Box Score

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University women's basketball team was eliminated from postseason contention Wednesday evening, falling on the low side of a 60-56 contest with visiting Marietta College.

The Cardinals, falling to 5-19 overall and 2-15 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), tied the game with a late 7-0 run before the Pioneers emerged in the closing minutes.

Otterbein opened strong, using a quick 7-0 run early in the first half to take a 15-8 advantage by the 11:44 mark. The Pioneers battled back, later scoring six-straight points to jump on top22-21, with 6:00 to play before the break.

Both sides traded scores over the remainder of the period before the Cardinals eventually took a slim 32-31 lead into halftime.
A Taylor Pifher layup gave Otterbein the first points of the second half, but Marietta (9-15, 5-12 OAC) out-scored the Cardinals 14-4 over the next six minutes to open a 45-38 edge. Otterbein continued the game's back-and-forth theme, posting a 9-0 run and grabbing a 47-45 margin as the game clocked moved under 9:00.

Marietta found itself up 56-49 with 4:04 to play, but another 7-0 spurt from the Cardinals, capped by a Madi Miller three-pointer, brought the contest back to even with 2:17 remaining and force a visitor timeout. The Pioneers would emerge down the stretch, getting the go-ahead bucket shortly after the timeout and keeping the Cardinals scoreless until the buzzer.

Miller led all scorers with a game and season-high 17 points, burying three three-pointers and grabbing six rebounds. Amariah Huck nearly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, while point guard Chelsea Reed handed out 10 assists despite shooting 1 of 11 from the floor.

Candice Alexander paced three Marietta players in double figures, scoring 14 while teammate Jessica Brogan added 13. Both sides combined to go 10 of 40 from three-point range and the Pioneers managed an 18-9 edge in second-chance points.

Otterbein closes out the season Saturday with a 3 p.m. home game, hosting Heidelberg University inside the Rike Center for Senior Day. Reed, Miller and Mary Corbett will be recognized during pregame for their contributions to the program.