BOX SCORE
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Despite not scoring from the field in the first nine minutes of the second half, Capital University's women's basketball team finished the game on a 23-9 run to defeat Wilmington College and advance to the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game.
The Crusaders, the OAC's top seed, will face second-seed Baldwin-Wallace College at 7:30 p.m. in The Capital Center. The two teams split the regular season series.
Capital (21-5) started the game on a 21-7 run and took a 33-23 lead into halftime. The Crusaders missed their first nine shots of the second half and committed five turnovers, but Wilmington could only cut the score to four points at 35-31 with 13 minutes left.
Senior forward Caitlin Elsass (Batavia, Ohio/Clermont Northeastern) then started a 12-0 Crusaders surge with a lay-up, followed by consecutive baskets from senior forward Daniele Sanna (Pickerington, Ohio/North HS) and junior guard Kristen Richardson (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda HS).
Sanna sank a pair of free throws, and Richardson followed with a steal and a lay-up to push Capital's lead to 47-31 with just under eight minutes to play. Wilmington would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the game.
"We talked about picking up the tempo, and once we did that we were able to blow the game open," Dixie Jeffers, head coach, said. "It was the best defensive effort we've had all year-long. Our defense has led us to 21 wins, now it has to carry us to 22."
Sanna scored a game-high 20 points, grabbed six rebounds and added three steals in 37 minutes of play. Richardson scored 13 points and also had three steals, while senior guard Heather McAlpin (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain HS) added 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Elsass had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds, and junior guard Abbey Winland (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville HS) tied a career-high with six rebounds.
"We knew we didn't have a free ride to the championship game," said Sanna, who has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 15 games. "It's not easy defeating a team three times in a season, so we brought an intensity level higher than we've had before and raised our game to another level."
Capital's defense limited Wilmington to just 17 second half points, and the Quakers shot just 26.4 percent from the field in the game. The Crusaders forced 24 turnovers, and though Wilmington had 12 offensive rebounds, the Quakers only converted those into two second-chance points.
The 40 points that Capital allowed is the third-best defensive performance of the season for the Crusaders, who also moved to 11-0 at home.