Feb. 17, 2006

Despite record, season was a Slam Dunk
MC Women’s Basketball proud of young team

By DREW BONIFANT
atb001@marietta.edu

Anytime a team takes the court with a nearly all-underclassmen roster, a significant challenge exists for them. The Marietta Womens Basketball team put aside their inexperience and competed at an intense level this past season.

Their regular season record was an indicator of the difficulty of the team faced (6-17 overall, 3-13 OAC), but the Pioneers rose to the challenge in the final home game of the year. They earned a 67-54 win over Ohio Northern to seal its Fenton Court campaign on a positive note.

The victory also occurred on Senior Night, giving love senior, Tabi Taylor one last vicoty on Fenton Court.
Taylor played a significant role in the upset against the Polar Bears. She came away with two points, five rebounds and four assists.

Though the win provided an emotional boost for the Pioneers, the marks of a frustrating season remained. Because the team dropped their first four conference games and ceased to recover, all remaining hopes for a run at an elusive conference crown we lost.

Unfortunate 11 and four-point losses to John Carroll and a 12-point defeat against Otterbein fueled questions over what the season could have been.
Despite this season’s struggle, there is hope for year. The Pioneers will return four starters and __ letter winners for the 2006-07 season. The roster will include sophomore Justine Pagenhardt. Pagenhardt led the OAC in points per game with 19.3. Fellow sophomore Abby Hess had a strong showing this season. Hess averaged 7.7 points and rebounds per game.

Two games remain for the Pioneers. They hope to pick up a win with each game and carry the momentum into next season.