BOX SCORE
TIFFIN, Ohio - Seniors Caitlin Elsass (Batavia, Ohio/Clermont Northeastern HS) and Danielle Sanna (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North HS) and junior Kristen Richardson (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda HS) combined to score 53 points and haul down 21 rebounds to lead Capital University's women's basketball team to a 76-63 win at Heidelberg College Wednesday.
The Crusaders (9-3, 6-1 Ohio Athletic Conference) led 41-33 at intermission and started the second half with eight straight points - four a piece from Elsass and Richardson - to push the lead to 16. That was part of an overall 19-3 run over the half's opening eight and a half minutes, as that trio scored 17 of the team's 19 during the surge. Heidelberg (4-11, 1-7 OAC) would get no closer than 11 for the remainder of the contest.
Individually, Sanna and Richardson each scored 18 points, and Richardson also grabbed seven rebounds and tallied a game-high six assists. Elsass came off the bench for her 17 points and nine boards.
The Crusaders led for all but 34 seconds in the contest. Capital led by as many as 10 points several times during the first half, but Heidelberg battled back each time. The Crusaders' lead was cut to two with 2:30 left in the half but Capital answered with six straight to close the period and the eight-point halftime lead.
Overall, it was a 14-0 run during the five minute stretch to close the first half and start the second that propelled Capital to the win.
Capital shot nearly 50 percent from the field (25-of-51), held a 39-28 advantage on the glass, and converted 25-of-33 free throws. The Crusaders also turned 16 Heidelberg turnovers into 23 points, scored 46 points in the paint to 22 for the ‘Berg, and also had a 14-0 advantage in fast break points.
The women will play at rival Otterbein College at 5:30 p.m. Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the men's game. The men follow with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.