MARIETTA, Ohio — No. 21 Marietta College used a balanced attack to knock off previously unbeaten Washington and Jefferson College, 86-71, Tuesday (Dec. 19) afternoon in women's basketball action. Five Pioneers finished in double figures and two others chipped in with eight points each.

The win was historic for Marietta as the Pioneers improved to 9-0 on the season; the best start in program history. The previous mark of 8-0 to begin a season was held by the 1985-86 and 1989-90 teams.

"We knew coming into the year we had the talent and the leadership to do some special things. We are doing a great job of playing unselfish and playing for each other every night," Marietta head coach Kole Vivian said. "It is so special to be able to start 9-0 and break the program record for best start. The thing that makes it even more special is having members of those teams like Cathy (Clark) Borich, Debbie Lazorik and others who have paved the way for us coming to our games and supporting us."

Freshman Laura Pullins led Marietta with a career-high 13 points off the bench. Shay Lett and Brooke Borich scored 11 points apiece, while Amisha Herd and Jo Herd-Middlebrooks chipped in with 10 points each.

Jenna Andersen finished with eight points and Alexis Enochs had eight points and six rebounds. Corrie Burkhardt grabbed a game-high nine boards to go along with six points.

"Coming into the game we knew how dangerous W&J was and they are as advertised. We were able to wear them down as the game went on through our depth," Vivian said. "Our starters got us off to a great start and our bench was phenomenal. Laura (Pullins) and Jo (Herd-Middlebrooks) had their best scoring games of the season and Alexis (Enochs) was a huge spark plug for us. It seems like every night we have someone else step up and that is why we have been so successful this far."

Washington and Jefferson (8-1 overall) battled back from a 13-point deficit to get within six, 62-56, heading into the fourth quarter. The Pioneers came out in a full court press to start the final period and caught the Presidents completely unprepared.

Marietta forced three quick W&J turnovers and scored the first 11 points of the quarter to take command of the game, 74-56, with just over seven minutes left in the game. The Pioneers pushed the margin to 21 points before clearing the bench in the final minutes.

Danielle Parker scored a game-high 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Presidents. Amirah Moore and Mya Gordon added 15 and 10 points, respectively.

For the game, Marietta shot 43.5% (27-of-62) from the floor, 38.1% (8-of-21) from three-point range and 66.7% (24-of-36) at the free throw line. The Presidents were 27-of-53 (50.9%) from the floor, 3-of-15 (20.0%) behind the arc and 14-of-16 (87.5%) at the charity stripe.

The Pioneers dominated the boards outrebounding Washington and Jefferson, 41-27. Marietta turned the ball over 16 times, while the Presidents committed 19 turnovers.

Next up for the Pioneers is the Otterbein Smokey Ballenger Classic on December 29-30. Marietta plays Calvin College at 1 p.m. on Friday and Case Western Reserve University at 1 p.m. on Saturday.