MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College women's basketball team fell 71-49 to visiting Ohio Northern University Saturday (Feb. 5) afternoon inside Ban Johnson Arena. The Pioneers record now stands at 7-14 overall and 3-11 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Ohio Northern improved to 14-7 overall and 9-5 in the OAC. [Box Score]

The Pioneers were plagued by cold shooting and poor rebounding against an aggressive Polar Bear Squad. Marietta finished the game shooting 35.3% (18-of-51) from the field, 31.3% (5-of-16) from three and 57.1% (8-of-14) from the charity stripe. Ohio Northern finished the game shooting 43.5% (27-of-62) from the field, 37.5% (6-of-16) from three-point range and 91.7% (11-of-12) from the free throw line. The Polar Bears held a commanding edge on the boards with 44 to Marietta's 28.

Sophomore post Aleisha Guiler (Lower Salem/Monroe Central) led all scorers with 24 points and tied a game-high with seven rebounds. Junior guard Rachel Jones (Dublin/Coffman) came off the bench to score six points, grab three boards and dish out a game-high three assists. Sophomore wing Kristeva Rowe (Toledo/Sylvania Southview) chipped in with nine points, a block and a steal in the loss.

Ohio Northern was paced by Cenzie Yoder and Jeanne Bockey with 14 points. Both player also dished out three assists a piece, while Bockey grabbed six rebounds for the Polar Bears. Joanna Snyder added 12 points in the win.

The Polar Bears responded early to a game-opening three by Tori Dixon (Londonderry/Vinton County) and outscored Marietta 20-8 in the first 6:05 of the game. Ohio Northern used its early advantage to wear down the Pioneers throughout the first half and even pushed its lead to as many as 20 points, 41-21, in the first 20 minutes. A jumper by Guiler at the first half buzzer made the 41-23 in favor of Northern at the half.

The Polar Bear lead ballooned to 30 points at 55-25 with 14:19 to play in regulation. Marietta cut the lead below 20 points twice, but ultimately lost 71-49.

The Pioneers are back in action on Wednesday (Feb. 9) night at Mount Union. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.