Women's Basketball: Ohio Northern (11-9 Overall, 5-8 OAC) at Marietta (12-8 Overall, 7-6 OAC)

Saturday, February 2, 2019, 1 p.m. - Ban Johnson Arena, Marietta, Ohio

Saturday's Game Notes: The Ohio Northern women's basketball team returns to the road Saturday afternoon for a conference showdown with OAC foe Marietta ... The game will be the first contest in a women's/men's doubleheader as the men are slated to tip off at 3 p.m. inside Ban Johnson Arena ... The Polar Bears enter the weekend sporting an 11-9 overall record and a 5-8 mark in league action ... With five regular season games remaining, Northern stands tied for seventh in the conference standings with Wilmington ... ONU is coming off a 70-45 loss at Baldwin Wallace Thursday evening at Ursprung Gymnasium ... Seniors Tori Wyss and Alyssa Manley led the Polar Bear offense with nine and eight points, respectively ... Meanwhile, five different players recorded five rebounds each, helping ONU to a 41-35 advantage on the boards ... Through 20 games this season, senior guard Jenna Dirksen leads the program and stands fifth in the OAC with 13.9 points per game ... Additionally, she leads ONU and ranks fourth in the conference in free throw percentage (82.4%) and stands tied for the team lead with 21 steals ... Junior center Emily Mescher leads Ohio Northern in shooting percentage (49.0%) and rebounding average (6.7), both ranking ninth in the league ... She also stands second on the team in scoring at 8.5 points per contest, and Abby Weeks sits third with an 8.1 scoring average ... Manley leads the program with 47 assists this season ... Sophomore guard Emily Brock has connected on a team-high 37 three-point field goals at a 43.5% clip, which ties for fourth in the OAC ... The Pioneers own a 12-8 overall record and a 7-6 conference mark entering Saturday's contest ... They are currently tied for fifth in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings ... On Thursday, Marietta rolled past Capital 77-49 at home ... Senior guard Shay Lett and classmate Corrie Burkhardt lead the Pioneers offensively, averaging 13.8 and 13.7 point per outing, respectively ... Burkhardt also tops the program with a 7.0 rebounding average.

Ohio Northern Probable Starters:

G - #11 Alyssa Manley, Sr. (5.2 ppg, 47 assists, 18 steals)
G - #15 Abby Weeks, Jr. (8.1 ppg, 34 assists, 21 steals)
G - #31 Jenna Dirksen, Sr. (13.9 ppg, 34 3FGs, 21 steals)
F - #33 Tori Wyss, Sr. (5.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg)
F - #34 Emily Mescher, Jr. (8.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 49.0% FG)

ONU Statistical Leaders:

All-Time Series: Ohio Northern currently leads the all-time series 56-17 over the Pioneers ... The Polar Bears won the season's first meeting 64-50 on January 12 inside the ONU Sports Center.

ONU Head Coach Michele Durand: Durand is currently in her 18th season at the helm of the Ohio Northern women's basketball program ... She is the all-time winningest coach in school history with a 309-172 record, a winning percentage of .642.