PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Capital women’s basketball team hit its first three shots from the field and never looked back as it won its 2008-2009 season opener, 52-36 at Carnegie Mellon on Friday night on the opening day of the UAA/OAC Challenge.
Capital had 11different players score led by a solid overall effort from junior Kristen Richardson (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda HS). Richardson led all players with 11 points to go along with a team-high tying six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 29 minutes of action.
The duo of senior Caitlin Elsass (Batavia, Ohio/Cleremont Northeastern HS) and sophomore Christine Schwartz (New Bremen, Ohio/New Bremen HS) each finished with eight points while junior Abbey Winland (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville HS) added six points and five rebounds for the Crusaders which made 13 of 27 (.481) shots from the field overall in the first half.
CU made its first three shots from the floor on its fist three possessions to build a 6-2 lead just 87 seconds into the season. The surge continued as Capital built a 15-5 advantage with 10:40 left in the opening stanza on a jumper by Winland. The homestanding Tartans brought the game back into the single digits for a short time, but the Crusaders regained a 10-point advantage at 24-14 on a basket from Schwartz with 4:54 left as Capital cruised to a 16-point victory.
Overall, the Crusaders out shot the Tartans 39.3 percent to 30.2 percent from the field while holding a 40-31 edge in rebounding and 24-16 advantage at points in the paint. The Capital defense forced 21 Carnegie Mellon turnovers and turned those CMU mistakes into 18 points.
Capital returns to action on Saturday with a 2 p.m. tipoff against Case Western Reserve. CWR lost 73-61 to Muskingum in the opening game of the UAA/OAC Challenge earlier on Friday.