Box Score
MARIETTA, Ohio – The Otterbein University women’s basketball team picked up a 78-57 victory at Marietta College Wednesday night in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action.
The win propels the Cardinals to a ninth-straight victory, their longest winning streak since the 2005-06 season, and improves them to 15-3 overall, 9-2 in league play. Meanwhile, the Pioneers fall to 1-10 in the OAC, 6-12 on the season.
Senior forward Hannah Day led three players in double figures for the Cards, finishing with 20 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Chelsea Reed scored a new career-high of 14, while senior Allie Leopard filled up her line with 10 points, seven assists, and six steals to lead Otterbein to victory.
Marietta hung with the Cards through the entire first half. Otterbein never led by more than five points until a Reed layup with 28 seconds left gave the Cardinals a 39-32 lead heading into the break.
Otterbein quickly built up a sizeable advantage in the second half. The Cardinals went on a 22-7 run over the first several minutes of the second half, including four three-pointers, to open up a 61-39 lead with 13:03 left in the game.
Marietta pulled within 16, 65-49 with 8:18 remaining, but could not mount a comeback as the Cardinals cruised to the victory.
The win continues Otterbein’s recent dominance over the Pioneers. The Cardinals, under head coach Connie Richardson, have claimed 16 of the last 17 regular season meetings against Marietta.
The Cardinals forced 17 Marietta turnovers and shot 52 percent from the field (32 of 62), while the Pioneers only connected on 38 percent of their shots (21 of 55) and forced nine turnovers. Otterbein was 11 of 19 from beyond the arc (58 percent).
The Cards high shooting percentage from downtown was aided by a dominant low post game. Otterbein outscored Marietta 38-10 in total points in the paint.
The Cardinals will look to extend their winning streak to 10 games when they host Baldwin Wallace University Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Otterbein recorded a 71-60 victory at BW earlier this season.
