Box Score

WESTERVILLE, OHIO – Kristi Kotterman scored 29 points to lead four players in double figures as the Otterbein University women’s basketball team defeated cross-town rival Capital University 84-72 at the Rike Center Wednesday night.

The Cardinals improve to 16-6 overall and 10-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), while the loss drops the Crusaders to 9-6 in the league and 14-8 this season. Otterbein remains tied with Baldwin-Wallace College for third in the conference standings, but the Cards control their own destiny for the No. 3 seed by virtue of their victory over league-leading University of Mount Union.

Capital took a quick 6-2 lead, but the game remained close and both teams appeared to be scoring at will as the first half progressed.

The sides were locked at 27-27 with 6:52 remaining in the opening half, and the Cards opened a marginal 35-31 advantage minutes later after a driving layup from senior Kristi Kotterman.

Capital drew even at 39-39, but back-to-back layups from Kotterman and freshman Tabatha Piper in the final minute, coupled with two free-throws from Kotterman, gave Otterbein a 45-39 edge at the break.

Kotterman finished a first-half to remember, scoring 23 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the field.

The Crusaders scored the first bucket of the second half, but five straight points from Otterbein extended the lead to 50-41 and forced Capital head coach Dixie Jeffers to use a timeout.

Capital briefly cut the lead to five, but Otterbein bumped the lead to 64-54 by the 12:03 mark and never led the advantage fall into single-digits the remainder of the way.

Kotterman finished the night 10 of 13 from the field, including a 5 of 6 effort from three-point range. She also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and went 4 of 4 from the charity stripe.

Junior Chelsea Cannon posted a career-high 18 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Shea McCoy and Piper registered 16 and 14, respectively.

Rebekah Will, Stacy Timmerman, and Shalena Hawkins all scored 15 points to pace the Capital attack.

Both teams were impressive offensively, as Otterbein shot .508 while Capital wasn’t far behind at .493. The Cards held a sizeable 42-26 edge on the glass and made 18 of 25 from the free-throw line. Capital attempted just eight free-throws, making five.

The team hosts Muskingum University at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon to finish out the week. Otterbein defeated the Muskies 71-57 earlier this season in New Concord.