WILMINGTON — The Marietta College women’s basketball team took to the road and led throughout much of their contest with Wilmington on Saturday. 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 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 sped through the lane for a layup. TJ Carpenter’s offensive rebound and putback a minute later gave the Pioneers 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 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 to 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, Carpenter, and Ava Heller 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 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 when they return to the Ban Johnson Arena to battle Muskingum, with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m.

MEN

WILMINGTON — Wilmington College held on to defeat Marietta College by the score of 85-82 Saturday (Feb. 7) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference men’s basketball action. The loss drops Marietta to 9-13 overall and 4-9 in the OAC. Wilmington moves to 9-12 overall and 5-7 in the OAC.

Jake Singleton led all scorers with 24 points on the strength of six three-pointers. Elijah Harfden had 18 points, while Mason Wisneski finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Luke Powell grabbed a game-high 11 boards.

Wilmington had five players in double figures led by Domenic Farley with 18 points. Elijah Cathey had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Izaiah and Carson Miles each added 13 points, while Ben Golan finished with 10 points.

The Quakers jumped out to a 17-6 lead on a Farley layup five minutes into the game. Marietta answered with 11 straight points to tie the game at 17-17, with 11:45 left in the first half. Harden started the Pioneer run with a three-pointer and finished it with a jumper.

The teams traded small leads the rest of the period and Wilmington took a 38-36 advantage into halftime.

Jake Singleton nailed a three-pointer to start the second half giving Marietta the lead. After the Quakers went back in front, Harden hot a triple to tie the game at 42-42. A jumper from Farley at the 17:27 mark gave Wilmington the lead for good.

The Quakers led by as many as 13 points, 79-66, with 5:48 left in the game. Back-to-back three-pointers from Farley and Izaiah Cathey capped a 10-0 Wilmington run. Marietta refused to go quietly and scored the next 11 points to get within two, 79-77, with the two minutes remaining in the game.

The Pioneers got within one point twice in the final minutes of the game, but clutch free throw shooting from Gabe Green, hitting all four of his attempts, sealed the victory for Wilmington.

Marietta plays at Muskingum on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.