TIFFIN, Ohio — Marietta College used a strong second quarter to gain a lead and a strong fourth quarter to close off the game as they defeated Heidelberg University, 79-58, Saturday (Jan. 4) afternoon. The Pioneers improve to 7-3 overall and are 2-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Heidelberg drops to 1-9 on the season and 0-4 in conference games.
"It's nice to be back in the win column again," Marietta head coach
Jenna Andersen said. "It was great to be able to get every player in the game today, and get something out of all of them. We had to shake out the rust in the first half, but proud of how we finished the game."
The first quarter was a back and forth battle, but the Pioneers got off a quick 6-2 start as
Hannah Kroft (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta),
Adi Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta), and
Ally Grake (Morrow, Ohio/Little Miami) provided early baskets. The Student Princes fought back to tie it at seven with a bucket and bonus free throw from Emily Valencia.
Emma Rasmussen (Wadsworth, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) nailed a three-pointer at the 4:02 mark to the give Marietta a three point advantage. In a furious final two minutes of the quarter, Heidelberg's Chloe Gilbert hit a jumper to tie the score and Morgan Altenburger's layup gave Heidelberg a brief 17-16 lead. Hill quickly answered with a three-pointer and
Paige Tolson (Guysville, Ohio/Federal Hocking) finished the quarter with a layup and the Pioneer took a 21-19 lead into the second period.
The Pioneers extended the lead in the second period as they started to heat up from three point range, going 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Marietta begin the period with a 9-0 run, fueled by six points from Tolson. Tolson then fired in a trey at the 5:02 mark to give the Pioneers a 13-point lead. Later in the period, Rasmussen and Grake both hit from behind the arc to put the Marietta lead at 40-23. After the Student Princes scored four straight points cut the lead a bit,
Olivia Keeney (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) came off the bench to hit from three-point range to stop the mini rally. Tolson again finished off the period with a layup and Marietta took a 45-29 lead into halftime.
Heidelberg chipped away at the lead in the third period as they scored the first five points, but Kroft slowed the run with a pair of layups to keep the lead in double figures. Later in the period, the Students Princes went on a 9-2 run, capped off by a three pointer from Ashley Ballard, and Heidelberg trailed by only nine with 1:24 to go in the third. Tolson's pair of free throws closed the scoring and Marietta led 60-49 going into the final period.
Marietta took little time in the fourth to put the game out of reach as they scored the first nine points, extending the lead to 20. Heidelberg could not overcome the difference and Marietta would close out to a 79-58 victory.
Tolson led Marietta with a game-high 23 points and led all players with five steals. Kroft finished with 10 points and three rebounds. Hill, Keeney, and
Kelsey Harlan (Sardis, Ohio/River) all finished with eight points apiece.
Valencia and Altenburger led Heidelberg with 11 points apiece, with Altenburger also leading the team with eight rebounds.
Marietta returns home for an OAC contest this Wednesday (Jan. 8) as they will battle the University of Mount Union. 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.
