Lady Pioneers suffer heartbreaking 83-79 loss to Blue Streaks
Pagenhardt tops 30-point plateau for second straight game and finishes with 33 in loss

Jan. 21, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio - The tough breaks continue to hit the Marietta College women's basketball team hard during the 2005-06 season. Saturday's (Jan. 21) 83-79 home loss to John Carroll was another example, as the Pioneers had their chances, only for missed lay-ups and missed free-throws to come back to haunt them down the stretch.

With the win, John Carroll improved to 5-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference and 9-7 overall. Marietta fell to 4-13 on the year, 1-9 in league play.

The game pitted two of the Conference's top scoring threats — Marietta's Justine Pagenhardt and John Carroll's Shayla Bell. Pagenhardt, who was coming off a 39-point performance at Otterbein, entered the game as the OAC's leading scorer, averaging 19.5 points. Bell was close behind Pagenhardt in fifth place, netting 15.7 points per game.

The first half was a tough battle with each team taking turns with six-point leads. Marietta jumped out early 14-8 with a lay-up by Pagenhardt with 13:40 remaining in the half. The Blue Streaks took their largest lead of the half in the final minute with a lay-up by Jessica Gibbons to put JCU ahead 36-30. The visiting Streaks were able to take a 38-34 lead into the intermission.

John Carroll kept the lead for the first 6:32 of the second period, but another basket by Pagenhardt gave MC a 50-49 lead with 13:28 to play. Following a series of lead changes, the Pioneers were able to extend their lead to six, 63-59, with 8:33 remaining, only for the Streaks to tie the game at 66-66 minutes later.

Again, Marietta was able to go back up by five, 75-70, with 3:37 remaining, but a Tracy Prosinski lay-up ignited a 11-1 John Carroll run, giving it a 81-76 advantage with 35 seconds to play in the game. Marietta pulled within three points, 82-79, with four second left, but could not get any closer.

Pagenhardt led all scorers with 33 points. She finished 12-of-20 from the field, including 3-of-6 from long range, while adding 6-of-11 from the free throw line. The sophomore finished the week with 72 points, bringing her career total to 596 points.

Sophomore Abby Hess had another solid all-around performance, finishing with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists before fouling out. Senior Tabi Taylor also scored double figures, adding 10 points, while Sara Burns contributed eight in her first game back after missing two with an injury.

Bell paced John Carroll with 26 points and seven rebounds. Prosinski had a double-double, 13 points and 10 rebounds. Caitlin Huback came close, adding 13 points and nine boards. Rachel Price (11 points) and Allison Kern (10 points) also finished in double figures for the Streaks.

Marietta will return to action Wednesday (Jan. 25) when it plays host to Mount Union at 7:30 p.m. The Purple Raiders (11-6, 6-4 OAC) defeated Heidelberg today 61-55.

Sophomore Justine Pagenhardt had another 30-point game Saturday against John Carroll

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