UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — Marietta College had it biggest offensive output of the season and needed every single point as the Pioneers upset No. 3 ranked John Carroll University, 81-80, Saturday in Ohio Athletic Conference women’s basketball action.
Today’s win marked the highest ranked team Marietta has ever beaten in the 48-year history of the program. The Pioneers improve to 8-1 on the season and 3-1 in the OAC. John Carroll falls to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
“This was such a big win for our program,” Marietta head coach Kole Vivian said. “We didn’t always do everything the way we wanted to during the game, but we really stuck together and won at a tough place against a great team.”
Devin Hefner equaled her career-high with 23 points to lead the Pioneers offensive attack. She shot 7-of-13 from the floor, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out three assists.
“Devin is one of the best players in the league. She was getting to the foul line, making jumpers and getting to the hoop,” Vivian said. “She has been coming off the bench for us all year but has been on the floor at the end of every close game. Devin was one of the kids today that just refused to lose.”
Hannah Schill finished with 15 points and was stellar on defense recording six steals. Olivia Gribble drained a trio of three-pointers and chipped in with 13 points. Erin Hahn led Marietta with eight rebounds and had six points, while Camille Cummins added eight points and six boards.
In a game that saw 11 ties, 15 lead changes, and neither team leading by more than nine points, the outcome was in doubt until the final buzzer.
A layup from Schill with 46 seconds left in the game gave the Pioneers a four-point lead, 81-77. But any hopes of an easy finish for Marietta were quickly erased when Nicole Heffington drained a three-pointer on the ensuing possession for the Blue Streaks.
Marietta quickly called a timeout and opted to advance the ball to midcourt for its possession. John Carroll, trailing by one three fouls short of being able to force the Pioneers to the free throw line, quickly fouled on the inbounds play.
The Pioneers again inbounded the ball and got the ball to Gribble under the basket. Her layup attempt was blocked by Olivia Nagy, her fifth of the game, and the Blue Streaks grabbed the rebound and called a timeout with 14 seconds left on the clock.
The Blue Streaks got the ball into the hands of Abby Adler in the paint, but her last second shot attempt was no good as time expired giving the Pioneers the 81-80 victory.
Nagy played a phenomenal game for the Blue Streaks posting 20 points, 20 rebounds, five blocks and four assists. Heffington finished with 20 points and eight assists, while Kaelyn Underwood chipped in with 10 points.
Marietta jumped out to an early lead and held a small advantage for most of the first quarter. The Blue Streaks used a 9-0 run to go in front 18-15 with two minutes left in the first quarter. Marietta’s Jill Congrove hit a three-pointer in the final seconds to tie the game, 20-20, at the end of the opening period.
The Blue Streaks opened the second quarter with a 13-4 run to build a nine-point lead. Marietta slowly chipped away at the deficit and a pair of free throws from Hefner at the end of the quarter cut the JCU lead to one, 41-40, at halftime.
After the intermission, John Carroll once again took advantage of an early run to build a lead. A three-pointer from Hannah Bouchy at the 6:07 mark of the third quarter gave the Blue Streaks a seven-point lead, 54-47.
The Pioneers answered with a 9-0 run to reclaim the lead, 56-54, with just over three minutes remaining in the period. A pair of three-pointers from Gribble sparked the Marietta run. The Navy Blue and White clung to a 63-60 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Adler scored the first four points of the fourth quarter giving John Carroll the lead back, 64-63. Hefner responded with three straight buckets for the Pioneers as Marietta went up by five points, 69-67.
The Pioneer lead evaporated by the midway point of the quarter. Heffington tied the game, 73-73, with a layup at the 4:48 mark. The teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes and the game was still tied, 77-77, with two minutes left on the clock.
Schill grabbed her sixth steal of the game which turned into a bucket from Hahn. Following a JCU miss, Schill’s layup with 46 seconds left in the game gave the Pioneers a four-point lead, 81-77, and setup the thrilling finish.
Marietta is off until after Christmas when the Pioneers host the 36th annual Jim Meagle Holiday Classic sponsored by BSN Sports. Marietta plays the College of Wooster at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29 and Carrnegie Mellon University at 3 p.m. on Dec. 30.