MARIETTA, Ohio — Sometimes the storybook ending doesn't go your way.
Hosting its first Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship at Ban Johnson Arena, Marietta was looking to win its second women's basketball championship in program history. But a near flawless fourth period by Ohio Northern helped the Polar Bears rally for a 63-55 victory Saturday afternoon.
"The ball rattled out for what felt like 2 ½ (periods) before that," said ONU coach Mark Huelsman. "We had to get off to a good start just to weather the storm here. They're so good at home and the crowd here is so good. We just lost our minds there at the end of the second quarter. I just hoped it would start going in at some time."
Instead, it was Ohio Northern who enjoyed the storybook finish.
"Absolutely a must-win game," Huelsman said. "We've been playing must-win games for about three weeks."
Fifth-year senior Brynn Serbin earned OAC Tournament MVP honors after leading the Polar Bears with 22 point, seven rebounds and three assists in Saturday's victory. She also scored eight points as ONU dominated the final eight minutes of the final period and outscored the Pioneers 20-7.
"Serbin creates a lot of stuff, and then she always gets those guys a good shot — with her shooting it or passing it off to someone," said Marietta coach
Kole Vivian. "We weren't able to take advantage of some opportunities and we missed some foul shots, and they were able to battle right back in it."
Huelsman said Serbin, who is in ONU's Doctor of Pharmacy program, is the ideal D3 student-athlete.
"She can really play, and she's as good a human being, if not better, than she is a player," he said. "She's a competitor and she fights like crazy every day."
ONU sophomore Mackenzie Suprano's 3-point basket at the 7:03 mark in the fourth gave the Polar Bears (18-9) their first lead since the second period. She finished with seven points.
Marietta was able to tie it at 50 when senior
Olivia Gribble (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) made a jumper with 6:17 to play. But Northern took the lead for good when Chloee Glenn, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds, made a layup with 5:12 to play. Glenn was named to the All-Tournament Team.
"They just play so slow, so it's tougher when you need to get a score you rush things a little bit more on that. We just couldn't get enough 2s," Vivian said. "If they're healthy the whole season their record would be a lot different."
Trailing 59-52, Marietta's
Sophia Murray (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) made a 3-pointer to cut ONU's lead to four with 48 seconds to play. But the Polar Bears didn't miss a foul shot down the stretch and extended their lead and won back-to-back tournament championships. ONU defeated the Pioneers in Ada, Ohio, last season.
"It's just tough when you have an opportunity to cash in on it, but that was a tough fourth quarter," Vivian said.
Marietta's biggest lead was seven points late in the third period and led by five early in the fourth period. ONU was too strong in the post — outscoring Marietta 30-12 in the paint.
Senior
Kelly Levering (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) paced the Pioneers in the first half and finished with a team-best 16 points, including three 3-pointers. She also had nine rebounds. Gribble added 14 points, while senior
Hannah Kroft (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) recorded seven rebounds and senior Mackenzie Wilson had five rebounds.
Levering and Gribble were joined on the All-Tournament Team by Capital's Bri O'Connor and Baldwin Wallace's Caely Ressler.
Marietta (21-6) will have to wait to see if it has earned a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division Tournament when the brackets are announced on Monday.
"We're hopeful, but nothing is guaranteed," Vivian said. "We're right on that bubble. We were 9-5 and then won 12 in a row. We did a lot of good stuff and we're hopeful, but we'll see what happens Monday."
Fans can follow all of 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.
