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MARIETTA -- A pivotal Ohio Athletic Conference showdown Saturday at Ban Johnson Arena between Marietta College and Baldwin Wallace went down to the wire.
In the end, the visiting Yellow Jackets made a few more plays than the Pioneers and left town with a 59-53 victory.
Bella Vaillant's putback at the first-quarter buzzer gave Baldwin Wallace a 17-12 lead.
Marietta quickly tied it up after Olivia Gribble's jumper and Paige Tolson's three-point play early in the first, but BW responded with a 3-pointer by Emily Irwin, who led the Yellow Jackets with 13 points.
Back-to-back baskets by Makenzie Wilson and Madison Cecil gave Marietta a 23-22 lead at the 4:12 mark in the second, and two more baskets by Sophia Murray and Hannah Korft stretched that lead to five.
Baldwin Wallace responded and it tied the game up at halftime thanks in part to Caely Ressler's 3-pointer to make it 27-all.
Levering opened the second half with a basket, but the Yellow Jackets used a 7-0 run to take a 34-29 lead. Marietta scored the next five points to tie it before another Irwin 3-ball put BW back on top. It remained a three-point game, 42-39, going into the final 10 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets maintained a small lead until Sophia Murray hit a pair of free throws to knot it up at 50-all with three minutes left. A freebie by Wilson gave a Marietta a one-point lead, but it was short-lived as Vaillant's basket sparked an 8-0 run by BW, giving the visitors their largest lead of the game, 58-51, with just 13 seconds left.
"We just didn't make enough plays at the end of the game," said Marieta head coach Kole Vivian, whose Pioneers play host to Otterbein at 7 p.m. Wednesday. "Credit to Baldwin Wallace for making the plays. We got a lot of really good looks, we've just got to be able to finish them."
Irwin had three assists to go along with her 13 points. Ressler added 11 points and nine rebounds while Ressler chipped in nine points and eight boards. Kira Philpot grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds off the bench, while Leah Riley came off the pine and dished out a team-best four assists.
Levering led Marietta with 13 points while Murray had nine. Wilson's 11 rebounds led the Pioneers while Levering added seven to go along with three blocks.
Marietta dropped to 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the OAC. Baldwin Wallace remained perfect in the conference at 6-0 and upped its overall record to 10-3.
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BEREA -- Marietta College overcame a subpar first half outscoring Baldwin Wallace by 21 points in the second half to down the Yellow Jackets 69-55 Saturday in Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball action. The Pioneers have won six straight games and are now 11-2 overall and 5-1 in the OAC. Baldwin Wallace falls to 4-9 overall and 1-5 in the OAC.
"After a miserable first half, the guys responded and played the game the right way in the 2nd half," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said. "We really struggled offensively but De'Ovion (Price) sparked us to start the second half. Ethan (Andersen) also provided a low post presence off the bench and we started to gain confidence. That, combined with our rebounding effort, was the difference in the game."
Marietta shot a frigid 23% from the floor, including just 15% from 3-point range, in the first half. The Pioneers did grab 13 offensive rebounds, but managed just three second chance points off of those boards.
The teams traded small leads through the first eight minutes of the game. A 3-pointer from Andrew Griffith gave the Yellow Jackets a 12-9 lead with 11:22 left in the opening period. Baldwin Wallace would not relinquish the lead and had a seven-point advantage at halftime, 31-24.
Baldwin Wallace scored the first basket of the second half pushing the margin to nine points. Marietta responded with an 11-2 run to tie the game, 35-35. De'Ovion Price sparked the comeback scoring nine of Marietta's 11 points in the run.
After a Yellow jacket bucket, Marietta post player Frank Waganfeald drained a 3-pointer to give the Pioneers the lead for good. Marietta hit back-to-back triples with David Sanford following Waganfeald's 3-pointer.
Baldwin Wallace stayed within five points until an 8-0 Pioneer run pushed the margin to nine points, 58-49, with 5:41 remaining in the game. A layup from Ethan Andersen pushed the lead to double digits.
A Sahmi Willoughby dunk and layup from Sanford extended the final margin to 16 points, 69-55.
Marietta used a decisive advantage on the glass, 54-30, coupled with Baldwin Wallace going ice cold from behind the arc to earn the come from behind win. The Yellow Jackets were 0-for-7 from three-point range and shot just 27% from the floor in the second half.
Wiloughby notched his third straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Price finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Waganfeald and Sanford added 10 points each. Waganfeald also pulled down nine rebounds.
Myles Reynolds led the Yellow Jackets with 12 points. Titus Baskerville and AJ Pestello scored 10 points each, while Jarred Logan finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Marietta plays at Otterbein at 7 p.m. Wednesday.