(BEREA, Ohio) – Capital University’s women’s basketball team opened Ohio Athletic Conference play with a thrilling 72-64 overtime win over Baldwin-Wallace College Saturday in Berea, Ohio.
The Crusaders led 40-32 in the second half, but Baldwin-Wallace ran off 10 straight points as part of a 19-2 run to take a 51-42 lead. The Yellow Jackets stretched that lead to 10 at 54-44, but Capital came back as sophomore guard Kristen Richardson (Oxford/Talawanda) and junior forward Caitlin Elsass (Batavia/Clermont Northeastern) scored seven consecutive points to cut the deficit to three. A three-point play by Elsass cut the lead to one with 1:40 left, and she converted on another three-point play to tie the game at 60 with 35 seconds left. The Yellow Jackets missed a pair of shots in the closing seconds to send the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, junior guard Caitlin Graessle (Galloway/Bishop Ready) hit a three, and Richardson made a layup and a jumper in the lane to give Capital a 67-60 lead. A fast break layup from Amanda Schroder cut Capital’s lead to 67-64, but Richardson came through yet again with driving layup to extend the lead to five, and B-W could not get any closer.
A back-and-forth first half saw the Crusaders take an 11-3 lead in the early going, but Baldwin-Wallace answered and took its first lead of the game at 20-19. Selena Budge scored 11 of her 18 points in the first half for B-W, but Capital took a 33-28 lead into the break as Richardson tallied eight points to pace the Crusaders.
Richardson finished with 22 points and a team-high six rebounds and five assists, while Elsass poured in 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Graessle finished with 11 points and three steals, while Budge’s 18 points and eight rebounds led the way for Baldwin-Wallace.
Capital (4-1, 1-0 OAC) has a quick turnaround as the Crusaders play host to No. 9 Washington (Mo.) University at 2 p.m. Sunday in The Capital Center.