distance themselves the pack.  Hefner converted on another driving layup in the final minutes of the period, and also made the bonus free throw.  Adi Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) buried a three-pointer to the give the Pioneers a 20-point lead heading into the fourth period.  At one point, all of the Marietta seniors were on the floor in the fourth quarter and all received a "curtain call" as the Pioneers closed out and cruised to victory, 69-42.

Gribble led Marietta with 10 points.  Hefner added eight points and collect eight rebounds on the afternoon.  Goodard also finished with eight points. Cummins finished with seven points and six rebounds in her final regular season contest.

The Pioneers await an opponent on Thursday (Feb. 23) evening as they clinched a first-round bye.  The OAC semifinal is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

"Whoever we face will be a very good team," concluded Coach Vivian.  "It'll be nice to get some rest on Tuesday, but we will have to be ready for a battle.  That's what we've practiced for".

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 Twitter and Instagram.