The Marietta College women's basketball team is off to a good start as it gets ready for the 28th annual Jim Meagle Turkey Shoot Tournament sponsored by BSN Sports.
The Lady Pioneers are 2-0 after wins over Albion and Mount St. Joseph in a season opening trip to Cincinnati last weekend.
Now the Stacia Shrider-coached squad has its sights set on this weekend when it hosts Earlham College at 8 p.m. Saturday and Daemen College at 3 p.m. Sunday at Ban Johnson Arena.
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Marietta College’s Sierra Sigman splits two defenders on the way to the basket during a contest at Ban Johnson Arena last season.
"It's our first home opener," Shrider said. "It's a chance for us to display to the community and the fans what we're all about this year. I want to see a lot of energy on defense as well as better execution on offense."
In Cincy, Marietta averaged 56 points per game while allowing 45.5 points per game. The Lady Pios were led offensively by junior Tori Dixon, who scored 10 points per game while hitting a team-high four 3-pointers.
Sophomores Jessica Brogan (9.5), Heather Booth (8.5) and Sierra Sigman (7.5) also made solid contributions on the offensive side. Booth fought for a team-best 8 boards per game on the trip, while Brogan had three assists and three steals per game to lead the team.
Shrider was impressed with the team's ability to prevent the opposition from scoring.
"I'm really happy with how we started, especially defensively," Shrider said. "We gave up less than 50 points in both games, which is great. We still need to work on execution on the offensive end, but all in all, I thought it was a great start for us."
A year ago, MC went 2-0 in the Turkey Shoot before dropping 15 of its final 21 contests. This season, there is reason to believe that the Lady Pios can maintain their success.
"We're starting to see a change," Shrider explained. "The players are starting to believe. One thing we've talked about is proving the change. We can't just talk about it, we have to go out and prove it."
