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BEXLEY, Ohio – The Otterbein women's basketball team clawed its way back from down double-digits to pick up a 62-60 win at rival Capital on Saturday afternoon inside the Capital Center.
Otterbein (5-3 overall, 2-1 OAC) will now focus its attention on a matchup with Muskingum next Saturday at home in its final game before the annual Smokey Ballenger Classic. Tip-off against the Muskies is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside the Rike Center.
Capital (3-4 overall, 1-2 OAC) notched the first basket of the game on a layup and it was off to the races from there in the first half as both teams went back and forth in the scoring column. Otterbein took its first lead of the game at 5-4 just under the five-minute mark on a jumper in the paint from forward
Kiersten Taylor.
The Crusaders held a slim advantage over the Cardinals until the final 2:28 of play when they ended the frame with five unanswered points to take a 15-10 lead into the second quarter. Capital then went ahead by as many as 10 points after scoring the first five points of the second period en route to a 20-10 lead.
Taylor again broke the Cards' scoring drought with a layup at the 8:28 mark, spurring a 13-4 scoring run in favor to help trim Capital's lead to a single point at 24-23. Two of the final three baskets for the Cardinals came from guard
Delaney Cutteridge, who converted consecutive layups to help keep the Crusader lead in sight.
Capital concluded the initial half accounting for seven of the nine points registered to take a 31-27 lead thanks in part to four three-pointers made through the first 20 minutes of action. Taylor tied for the game-high 12 points at the break, while fellow forward
Abbie Scholz helped control the rebound margin with seven of her own.
The Cardinals again found themselves trailing by double-digits in the third quarter as the Crusaders opened the scoring valve with an 8-2 run to begin the second half to take a 39-29 advantage. Guard
Dani Kissel helped lead the Cards back within two possessions at quarter's end, posting seven points in the frame.
Otterbein continued to slowly chip away at the Capital lead in the final quarter and crept back within three points at 55-52 with just over two minutes remaining following a short-corner jumper by Kissel. Capital made 1-of-2 free throws on the next possession before Taylor brought the team back within two points around the one-minute mark, before notching her biggest basket of the game just second later.
Taylor made the game-tying layup with 55 seconds left to play and connected on the ensuing foul shot to put the Cards ahead 57-56. Capital turned the ball over the next possession and then fouled guard
Ali Cartnal with seven seconds left on the shot clock, sending Cartnal to the foul line where she made both attempts to extend the lead.
Cutteridge and fellow guard
Abby Miduri made three of the team's final four free throws down the stretch, while Capital missed a buzzer-beating shot on the block that was well defended by Kissel, helping the Cards seal their third-straight victory on the road against Capital in the last three seasons.
Taylor paced all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go with seven rebounds, while Kissel finished with 11 points. Cutteridge followed with a season-high nine points to accompany four rebounds, as Scholz tied for a game-best nine boards.