Marietta College women defeat SUNY-IT, 57-50, at D-III Desert Shootout
Pagenhardt records first career double-double

Dec. 22, 2006
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — While most guests at the Luxor Hotel were locked in a losing battle with the casino Friday (Dec. 22) afternoon, the Marietta College women's basketball team rolled the dice using the instructions of first-year Head Coach Ted Eskildsen and came away with a 57-50 victory over SUNY-IT on the final day of the D-III Desert Shootout on the campus of UNLV. [Box Score]

The Pioneers (2-9) broke a five-game losing streak thanks to a team effort against the Wildcats (1-8) in a contest that featured 49 total turnovers.

Junior guard Justine Pagenhardt (Oakland, Md./Southern Garrett) overcame a slow start to score 10 second-half points and finish with her first career double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. The 2006 All-OAC honoree got plenty of help from freshmen Jamie Beckett (Wooster/Triway) and Jen Wolfe (Ravenswood, W.Va.). Wolfe reached career highs in both points (12) and rebounds (7), while Beckett added nine points and seven boards.

Junior forward Abby Hess (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) also contributed eight points and three boards, while senior Katie Chadwell (Georgetown) had career-best five points, four steals, three rebounds and one block. In addition, Shawntae Cline (Belpre) added seven boards in the win.

Overall, Marietta finished 18-of-51 (.353) from the field, including 5-of-15 (.333) from beyond the arc. The Pioneers also went 16-of-20 (.800) from the free throw line. SUNY-IT shot 18-of-65 (.277) from the floor, 4-of-19 (.211) from long range and 10-of-23 (.435) from the charity stripe. The Wildcats had a slight 47-41 edge in rebounding with 20 coming on the offensive end.

The Pioneers led by as many as 15 points, 23-8, in the first half before the Wildcats went on a 16-4 run to close the half trailing by just one point, 27-26.

After SUNY-IT took the lead for a short time in the second stanza, Marietta went up for good on a jumper by Hess with 15:20 to go in the game.

Marietta will return to action Wednesday (Jan. 3) when it visits Mount Union College for a 7:30 p.m. Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) tip-off.