COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Led by a 22-6 second half run, the Capital University women's basketball team defeated Ohio Athletic Conference foe John Carroll University 73-64 Saturday at The Capital Center.
With the win, CU (13-4) maintained its lead in the OAC with a 10-2 record. The game also was a homecoming for the Crusaders, who were fresh off a six-game road trip and had not played at The Capital Center in 25 days.
"We're a team that likes to play on the road for some reason, and we got used to it after playing on the road for over three straight weeks," said senior Caitlin Elsass (Batavia, Ohio/Clermont Northeastern HS), who led all scorers with 19 points and 10 rebounds on six-of-10 shooting. "It took us a little while to get going."
Eight straight points by senior Daniele Sanna (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North HS) helped CU overcome a five-point deficit to force a 36-36 halftime score. Sanna finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, including going 10-for-12 from the free throw line.
"We came out flat to start the game, but our defensive intensity was there in the second half, which lead to easy points," Head Coach Dixie Jeffers said. "On offense, the rebounding was there, and we also ran sharper cuts."
Led by the offensive presence Sanna, Elsass, and junior Kristen Richardson (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda HS), Capital took control of the contest in the second half. The Crusaders also were able to get to the free throw line 22 times in the second half, which led to 16 points.
"Offensively, I thought we ran better in the first half but executed better in the second half," Richardson said. "We were able to finish our drives in the second half, and started to distance ourselves from (John Carroll)."
The Crusaders were also aided by a swarming defense that held the Blue Streaks to no field goals for a span of 5:23 seconds in the second half.
"The tenacity we showed in defense in the second half was really the difference in this game," said Jeffers, whose squad forced 20 turnovers and held a 39-28 rebounding advantage.
Capital's second half run was ignited by sophomore Lindsay Watt (Westerville, Ohio/ Westerville HS) with 11:08 left in the second half. With CU ahead 50-47, Watt's three-pointer doubled the lead, and the Crusaders never led by less than five points for the remainder of the game.
Senior Heather McAlpin (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Colerain HS) was a force on both ends of the floor, tallying eight points, four steals, four rebounds, and two blocks. She also paced CU with five assists.
Capital swept the season series between the two teams by virtue of their 74-60 victory over the Blue Streaks on Dec. 13.
Capital will next travel to Marietta College for a matchup at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4. The Crusaders upended the Pioneers 81-55 in their first meeting on Jan. 3.