MARIETTA, Ohio — All five starters scored in double figures as Marietta College defeated John Carroll University Saturday (Dec. 19) afternoon by the score of 88-76 in women's basketball action. The Pioneers improve to 9-2 overall and 3-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. John Carroll falls to 5-4 overall and 1-3 in the OAC.

Morgan Liedtke hit a trio of three-pointers and poured in a career-high 20 points to pace the Pioneers. Liedtke grabbed eight rebounds, dished out five assists and blocked a pair of JCU shots.

Jo Herd-Middlebrooks recorded her first career double-double scoring 16 points and pulling down 10 rebounds, both career-highs. Amisha Herd finished with 16 points and nine boards, while Corrie Burkhardt and Brooke Borich chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Katlyn Spahar took 26 shots for the Blue Streaks and finished with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds. Bri Pittenger came off the bench to score 21 points and Shmoo Pryor added 10 points.

Marietta grabbed the early lead and held a 17-14 advantage after the first quarter. John Carroll outscored the Pioneers by nine in the second period and took a 43-37 lead into halftime.

The Pioneers started the second half with a 9-2 run to retake the lead for good. Burkhardt capped the run with a layup at the 7:26 mark of the third quarter.  Marietta ended the period on a 5-0 run and led 62-56 heading into the last 10 minutes.

Three JCU turnovers and a missed jumper helped Marietta push the margin to 13 points, 72-59, with 6:27 left in the game. A three-pointer from Ashley Barker with 3:30 remaining gave MC its biggest lead of the game, 84-67.

For the game, Marietta shot 48.6% (36-of-74) from the floor, 41.2% (7-of-17) from three-point range and 69.2% (9-of-13) at the line. John Carroll was 35-of-76 (46.1%) from the floor, 2-of-12 (16.7%) from behind the arc and 4-of-9 (44.4%) at the line.

Marietta dominated the glass outrebounding the Blue Streaks 51-33, including 20 on the offensive end of the floor. The Pioneers committed 18 turnovers, while John Carroll turned the ball over 13 times.

Marietta is back in action on Wednesday (Dec. 30) when Washington and Jefferson visits Ban Johnson Arena for a 7:00 p.m. tip.