Dixie Jeffers reached the milestone in her 777th career game. Capital athletics photo

Capital women's basketball coach Dixie Jeffers became the seventh coach in NCAA Division III history to reach career win No. 600 Monday as the Crusaders knocked off local rival Ohio Wesleyan 67-56 in a non-conference battle in Delaware, Ohio.

Jeffers, who is in her 26th season at Capital and 29th overall as a head coach at the Division III level, is the 40th coach in all divisions to reach the historic mark, which she reached in just 777 games (600-177 record) as a head coach. She is the 14th fastest to get to 600 and the fourth-fastest among Division III coaches all-time.

"It's an individual achievement, but it's been about the collective hard work of our players and staff over many years," Jeffers said. "It's an indication of how hard our players, past and present, have been willing to work for me. They've given blood, sweat and tears for us to execute our system."

Jeffers, who has won two national championships and a combined 19 Ohio Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles, will be recognized for her achievement in a brief ceremony prior to the team's game this Wednesday at the Capital Center against Otterbein at 7:30 p.m.

After an evenly played first half on Monday night, the Crusaders (7-4) recovered from an early second-half deficit for their second victory over the Battling Bishops in as many games this season. Capital beat Ohio Wesleyan 56-38 on Nov. 19 in Cincinnati to win the Mount St. Joseph Tip-Off Tournament.

"They were hot from the outside, so we switched around our defense to pick up the intensity, and things turned our way in the second half," Jeffers said. "We had to be in more of an attacking mode, offensively and defensively ... that helped us get into a flow."

Senior Shalena Hawkins led Capital with a game-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds. Junior Stacy Timmerman added 16 points, while sophomore Jamie Caton posted 10 points in a starting role.

The Crusaders held the Bishops (4-8) to 32.8 percent from the field for the contest while shooting at a 45.3 percent clip on the offensive end.

A 12-1 run gave Ohio Wesleyan a 42-33 advantage with 17:07 to play in the second half. Fueled by six points from Hawkins, Capital put together a 10-0 burst of its own to retake the lead for good at 53-47 with just over 10 minutes left.

Sophomore Cookie Geroski totaled nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds for the Crusaders, who shot 17-of-23 from the free throw line compared to just 7-of-14 for OWU.