Box Score

MARIETTA, Ohio – The Otterbein women's basketball team held off a late rally by Marietta for a 73-72 road win on Wednesday night inside Ban Johnson Arena.

The Cardinals (8-10 overall) move to 4-7 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play and splits the season series with the Pioneers as each team fell at home. 

Otterbein now returns home for a two-game homestand beginning Saturday against Heidelberg. Tip-off inside the Rike Center is set for 3 p.m.

Junior Kiersten Taylor was a force in the post the entire game for the Cardinals totaling 15 first-quarter points to give the team a 19-15 advantage through one frame.

Taylor then scored two of the first three baskets for Otterbein to begin the second period, before freshman Abbie Scholz boosted the Cards lead to 27-19 on a layup less than four minutes in.

Otterbein concluded the first half with a 36-29 advantage after shooting 46.4 percent from the field behind 21 points by Taylor. Marietta was conversely held to a 37.5 percent mark from the floor while not holding a lead since late in the first frame.

The Cardinals resumed their strong scoring to start the second half pouring in 26 points in the third quarter to increase their lead to 62-47, thanks to a 15-2 scoring run, heading into the final period.

Otterbein went ahead by as many as 17 points over the final 10 minutes of action, and led by double-digits with less than five minutes remaining before holding off a furious rally by the Pioneers.

Marietta trimmed its deficit to as little as one point before taking a 72-71 lead with 44 seconds left, with the Cards regaining possession.

Sophomore Ali Cartnal then drove to the basket on the other end and lofted a floater in the lane that rimmed in and out, to which Taylor promptly grabbed the rebound and laid the ball off the backboard to put the Cards back ahead. 

Marietta had a semi-contested layup at the buzzer on its end of the court that fell short, as the Cards snapped their three-game losing skid. 

The Cards finished the game shooting 42.9 percent from the field while also converting 21-of-26 shots from the foul line. Marietta ended with a 39 percent mark from the floor and a 20-of-25 outing from the free throw line.

Taylor led all scorers with a career-high 32 points on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting and superb 14-of-17 mark from the charity stripe, to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and five steals.

Sophomore Dani Kissel followed with her second-straight game with 15-point performance, while classmate Ali Cartnal and senior Taylor Pifher combined for 18 points.

Scholz and sophomore Jacy Jones, who each started their second-consecutive game, aided the Cards in edging the Pioneers in rebounding, 40-32, uniting for nine boards.