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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The fifth-seeded Otterbein women's basketball team was outlasted 65-64 by eighth-seeded Capital Monday night in the first round of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament.

Otterbein exits the season with an 11-15 overall record despite winning two of its final three regular-season games to slip into a host spot in the league tournament.

Capital, which also improves to 11-15 overall, moves on to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament at fourth-seeded Marietta tomorrow night, a team the Crusaders split with during the regular season. 

Both teams got off to a slow start to begin the game before Capital heated up as the first quarter ended, posting a 6-0 scoring run. Otterbein shot just 22 percent in the frame, but managed to control the rebounding margin on both ends of the court and did not allow Capital to gather a single offensive rebound. 

Capital jumped out to a nine-point lead less than a minute into the second period, before the Cardinals earned their way into the bonus at the seven-minute mark.

The Crusaders extended their lead to double-digits with 5:26 remaining in the half, before the Cards manufactured an 8-2 run thanks to a pair of timely three-pointers from guards Jacy Jones and Abby Miduri. Otterbein was held to just four points over the final 4:23 of the first half, while Capital totaled nine points to take a 33-24 lead into halftime.

The Crusaders totaled 19 points for the second-straight quarter to open the second half of action, putting together a 10-2 run, over a span of four minutes, to boost their lead to 49-32.

Otterbein found itself down 15 points to start the final quarter but managed to pull within single-digits with 2:31 remaining following a 15-9 run.

The Cards then put together a 7-1 run, ignited by a five-point play following a Kissel three-pointer and a pair of made free throws by Cartnal, who was fouled away from the ball on the shot from distance.

Forward Abbie Scholz brought the Cards within three points on a layup underneath the basket with 1:24 left, before Cartnal converted a shot from beyond the arc with 19 seconds on the clock to bring the team within one point.

Scholz drew a foul underneath the bucket with two seconds remaining and proceeded to sink both free throws to bring Otterbein again within one point at 65-64. The score would remain the same at the final buzzer as a pair of missed free throws by Capital led to a last-second heave from Kissel that fell well short of the basket.

Scholz proved to be the standout in the Cardinal lineup with her first career double-double, totaling 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Kissel led Otterbein in scoring with 15 points, shooting just 5 of 20 from the field, while Cartnal finished with 13 points coming from three-point range and the foul line.

Capital's Erin Risner and Annika Wachtman posted 19 points apiece to pace all scorers, as the team shot 44 percent from the floor.

A total of 55 free throws were shot between the two teams, with the Crusaders holding the edge going 23-of-32. Capital also benefited greatly from a 30-15 advantage in bench points.