Ohio Wesleyan 65, Marietta 63
Ursuline 76, Penn State-DuBois 62
Freshman wing Mary Corbett (Columbus/Upper Arlington) scored 8 points in a span of less than a minute to highlight a 16-0 run that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay, and Corbett and freshman guard Sarah McQuade (Dublin/Coffman) scored key points down the stretch as the Bishops withstood a furious Marietta comeback to edge the Pioneers in the championship game of the Bishop Classic/Hoops for Hope tournament on Friday at Branch Rickey Arena.
In Friday's consolation game, Ursuline used a 9-0 second-half run to pull away for a win over Penn State-DuBois.
Marietta had tied the title tilt at 7-7 on a pair of free throws by Aleisha Guiler, but Ohio Wesleyan reeled off the next 16 points to take the lead for good.
Freshman post LaNiece McRae (Youngstown/Chaney) put the Bishops ahead with a lay-in, and Corbett followed with a 3-pointer with 13:01 left in the first half. A technical foul on the Marietta bench followed, with Corbett draining both free throws, and after a steal by freshman post Kristin Henning (Beavercreek), Corbett knocked down another 3-pointer to finish a burst of 8 points in 33 seconds.
The Bishop run continued with a pair of lay-ins by freshman wing Caroline Welker (Delaware/Hayes), and McRae sank a pair of free throws for a 23-7 Bishop lead with 10:45 left in the first half.
The Pioneers rallied behind the scoring of Paige Lamb and Kristeva Rowe, closing the gap to 25-15, but Ohio Wesleyan had an answer with lay-ins from Welker, McRae, and McQuade to push the lead back to 16 points, and the first half would end with the Bishops holding a 37-23 lead.
Ohio Wesleyan still held a 16-point advantage at the midway point of the second half, and the Bishops were up 61-49 with less than 5 minutes to play when the Pioneers came back.
After a hoop by Candice Alexander, Guiler and Tori Dixon drilled 3-pointers to bring the visitors within 61-57 with 1:59 left in regualtion time.
Corbett hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 6 points, but Marietta answered with hoops by Sierra Sigman and Guiler to make it 63-61 with :47 left.
The Bishops worked the clock on their ensuing possession, with McQuade slashing to the basket and scoring as the shot clock waned, giving the Bishops a 65-61 lead with :18 to go, but Dixon answered with a lay-in to bring Marietta within 65-63 with :09 to play.
Marietta fouled freshman guard Tavia Croom (Heath) on the inbounds pass, and the strategy paid off when Croom, shooting the front end of a one-and-one, saw her shot rim out, with Sigman snagging the rebound. Marietta brought the ball downcourt, but a pass into the lane intended for Guiler was deflected out of bounds, giving the Pioneers the ball underneath the basket with :02 to play.
The inbounds pass went to Guiler, whose shot skated off the rim, and while Alexander grabbed the offensive rebound, she was unable to get off a shot before the buzzer sounded.
McQuade led the Bishops with 16 points and 4 assists. Welker finished with 14 points, Corbett added 12 points, and sophomore post Tamra Londot (Utica) racked up a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
Guiler led Marietta with 22 points.
McQuade was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. She was joined on the all-tournament team by McRae, Marietta's Guiler and Dixon, Ursuline's Katie Cappello, and Penn State-DuBois's Lynnie Schirmer.
In the consolation game, Penn State-DuBois used the early scoring of Karlee Carnovale, Schirmer, and Tessa Vargas to take an early 14-8 lead, but Ursuline bounced back with a 15-0 run that included a pair of Laura Campbell 3-pointers and 5 points by Cappello.
Ursuline built the lead to 29-19 on a 3-point play by Michele Hare, and the Arrows stretched the margin to 48-36 on Cappello's fast-break lay-in late in the half.
Penn State-DuBois rallied with a Vargas lay-in and a 3-pointer from Schirmer to pull within 48-41 at the break, and the Lions were within 53-48 after Kyley Mickle's 3-pointer early in the second half.
The Arrows answered with a 9-0 run that featured a pair of Cappello baskets.
Penn State-DuBois had one run left, closing to within 65-56 on another Mickle 3-pointer with 6:29 to play, but Ursuline slammed the door by scoring the next 7 points, with Campbell contributing a lay-in and a 3-point play during that stretch.
Campbell led Ursuline with 26 points, while Cappello finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Vargas led Penn State-Behrend with 12 points and 10 rebounds, with Kelsey Rini contributing 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Ohio Wesleyan-Marietta Box Score
Ursuline-Penn State-DuBois Box Score
