ITHACA, N.Y.- Eastern Connecticut State  vs. Marietta played the first game of the 2023 Division III Women's Basketball Championship at Ben Light Gymnasium on Friday evening. It ended in a thriller as Marietta defeated Eastern Connecticut State by a score of 61-57 after trailing for much of the first half. 

It was a low-scoring affair throughout the first quarter as Eastern Connecticut took a 10-8 lead.

The action began to pick up in the second quarter as Eastern Connecticut took a 28-23 lead at halftime, but it was still only a five-point game. Anna Barry led Eastern Connecticut with 17 points scored in the first half while Paige Tolson led Marietta with seven points scored. Marietta was 8-for-9 (88.89%) in free throws but struggled mightily with field goals and 3-pointers. Eastern Connecticut was 5-for-6 (83.33%) and also struggled with connecting on field goals and 3-pointers.

The third quarter featured a lot of back and forth towards the end of the quarter where eventually Marietta would take a 41-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter. After once extending their lead to 45-40 into the fourth quarter, Eastern Connecticut would not go away quietly, closing the deficit to just two with just under 20 seconds left to play. It would not matter though as Marietta was able to seal the deal and punch their ticket to the second round of the tournament.

For Eastern Connecticut State, Anna Barry led the charge with 32 total points while it was Hannah Schill for Marietta with 18 points scored. Eastern Connecticut was 24-for-54 (44.44%) in the field goal department, 2-for-11 (18.18%) on 3-pointers, and 7-for-10 (70%) on free throws. On the other hand, Marietta was 21-for-55 (38.18%) in the field goal department, 1-for-12 (8.33%) on 3-pointers, and 18-for-19 (94.74%) in free throws made.