BEXLEY, OHIO – Otterbein, 2-5 overall, dropped to 0-2 in league play Saturday afternoon with a 71-56 defeat at Capital (3-1, 1-0 OAC).

Both teams started slow offensively, as Capital held just a 4-2 advantage six minutes in.

The scoring eventually picked up and Otterbein fell behind at 18-13 when Abby Winland buried a three-pointer for the Crusaders with 9:41 on the first half clock.

Otterbein responded and scored the next five points, tying the game at 18-18 after a layup from senior Karli Volkmer at the 8:21 mark.

Capital fought back by going on an 8-0 run to take a 26-18 advantage with just under five minutes remaining in the first stanza.

The Cardinals bounced right back to go on a 13-4 spurt and take a 31-30 lead on a Katy Miller layup with 1:27 to go before the break.

A Kristen Richardson three-pointer in the closing 30 seconds gave Capital a 33-31 advantage at halftime.

Miller shot 5-of-10 from the field to score 11 points in the first half while sophomore Katie Stallard proved valuable off the bench, posting seven points on 3-of-5 shooting.

A jumper from Miller evened the game at 33-33 in the opening minute of the second half, but Capital proceeded to outscore the Cardinals 18-4 from that point to take a 51-37 lead with 12:35 showing on the game clock.

The Crusaders would push the lead to as many as 24 before handing OC the 71-56 loss.

Miller led Otterbein with 17 points while Stallard had nine. Freshman Chelsea Cannon played eight strong minutes in the latter stages of the second half, tallying nine points and grabbing a game-high six rebounds rebounds.

Richardson led Capital with 16 points.

The Cards shot .379 from the floor compared to .407 for Capital. Otterbein turned the ball over 18 times as the Crusaders gave it away 12 times.

Otterbein, having yet to play a home game this season, stays on the road when it travels to play Wilmington Wednesday evening. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.