MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College women's basketball team jumped out to a big lead after the first quarter and never looked back, defeating Muskingum University 74-57 on Wednesday (Feb. 19) evening in Ban Johnson Arena. The Pioneers improve to 15-9 on the season and 9-8 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Muskingum slips to 4-20 overall and 2-15 in conference games.

"The emphasis of practice the past few days was sharing the ball and playing our game," said Marietta head coach Jenna Andersen. "We wanted to get out to a quick start tonight, and we played a very good first quarter. We did a good job on the boards the whole game and that goes to show how locked in we were to the details. I am happy with how we have been playing lately and ready to see what we can do the rest of the way." 

The Pioneers got off to quick start as Paige Toplson and Ally Grake (Morrow, Ohio/Little Miami) hit three-pointers, giving Marietta an early lead.  Later in the period, the Pioneers extended the lead as Tolson knifed through the lane for a layup and Emma Rasmussen (Wadsworth, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) nailed a trey, pushing the lead to 13 points.  Marietta kept the lead at double figures by going 6-of-6 from the free throw line and getting another layup from Tolson in the closing seconds. Marietta led 25-10 heading into the second quarter.

Muskingum played better in the second period, but not enough to cut into the lead.  Mackenzi Linscott buried a pair of jumpers in the first two minutes, but the Pioneers answered with a pair of jumpers from Olivia Keeney (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City).  The Muskies could get no closer than 12 points as Oliva Jaenke scored on a layup at the 2:09 mark.  The Pioneers countered with a layup from TJ Carpenter (Jackson, Ohio/Jackson) in the final minute and Marietta took a 41-27 lead into halftime.

Hannah Kroft (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) scored the first bucket of the third period and the Pioneers were off to the races.  Sophia Murray's (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) layup at the 7:04 mark put the lead at 20. Later in the period, Sophie Nelson (Parkersburg, W.Va./Ritchie County) hit from three-point range to push the lead to 25.  Jaenke tried to slow the momentum scoring the final bucket of the quarter, but the Pioneers led 59-37 entering the fourth quarter.  Muskingum could not overcome the distance in the fourth and Marietta would cruise to victory, defeating the Muskies 74-57.

Tolson led with 13 points and also provided a team-leading four assists and two steals.  Keeney provided 11 points off the bench and Kroft had 10 points and four rebounds.
 
Jaenke led all scorers with 14 points.  Mckenna Baney scored 10 points and collected six rebounds.  
 
Marietta is back in action on Saturday (Feb. 22) when they return home for their regular season finale.  The Pioneers will play the first game in a women's/men's doubleheader against Baldwin Wallace University.  The women will play at 2 p.m. and men will follow at 4 p.m. 

Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on X and Instagram.