(COLUMBUS, Ohio)---Junior guard Caitlin Graessle (Galloway/Bishop Ready) scored 25 points in the first half and finished with a career-high 38, including 7-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, to lead the No. 25 Capital University women's basketball team to an 80-70 victory over the visiting Yellow Jackets of Defiance College Saturday at The Capital Center.
The win was Capital's third in a row, running its record to 8-2 on the season, while Defiance falls to 4-5 with the loss.
The Crusaders jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first five minutes of play, but the Yellow Jackets swarmed back with a 22-10 run over the next eight minutes to cut the deficit to two at 24-22. Despite seven straight points by Graessle, Defiance would eventually pull even at 33 on a lay-up by Kim Zura. Graessle finished the half with 25 points on 9 of 12 shooting, connecting on four three-pointers, but Capital only held a 36-35 halftime lead.
The two teams traded blows in a second half which featured eight lead-changes, and Capital faced its largest deficit of the game of four points at the 9:10 mark in the second half, trailing 60-56. Graessle hit a three to bring Capital to within one and jump-start a 12-0 Crusader run, then Abbey Winland (Zanesville/Zanesville) proceded to sink a pair of free-throws that gave Capital the 61-60 lead with 8:25 left in the game, a lead it would not relinquish. Four consecutive missed free-throws by Capital allowed Defiance to cut the lead six at 75-69 with 2:33 remaining, but the Crusaders held on for the 10-point victory.
Junior forward Caitlin Elsass (Batavia/Clermont Northeastern) backed up Graessle's 38 with 17 points of her own, 15 of them coming in the second half. Sophomore guard Kristen Richardson (Oxford/Talawanda) contributed in various ways by grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists to go along with her eight points.
The Yellow Jackets had three double-digit scorers, led by Amber Bailey who poured in 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Sarah Grime and Mandy White also had 13 and 11 points respectively.
Capital will be in action again at 3 p.m. this Saturday as they take on the Pioneers of Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.