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BEXLEY, Ohio – The Cardinal women's basketball team recorded its first Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) victory of the year with a 59-50 defeat of rival Capital on Saturday afternoon inside the Capital Center.

Otterbein improves to 3-3 overall and has now defeated Capital in each of its last two meetings, both of which came on the road. The victory also puts head coach Connie Richardson nine wins away from reaching the 350-win mark for her career.

Following a slow first quarter of play the Cardinals ramped up their scoring effort in the second frame by increasing their one-point lead to an 18-9 advantage five minutes in. Sophomore Ali Cartnal helped Otterbein twice gain an 11-point lead late in the half after scoring seven points in the second period.

The Cardinals made their home at the foul line in the opening 20 minutes, converting 12-of-15 attempts before taking a 30-21 lead into halftime. Sophomore Dani Kissel led the Cardinals at the break with eight points as Otterbein bested Capital in the rebounding margin, 25-17.

Junior Abby Miduri connected on a three-pointer in the first possession of the second half, which ignited a 9-0 scoring run for the Cardinals and prompted a timeout by the Crusaders at the 5:50 mark with a 39-21 deficit at-hand.

Otterbein held a 16-point advantage following a pair of made free throws by junior Kiersten Taylor with 3:37 remaining in the period. Capital then manufactured a 9-1 run to end the frame and trim the Cards' lead to single digits, 44-36.

The Cards quickly regained their double-digit lead with two-straight baskets from Miduri and Taylor to open the final quarter. Capital managed to claw its way back inside 10 points with less than 20 seconds left in the game, before Miduri added a foul shot to secure the win.

Taylor led the Cardinals with 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting and an 8-of-12 mark from the charity stripe, grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Miduri finished with 11 points, all of which came in the second half, going 4-of-8 from the field with three assists.

Freshman Abbie Scholz posted a season-high nine points with four rebounds and a pair of steals to round out the Cardinal leaders. Capital's Regan Stonerock notched a game-high 16 points as one of three Crusaders to reach double-digits.

The Cardinals made 21-of-29 free throws to help supplement a day in which they shot 36 percent from the field (18-of-50). Capital conversely shot 21-of-58 from the floor (36.2 percent), including a 4-of-21 mark from three-point range.

Otterbein will resume play next weekend at the two-day Rhodes College Tournament in Memphis, Tenn. The Cards will play Austin (Tx.) on Friday at 5 p.m. (CST), before squaring off against host Rhodes on Saturday.