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MC women’s winning streak snapped by BW

Marietta College’s Brooke Borich (14) dribbles past Baldwin Wallace players during an Ohio Athletic Conference basketball game at Ban Johnson Arena. Photo courtesy of Stacy Nichols.

MARIETTA — Marietta College needed a zone-breaker to step up.

When none did, the Pioneers ended up dropping a 63-59 decision to Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio Athletic Conference women’s basketball action at Ban Johnson Arena Saturday.

“They threw that 2-3 zone at us, and we didn’t do as well against it as we wanted to,” said first-year MC head coach Kole Vivian. “So that kind of changed the game for us.

“We did a lot of good things, but we just weren’t ready for that zone. But we were right there until the end.”

Marietta (6-2 overall, 1-1 OAC) had a six-game winning streak snapped, while BW (4-0, 1-0) stayed undefeated.

“They’re a good team,” said MC sophomore Shay Lett. “And we’re making progress, but we’ve got some things to work on. It was a good fight.”

Lett, a non-starter, paced the Pioneers with 16 points, including four triples, in 18 minutes of play.

“Shay’s a dream to coach,” Vivian said. “She moves so well, and she’s just a great kid.”

Amisha Herd added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Brooke Borich and Corrie Burkhardt chipped in with 10 and seven markers respectively. Burkhardt also grabbed nine boards.

“They kept fighting,” Vivian said. “This team has a lot of energy and a lot of grit.”

Baldwin Wallace was led by Sydney Clark’s game-high 18 points. Clara Lemmon added a double-double with 12 points and 13 caroms.

“Marietta is a very good team, and we were fortunate,” said veteran Yellow Jackets boss Cheri Harrer. “That was two good teams battling it out. We were just lucky to be on the plus side of the scoreboard when time ran out.”

MC struggled at the beginning, trailing 22-13 at the end of one quarter. At the start of the second stanza, BW stretched its lead to double-digits, 25-13, on Kasey Hughes’ trey. But the Pioneers, sparked by back-to-back threes by Borich and Lett, battled back and reduced the deficit to 32-28 at the two-minute mark.

Marietta then closed out the first half with a Lett triple and a Jordana Rauch drive and score. The Pioneers trailed 35-33 going into the lockerroom.

MC owned the third period, outpointing Baldwin Wallace, 14-7, for a 47-42 lead. Leading the comeback, Herd scored two straight putbacks during a 12-0 run. Jo Herd-Middlebrooks’ bankshot gave the Pioneers a 10-point advantage, 47-37, at the 3:23 mark.

The Yellow Jackets closed out the third with a 5-0 run on points by Kara Marshall and Tiffany Bentler.

That BW run carried over into the fourth quarter, when the visitors from Berea scored 13 unanswered points to regain the lead, 55-47.

“We finally started to get some stops from the defensive end,” Harrer said. “Then we gave them a different look (2-3 zone) and had them out of rythym a little bit. And we were able to capitalize on that.”

Still fighting though, Marietta came back and tied the score, 56-56, on Herd’s drive and score near the two-minute mark.

With 1:18 left, Clark drained a three to put BW back in front, but MC answered that with a Borich triple.

Clark and Lemmon then helped ice the game at crunch time, converting a combined four of six at the line.

Marietta is next scheduled to play at John Carroll University at 4 p.m. Saturday.

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Pioneer men defeat another ranked team

BEREA  — It wasn’t easy, but the No. 4 ranked Marietta College men’s basketball team made it three in a row against ranked opponents as the Pioneers beat No. 20 Baldwin Wallace University 84-64 Saturday afternoon in the Ohio Athletic Conference opener for both schools.

“It was great to see our guys respond in a positive manner after we were on the ropes in the first half,” Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. “We really struggled to get going but we definitely got on a roll the second half.”

Marietta (6-0 overall, 1-0 OAC) suffered through its worst half of shooting this season making just 29 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half. Meanwhile, Baldwin Wallace (4-1 overall, 0-1 OAC) sank 52% from the floor and led 35-29 at halftime.

The Pioneers more than made up for the slow start by pouring in a season-high 55 points in the second half. Marietta exploded for 12 straight points in a three-minute span to flip a seven-point deficit into a five-point lead, 49-44, with 11:59 left in the game. MC never trailed again.

With shots from the perimeter not falling for Marietta, the Pioneers pounded the ball inside. Marietta outscored Baldwin Wallace in the paint, 54-20. Three layup from A.J. Edwards and another from Kyle Dixon pushed MC’s lead to 11 points, 60-49, at the 8:13 mark.

Three straight layups from Keith Richardson gave Marietta its biggest lead of the day, 81-59, with 1:33 left on the clock. Richardson led five Pioneers in double figures with 17 points. Edwards finished with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Anthony Wallace and Caleb Hoyng chipped in with 11 points each, while Dillon Young added 10 points. Jack Thome also grabbed eight boards for the Pioneers.

Cam Kuhn paced the Yellow Jackets with 17 points. Alex Nahra was the only other BW player in double figures with 11 points. Jake Fetheroff pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds and blocked four MC shots.

For the game, Marietta shot 41.8 percent (33-of-79) from the floor, 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from three-point range and 65.0 percent (13-of-20) at the free throw line. The Yellow Jackets were 23-of-56 (41.1 percent) from the floor, 7-of-32 (21.9 percent) behind the arc and 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) at the line.

Marietta won the battle of the boards, 48-37, including an 18-5 edge on the offense glass which resulted in 15 second chance points for the Pioneers. Baldwin Wallace turned the ball over 15 times, while MC committed just six turnovers in the game.

Marietta travels to Westerville on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tilt at Otterbein University.

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