Marietta women fall to Otterbein 70-53
Lady Pioneers out rebounded 53-21 in loss

Feb. 1, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College and Otterbein College women's basketball teams met on Fenton Court Wednesday (Feb. 1) for an Ohio Athletic Conference showdown. A 20-7 run to close out the game took a tight contest and turned it into 70-53 victory for the visiting Cardinals.

With the win, Otterbein improved to 16-4 overall and 10-3 in the OAC, while Marietta fell to 5-15, 2-11 in league play.

Neither team shot the ball well in the game, which was slowed by fouls throughout. Overall, there were 38 fouls called, 23 by Marietta, including 16 in the second half.

Otterbein finished 24-of-60 (.400) from the floor, 1-of-7 (.143) from beyond the arc and 21-of-38 (.553) from the line. Marietta shot 20-of-61 (.328) from the field, including 3-of-12 (.250) from three-point range. The Pioneers did hit 10-of-12 (.833) from the charity stripe.

The Cardinals dominated the boards, out rebounding the Pioneers 53-31. Both teams struggled to take care of the ball; Marietta had 20 turnovers, while Otterbein gave the ball away 24 times.

The game started off back-and-forth, with seven ties in the first 10 minutes. An Abbey Perez free throw broke a 16-16 deadlock with 9:49 remaining in the half and gave the Cardinals a lead that they would not relinquish.

Marietta pulled within four, 30-26, after a pair of free throws by Olivia Newsome with 3:12 to go in the frame. It was the last points scored in the half.

Otterbein came out of the locker room and was able to extend its lead to 10, 42-32, with 12:34 to go in the game. Marietta cut it back down to four, 50-46, on a three-pointer by Amanda Carraher and a lay-up by Newsome with 7:27 remaining, but a Sarah Esterkamp free throw sparked the game-ending 20-7 run to help Otterbein pull away and win 70-53.

Marietta was paced by Pagenhardt's 18 points and Newsome's 10. Abby Hess also contributed six points, while tying a career-high with 15 rebounds.

Esterkamp finished with a game-high 19 points to go along with 14 rebounds. Teammate Danielle Holbrook added 13 points and 19 rebounds, while Perez and Laura Roth added 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The Lady Pioneers will return to action Saturday (Feb. 4) for a Winter Weekend doubleheader against Heidelberg. Tip-off of the women's game is 1 p.m., while the men will follow at 3 p.m.

Abby Hess tied a career-high with 15 rebounds against Otterbein Wednesday

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