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Pioneer women blow out Student Princes

The Marietta College women’s basketball closed out the home portion of their schedule with a complete victory over Heidelberg. Every Pioneer got into the scoring column as they cruised to victory over the Student Princes, 102-67.

With the win, the Pioneers improved to 12-12 overall and 7-8 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. With the loss, Heidelberg fell to 1-21 overall and 0-14 in the OAC.

“I thought we had a great performance overall,” said Marietta head coach Jenna Andersen. “We got out to a great start and never let up. The only thing that I wish we could have done better is win the rebounding battle. Very proud of the effort we put in today.”

Before the game, the Pioneers celebrated Senior Day. Morgan Dixon and Sophie Nelson all participated in their final regular season game and were all recognized for their great careers.

“We have an awesome couple of seniors,” said Andersen of her seniors. “Morgan was just cleared to play recently. I was glad she could take part in her Senior day and get us our 100th point. That was special. Sophie was big today, too. She is a great shooter and it showed today.”

The Pioneers started strong with layups from Nelson and Amelia Uhrig, but Heidelberg answered with a pair of layups from Tori See to grab a 6-5 lead. Both teams would trade baskets for the next several minutes, but the Pioneers would take control with a 20-2 run. Ava Heller provided eight of those points during the run and Emma Rasmussen hit a big three-pointer from the corner. The Pioneers got one more trey before the end of the period as Urhig hit from the perimeter and the Pioneers led 34-19 at the end of the first quarter.

The Pioneers continued to surge in the second period, outscoring the Student Princes 20-3 in the first six minutes, shooting over 70% from the field during the run. Kelsey Harlan got the quarter started with a layup. Abby Garner and Peyten Bruns scored on tough driving layups. TJ Carpenter scored four straight points to fuel the run. Later in the period, Madison Lynn nailed a three pointer and Ella McMillen scored from the paint to extend the Pioneer lead to 63-32 going into the intermission.

Heidelberg got a couple of buckets to begin the third quarter, but the Pioneers simply would not let up on the pressure. After Uhrig and Carpenter answered with a pair of scores, Nelson then hit a pair of three pointers and Marietta was on their way to another run. Later in the period, Tess Trimble went 4-for-4 from the line, Aleigha Busse scored on a driving layup, and Callie Powell converted on a pair of free throws to set the lead at 38. Marietta got one final score from Kayla Peterson and took a 88-50 lead going into the final period.

The biggest highlight of the fourth quarter was Dixon going to the line and delivering Marietta’s 100th point of the game, which got every Pioneer in the scorebook. Although Heidelberg outscored the Pioneer in the final period, 17-14, they just could not overcome the difference. The Pioneer cruised to a 102-67 victory.

Uhrig led Marietta with 15 points. Heller finished with 12 points. Nelson and Lynn scored 11 points apiece. McMillen led with six rebounds. Sarah Podkul came off the bench to lead with four assists and also collected four steals.

See paced the Student Princes with a game-high 18 points

Marietta will close out the regular season on the road as they will battle Ohio Northern this Saturday, with a scheduled 4 p.m. tip-off.

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The Marietta College men’s basketball team fell behind early and could not catch as they dropped their home finale to Heidelberg at the Ban Johnson, 107-86, on Saturday afternoon.

The loss drops Marietta to 9-15 on the season and 4-11 in the OAC. Heidelberg improves to 12-11 on the season and 6-8 in the OAC.

Heidelberg got on the board first with a driving layup from Riley Gossom, but Marietta quickly answered with a pull up jumper from Elijah Harden, who was one of three Pioneer seniors honored before the game. The Student Princes got a jumper to fall from Brady Bosma and then a three pointer from Gossom to take a 9-5 lead into the first media time out. Although Harden cut into the advantage right away as play resumed, Heidelberg widened the lead with the help of a 12-0 run, six of those points coming from Trey Killens. Ben Solomon came off the bench to slow the momentum as he buried a jumper, but the Pioneers trailed by 11 at the 11:57 mark.

After both teams traded free throws, Jai Guerra-Howard tried to inject some energy into the Pioneer offensive attack as he scored on a driving layup and followed with a bonus free throw. Heidelberg would go to answer with four straight points. Jake Singleton did his best to keep the Pioneers close as he scored on a pair of layups and a pair of free throws, but again Heidelberg did not let up on their side of the floor and led by 16 into the final media time out. Singleton hit from three-point range and Harden converted a pair of big baskets, but Heidelberg got a layup from Killens on the final possession. In all, Heidelberg shot over 65% from the floor and took a 54-40 lead into the intermission.

Bosma and Killens came up big early in the second half, as they provided eight and four points respectively, to push the lead to 20 at the 15-minute mark. The Pioneers tried to put on some defensive pressure and chip away at the lead, getting a trey from the final senior honored before the game, Darius Carden, but Heidelberg simply would not stop hitting big shots. Harden’s three pointer and Guerra-Howard’s layup cut the lead to 17 with 9:50 remaining, but Jarvell Gainey’s fast break dunk and Gossom’s three-pointer pushed the Student Prince advantage to its biggest, 22.

Marietta strung together an 8-0 run with three pointers from Harden and Carden and a thunderous dunk from Mason Wisniewski, but Heidelberg calmly answered with seven of their own points to stop the rally. In the end, the advantage was too much to overcome and the Student Princes would cruise to a 107-86 victory.

Singleton went 5-of-9 from three point range and finished with a team-high 26 points, also leading the Pioneers with six rebounds. Three other Pioneers were in double figures. Harden scored 16 points. Guerra-Howard finished with 12 points. Wisniewski finished with 10 points.

Killens led Heidelberg with 25 points and six rebounds. Gainey followed with 23 points and Bosma scored 20 points for the Student Princes

Marietta will close out the regular season on the road as they will battle Ohio Northern this Saturday, with a 1 p.m. tip off.

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