ADA, Ohio — The Marietta College women's basketball team stayed close but could not overcome lead and fell to host Ohio Northern University, 65-59, Saturday (Feb. 15) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference competition. Marietta falls to 14-9 on the season and 8-8 in the OAC. Ohio Northern moves to 16-7 overall and 12-4 in conference games.
"I thought we fought really hard today from start to finish," said Marietta head coach
Jenna Andersen. "Northern is a very well coached team that does not give way for many errors. We missed a few shots down the stretch that could've helped us get closer, but I'm proud of the fight from our team."
Marietta scored on their opening possession after the tipoff as
Paige Tolson (Guysville, Ohio/Federal Hocking) hit a shot from three-point range.
Adi Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) hit a three of her own at the 7:58 mark and the Pioneers led 7-4, but Kristen Luersman immediately answered with three-pointer to tie the game. Brook Allen's layup gave the Polar Bears their first lead, but Marietta retook the lead after
Sophia Murray (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) went 1-of-2 from the line and
Ella McMillen (Shreve, Ohio/West Holmes) scored a layup. The lead would change five times for the remainder of the quarter, but Ohio Northern got a piar of free throws from Abi Akamine in the final seconds and took a 15-14 lead after one quarter of play.
Both teams traded baskets to begin the second period but Marietta led by one after another three-pointer from Tolson. Unfortunately, that would be the last lead the Pioneers would enjoy for the remainder of the contest. Mackenzie Suprano and Allen hit consecutive three-pointer to push out to a five-point advantage. The Pioneers kept the margin close as
Hannah Kroft (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) and Hill both hit a pair of free throws, but Luersman's layup with :39 second left would be the final points of the half and Ohio Northern led 28-25 at halftime.
The third quarter began with the Polar Bears getting the first two scores and pushing out to a seven-point lead. Marietta finally got on the board in the second half as
Ally Grake (Morrow, Ohio/Little Miami) nailed a three pointer and Hill followed with another to cut the lead to one. Later in the period with the deficit at three, Grake hit once again from three point range to tie the game at 34. ONU answered with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to push out to a double-digit lead. Marietta gained a little ground back to close the quarter as
Olivia Keeney (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) and Grake scored on layups and Marietta trailed 48-42 going into the fourth quarter.
Marietta did what they could to chip away at the Polar Bear lead. Hill hit consecutive jumpers to cut the lead to five and, after Kroft hit a pair of free throws, the Pioneers trailed by only three with seven minutes left. ONU answered with a 6-0 run and Marietta trailed by nine and time running out. In the end, the Pioneers could not overcome the margin and fell to the Polar Bears, 65-59.
Hill led the Pioneers with 18 points and collected five rebounds. Tolson and Grake both scored 10 apiece.
Allen led ONU with 14 points and seven rebounds. Luersman added eight points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Marietta returns to the Ban Johnson Arena this Wednesday (Feb. 19) evening to battle Muskingum University. The tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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 X and Instagram.
