COLUMBUS, Ohio- In a defensive oriented game, the top seeded Capital Crusader women's basketball team ousted eighth seeded Ohio Northern University 50-43 in an Ohio Athletic Conference Quarterfinal Round game on Tuesday night.
Capital (20-5), the OAC Regular Season Champion, will look to successfully defend its home court for the 11th time in 11 outings Friday night against Wilmington College (19-7) in the OAC Semifinal Round.
"This time in the season, the goal is to survive and advance," said head coach Dixie Jeffers, who has now led Capital to 17 20-win seasons, including five in the last six years. "I thought our kids actually came out too pumped up tonight. Eventually, we settled down, played tenacious defense, and came away with a win. A tough game is what I anticipated, and that's what it was. We lived for another day."
After falling to the Polar Bears 60-59 in their first match up back on January 10, Capital has beaten Ohio Northern (9-17) twice in the past 10 days (Capital won 69-46 back on February 14).
While the Crusader offense seemed on life support at times, the defense was alive and well. The Crusaders kept the Polar Bear offense in hibernation by limiting Ohio Northern to 8-of-29 shooting for the game (25.5 percent). The defense also snared away 23 turnovers, which led to 20 Capital points.
"We know that if we're struggling on offense then we have to get back and play good defense," said junior Kristin Richardson (Oxford, Ohio/ Talawanda HS), who paced Capital with 16 points and three assists. "Every game we come in with a defensive mindset that we have to be fast and aggressive to give ourselves a chance to win."
The Crusaders led 22-17 at halftime in a game they led for all but the opening 2:29 of the action. Wilmington was able to cut the deficit to five points at intermission after trailing by 12 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half.
"At halftime, we reiterated that we are the top seed and we need to play like it. We did that and improved on offense and defense in the second half," said senior Caitlin Elsass (Batavia, Ohio/Clermont Northeastern HS), who tallied 14 points and led Capital with eight rebounds. "We came back in the second half reemphasizing running the basketball and controlling the tempo."
With the game still competitive at 39-34 with just over six minutes remaining in the game, the Crusaders finally distanced themselves with an 8-0 run to go ahead 47-34 with 4:16 left. In a 51 second span during the run, Elsass recorded four free-throw conversions, a layup, steal, and rebound.
"I was able to get behind the defense tonight, which gave me the confidence to get involved in terms of scoring," said Elsass, who helped Capital to a 28-14 inside scoring advantage for the game. "Even when I wasn't able to get open looks, my teammates did a great job of moving around so I could get them involved and scoring."
Richardson's effective free throw shooting and baskets by junior Abbey Winland (Zanesville, Ohio/ Zanesville HS) and senior Daniele Sanna (Pickerington, Ohio/ Pickerington North HS) helped Capital salt away the final minutes of the game.
"This game wasn't pretty, but it was a win," Elsass said. "We were able to get a hard earned victory and now will look to play better Friday night."
Capital received solid performances from Sanna and classmate Heather McAlpin (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Colerain HS). Sanna notched nine points and three steals, while McAlpin scored six points, led the team with four blocks, and was second for Capital with six rebounds.
The Crusaders will look to defeat Wilmington for the third time Friday after defeating the Quakers 74-43 back on December 11 at home, and 65-52 on the road on January 29.
"We expect (Wilmington) to go inside and drive on us when we're not looking. So we have to keep them in front of us and stay focused at all times," Elsass said.
The Quakers advanced to the OAC Semifinal Round matchup with the Crusaders by defeating Mount Union on the road 65-61 on Tuesday.
"This next game is all about focus," Richardson said. "For the rest of this week, we will be focused on what we need to do to get the job done."
Second-seeded Baldwin-Wallace will face third-seeded Muskingum in the other Semifinal Round game on Friday at the Capital Center. The winners of Friday's contests will advance to the OAC Championship Game on Saturday evening, also at the Capital Center.