WESTERVILLE, OHIO – The Otterbein University women’s basketball team (4-8, 0-5 OAC) looks for its first conference win Wednesday evening as it hosts cross-town rival Capital University (8-3, 3-2 OAC). Starting time from the Rike Center is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Cardinals enter the contest fresh off a sweep at its annual Smokey Ballenger Classic, defeating Carnegie Mellon (PA) and Albion (MI) on back-to-back days. The Crusaders also defeated both teams as the fourth team in the Ballenger Classic, and most recently turned back Heidelberg Sunday afternoon.
Otterbein is paced by the duo of junior guards Shea McCoy and Kristi Kotterman, who are averaging 14.7 and 12.4 ppg, respectively. McCoy’s scoring total is good enough to rank sixth among all OAC players, and she also ranks in the top four of the league in three-point shooting.
Kotterman is tied with McCoy for the team-lead with 26 assists, and is leading the team with 6.3 rebounds per outing. In addition, she ranks third in the conference with 2.3 steals per contest. Both McCoy and Kotterman are the only two Cardinals averaging more than 30 minutes/game.
Senior Sarah Esterkamp, junior Katie Stallard, and sophomores Hannah Day and Rachel Snedegar all average between six and eight points per game for the Cardinals offensive attack.
Capital travels back to Westerville for its third game in the Rike Center in eight days, and features a sophomore tandem of Hillary Kuhns and Stacey Timmerman. Both average a team-best 11.8 ppg, and Timmerman ranks among the top ten in the conference in both field-goal and free-throw percentage.
Senior Tara Harper and freshman Lauren Geroski contributed between seven and nine points per game. Geroski sits third among OAC players in assists while Harper is in the top five in steals.
Both teams sit in the middle of conference rankings for scoring offense, and each school is in the top three in steals per game.
The Purple and White swept the season series a year ago, winning 71-56 and 77-67. Kristen Richardson, now an Otterbein graduate assistant coach, led Capital in scoring in each contest, scoring 21 and 16.
Kotterman dropped 19 points for Otterbein in the last meeting.
After playing Capital, Otterbein will head to New Concord for a matchup with Muskingum on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
