WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team took to the road and led throughout much of their contest with Wilmington College on Saturday (Feb. 7) afternoon.  The Fightin' Quakers made a fourth quarter comeback and actually took a brief lead late in the game, but Marietta was able to force an overtime period with a huge late score.  The Pioneers then dominated in overtime and went on to defeat Wilmington College, 74-64. The win improves the Pioneers record to 11-11 overall and 6-7 in the Ohio Athletic Conference and the loss drops the Quakers to 6-15 overall and 3-9 in OAC action.  

"Proud of this group for getting out to a great start in OT and pulling out a win on the road," said Head Coach Jenna Andersen.  "We didn't execute how we wanted to start the fourth but got a big time basket by Abby Garner (Macedonia, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) to tie the game up."

The Quakers got on the board first as Jazz Johnson hit from behind the arc, but the Pioneers answered quickly on the next possession as Kelsey Harlan (Sardis, Ohio/River) sped through the lane for a layup.  TJ Carpenter's (Jackson, Ohio/Jackson) offensive rebound and putback a minute later gave the Pioneer's a brief advantage, but a seven-minute scoring drought allowed Wilmington take back the lead.  Even though the Quakers had some offensive issues of their own, Gabby Russell scored a layup and a three-pointer to push Wilmington into a five-point lead with less than three minutes remaining.  Emma Rasmussen (Wadsworth, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) found a groove and hit consecutive three pointers and Harlan also hit from behind the arc to put Marietta into a four-point lead into the final minute.  Wilmington got a layup and bonus free throw in the final seconds close the gap and Pioneers would take a 15-14 lead into the next quarter.
 
The Pioneers took advantage of some Wilmington turnovers to gain some distance to the second period.  Marietta got layups from Abby Garner (Macedonia, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), Carpenter, and Ava Heller (Thornville, Ohio/Sheridan) for a 7-0 run in the first three minutes.  Later, Wilmington answered with a 7-0 run of their own, cutting the lead to one point at the 3:00 minute mark. Payten Bruns (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) slowed the momentum with a layup and Rasmussen and Harlan scored from the paint in the final minute to give the Pioneers a 30-24 lead at the intermission.  

The Pioneers began the third period on a 9-3 run, getting a pair of layups from Heller and another trey from Rasmussen.  Wilmington stayed within close proximity, though, as they got some big shots from behind the arc from Johnson, Reese Pittman, and Sierra McCoin, keeping the Pioneer lead at single digits.  In the final two minutes, Russell's layup cut the lead to six and the third period would end with Marietta leading 48-42. 

Wilmington got the first points of the quarters as Stephanie Altstaetter converted a layup to cut the lead to four.  Both teams traded baskets for the next several minutes, but Wilmington made a big push.  Olivia Trusty hit from three point range and Altstaetter converted a pair of free throws to cut the Pioneer lead to a single point.  On the next possession, Marietta turned the ball over and the Quakers converted a key transition layup to grab the lead at the 1:35 mark.  After Wilmington hit 1-of-2 from the line to double the advantage, Marietta tied up the score with a colossal layup from Garner to tie it up.  Both teams had opportunities in the final seconds but could not score, forcing an overtime period as both teams were locked up at 60 at the end of regulation.
 
The Pioneers took the drama out of the contest and jumped out to an 11-0 run in overtime.  Marietta went a collective 8-of-10 from the free throw line and outscored Wilmington 14-4 in the bonus period.  Marietta would go on to clinch an important OAC victory over the Quakers, 74-64.  

The Pioneers were led by Harlan with 17 points and an impressive seven steals.  Heller finished with 14 points and five rebounds.  Rasmussen scored 13 points.  Carpenter scored 12 points and pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds.  
 
Wilmington was led by Altstaetter with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Marietta will return to the court Wednesday (Feb. 11) when they return to the Ban Johnson Arena to battle Muskingum University, with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m.

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.