PHOTO GALLERY

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's basketball team led wire-to-wire in its (long awaited) home opener Saturday evening, jumping on rival Capital early in the Rike Center and coasting down the stretch in a 67-58 victory.

The Cardinals, who played their first five games on the road, carried a 21-point lead into the final quarter before a pesky Capital bunch shrunk the final margin. Nevertheless, Otterbein gets back to even both overall (3-3) and in the conference (1-1).

The Comets now stand 5-2 on the year after snapping a three-game winning streak.

HOW IT WENT DOWN:

• Otterbien held Capital to just 2-of-11 shooting in the first quarter and built a nine-point edge. The Cardinals then erupted for 22 points in the second quarter and carried a smooth 38-24 lead into the break.
   
• Few doubts were left in the final outcome after a third quarter that saw Otterbein employ more defensive pressure, expanding the lead over 20 points within the first six minutes to create a considerable gap.
   
• Capital took advantage of Otterbein still playing up-tempo in the fourth, using the extra possession to slice into the big deficit. The Comets slowly cut the lead down to just 10 across the midway point of the quarter…
   
• But Otterbein responded with a pair of free throws by Ella Nagel and timely jumper from Claire Radabaugh, pushing the lead back to 14 with just a few minutes remaining.
   
• Capital made an off-balanced jumper in the final seconds to shrink the final margin, it's first time in single digits since midway through the second quarter.

NOTABLE STATS:

• Otterbein has now won six of the past seven in this rivalry series, holding Capital under 60 points on three of those occasions.
   
• Star point guard Katie McCrary led the effort with 16 points, eight steals, five rebounds and three assists. Radabaugh also scored in double figures at 13.
   
• The Cardinals held a final 23-5 edge in points off turnovers, including  15-0 margin entering halftime. Capital gave the ball away 21 times on the night.
   
• Otterbein posted a dominant 28-8 advantage in bench scoring, led by nine from Jenna Hoschouer and an eight-point, eight-rebound effort from Nagel.
   
• Capital was just 18 of 34 on free throws and 4 of 17 behind the arc.

 
UP NEXT:

Otterbein will have the middle of next week off for final exams before heading over to resume OAC play at Muskingum next Saturday afternoon.