LATROBE, Pa. – The Marietta College women's basketball team earned a 51-38 road victory over Saint Vincent College on Friday (Nov. 11).  With the win the Pioneers improve to 1-1 on the season and with the loss the Bearcats fall to 1-1 overall.  

"I am really proud of our defensive effort tonight. We were locked in on their ball screen offense and did a good job on the glass," said Head Coach Kole Vivian. "They have really good size and we battled with them on the boards all night. After a slow offensive start, we started to find our rhythm a bit in the third quarter. We are a work in progress, but it was a big step up from our first game."

Both teams traded baskets for the first four minutes and battled for a six-all tie.  Adi Hill hit from three point range and Ally Grake followed with a layup, helping the Pioneers stretch out to a five point lead with three minutes remaining in the quarter.  Devin Hefner then made a steal in the final minute and fed a pass to Erin Hahn for a layup and the Pioneers led 13-11 after one quarter of play.   

The Bearcats opened the second quarter going four of four from the free throw line to take their first lead of the game 15-13.  Olivia Gribble canned a three-pointer on the next possession to retake the lead and Grake hit from outside to extend the lead to 20-17.  Kelly Levering scored on a layup to push lead to four with six minutes remaining.  Hahn scored another layup, with a Hannah Schill assist, to keep the three point lead.  Schill closed out the half hitting one of two free throws and Marietta led 25-21, at the intermission.  

After a back and forth start to the third quarter,  the Pioneers went on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 36-25.  Gribble then hit from outside the arc and inside the paint  for five points, while Hefner and Hahn scored on layups.  The teams battled for the remainder of the third quarter, but Marietta remained on top 44-32, as time expired in the third quarter.  

The Pioneers outscored Saint Vincent 7-6 in the final frame as both teams struggled from the field in the final quarter.  Both teams hovered around 22-percent from the field, which enabled Marietta to remain comfortably in the lead for the remainder of the game.  The Pioneers were able to close the game and gain the victory.  

The Pioneers were led by Hahn, she had a team high nine rebounds, and scored 13 points.  Gribble chipped in with 12 points, and had two steals in the game.  Schill had four steals and dished out four assists for the Pioneers.           

The Pioneers will be back in action Wednesday (Nov. 16) when they travel to take on Penn St.-Behrend, with tip off scheduled for 6 p.m.