Marietta women fall to visiting Ohio Northern, 81-63, in OAC opener
Four Lady Pioneers reach double figures

Dec. 2, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College women's basketball team got double-digit performances from four players but it wasn't enough as visiting Ohio Northern left Fenton Court with a convincing 81-63 victory in both team's Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opener Saturday (Dec. 2) afternoon. [Box Score]

The win improved the Polar Bears' record to 5-0, 1-0 in the OAC. The Pioneers fell to 1-5, 0-1 in Conference play.

Ohio Northern's hot shooting allowed it to build a 42-26 halftime lead. The Polar Bears made 16-of-33 (.485) from the floor, including 7-of-13 (.538) from beyond the arc. Marietta meanwhile, hit just 7-of-24 (.292) from the field and 2-of-8 (.250) from long range in the first 20 minutes.

The Pioneers, however, did not back down and were outscored by just two points, 39-37, in the second half. Marietta finished the day shooting 22-of-55 (.400) overall, 5-of-18 (.278) from three-point range and 14-of-22 (.636) from the line. Ohio Northern went 27-of-61 (.443) from the field, 7-of-17 (.412) from long range and 20-of-25 (.800) from the stripe. The Polar Bears won the battle of the boards, 39-30, and forced the Pioneers into 15 turnovers while committing just 10 in the win.

Junior guard Justine Pagenhardt (Oakland, Md./Southern Garrett) led the Pioneers with 16 points. Sophomore guard Amanda Carraher (Hilliard/Hilliard Davidson) added 13 off the bench, while freshman forward Jamie Beckett (Wooster/Triway) and junior Abby Hess (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) pitched in with 11 points and nine boards and 10 points and six boards, respectively.

Ohio Northern was led by Megan Cevasco with 18 points, Erin Brand with 15 points and Jenny Markle with 11 points. In addition, Danielle Andreasen added 13 rebounds.

Marietta returns to action Wednesday (Dec. 6) when it travels to Westerville for a 7:30 p.m. battle with host Otterbein. The game can be heard live on WMOA-AM 1490 and on the web through a partnership with Stretch Internet.