TIFFIN — Marietta College put together a dominating defensive effort, causing a total of 34 turnovers which led to 42 Marietta points. The Pioneers also collected 19 steals and blocked eight shots, on the way to an 84-46 conference win over Heidelberg on Saturday.

With the win, the Pioneers extended their win streak to four and improved to 8-7 overall and 3-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Heidelberg drops to 1-12 on the season and 0-4 in conference games.

“It feels great to keep stacking wins in conference play,” said Marietta head coach Jenna Andersen. “We have been giving teams trouble with our defense the past few games, and that has helped us a ton. We have been changing defenses pretty regularly throughout our games just to give people different looks. Today it worked really well in our favor as we were able to force Heidelberg into some turnovers that helped fuel our offense. We have a big test next Saturday. We look forward to keeping things rolling.”

Heidelberg jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter, as the Pioneers were held scoreless for nearly the first four minutes. After Marietta finally got on the board with a Sophie Nelson free throw, they would go on 12-0 run which was fueled by a trio of layups from Sarah Podkul. The Pioneer lead expanded to 10 after baskets from TJ Carpenter and Kelsey Harlan, but the Student Princes found some momentum to close out the quarter, going on a mini 5-1 run to put the score at 21-14 with Marietta leading into the second quarter.

The margin briefly got a bit closer as Heidelberg scored the first five points of the second period, cutting the lead to two. After a Marietta timeout, the Pioneers regained control with five consecutive points from Harlan. The Marietta defense caused headaches for Heidelberg all throughout the night, but especially in the second period. The Student Prince turned the ball over five times in a two-minute span and Marietta cashed them in with a 9-0 run, extending the Pioneer lead to 17 points. Heidelberg continued having a tough time combating the Pioneer defensive shutdown and managed only one basket in the final two minutes. The Pioneers closed out the period adding another 12 points and led 49-25 going into the intermission.

The good fortunes continued for Marietta in the third period as Harlan converted layups on three consecutive possessions. The swarming Pioneer defense kept Heidelberg scoreless for nearly five minutes. Abby Garner scored consecutive layups and Coach Andersen started to get more players off the bench and into the game. Tess Trimble, Callie Powell, and Aleigha Busse got shots to fall and Marietta led 72-36 going into the final period.

The fourth quarter deficit was too much to overcome and the Pioneers collected their fourth consecutive victory, breezing to an 84-46 conference win.

Harlan led all scorers with 19 points. Podkul scored 12 points and led with six steals. Garner finished with 11 points. Amelia Uhrig led with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Tori Sees finished with a double-double for the Student Princes, scoring 10 points and collecting 16 rebounds.

Marietta returns home for an OAC contest this Saturday as they will battle Ohio Northern. The contest is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip-off as it will follow the men’s basketball matchup at 1 p.m.

MEN

Marietta College never trailed as the Pioneers defeated Heidelberg, 89-69, Saturday in Ohio Athletic Conference men’s basketball action.

Marietta moves to 7-8 overall and 2-4 in the OAC. Heidelberg slips to 7-7 on the season and 1-4 in the OAC

“We are proud of our team for putting a full 40 minutes together. The first time we have done this all year,” Marietta head coach Andy Bucheit said. “We handled the emotions surrounding the game with maturity. I am proud of the growth we’ve had, and we are excited for our team’s finish to the season.”

Today’s game was the first time Pioneer head coach Andy Bucheit returned to Seiberling Gymnasium since leaving Heidelberg for Marietta. Bucheit was the head coach at Heidelberg for the last 12 seasons. MC assistant coach Keandre Graves and players Elijah Harden, Jai Guerra-Howard, Mason Wisniewski, KJ Reynald, and Trent Wininger all came to Marietta from Heidelberg with Bucheit.

Harden drained a three-pointer on the opening possession of the game, one of eight he would hit on the day, as the Pioneers jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. The Student Princes scored the next four points to tie the game only to see Harden tally the next five points giving Marietta the lead for good.

Back-to-back triples from Harden and Jake Singleton pushed the Pioneer lead to 10 points, 20-10. Heidelberg battled back to get within two points, 25-23, on a layup from Xzander Ream midway through the first half.

Marietta responded with 10 straight points. Hayden Jarrett hit a three-pointer, one of 16 in the game for the Pioneers, Wisniewski made a pair of free throws, and Singleton had a three-pointer and a jumper during the run.

The Pioneers continued to pull away. Darius Carden converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Singleton hit a jumper as time expired giving Marietta a 54-34 halftime lead.

After an opening basket from Jarveil Gainey, Marietta maintained a 20-plus point lead for the duration of the game. Another Harden three-pointer gave Marietta its biggest lead of the game, 72-42, with 12:37 left in the game.

Harden led all scorers with 26 points as he converted 8-of-15 three-point attempts. Singleton had five triples and 19 points. Guerra-Howard finished with 19 points and nine assists. Wisniewski added a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.

Gainey led Heidelberg with 20 points and nine rebounds. Trey Killens added 11 points and nine rebounds.

Marietta is off until next Saturday when the Pioneers host Ohio Northern. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. in Ban Johnson Arena.