TIFFIN, Ohio—Facing an 18-point deficit with 10:56 to play in the game, the Heidelberg University women's basketball team staged a late rally, but eventually fell to Capital University, 62-57, tonight in an Ohio Athletic Conference game at Seiberling Gymnasium in Tiffin, Ohio. The Berg entered halftime facing a five-point deficit and outscored the Crusaders, 32-30, in the second half, including 24-11 over the game's final 11 minutes.
Sophomore guard Megan Miller (Tiffin/Columbian) led the 'Berg (4-12, 1-8 OAC) with 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds, her first double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Kathleen Phillips (Sandusky/St. Mary's) matched Miller with 14 points and sophomore guard Emily Giel (Burton/Burkshire) added nine points, all in the first half.
Four Crusaders scored in double figures, led by Stacy Timmerman with a game-high 18 points on eight-of-12 shooting and Shalena Hawkins, who also notched a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Hilary Kuhns and Cookie Geroski each tallied 10 markers for Capital (11-5, 6-3 OAC).
The Berg opened the game on a 7-2 run —its largest lead of the game—just over two minutes into the contest, with a jumper and three-pointer by Phillips and a lay-up from Miller.
Capital countered with a 10-0 jaunt and took a 12-7 lead at 14:48 when Kuhns canned a jumper. Timmerman accounted for six points during the stretch.
A defensive stalemate marked the next five minutes, with both teams combining for two field goals. Capital took a 16-10 lead when Timmerman made a lay-up at the 9:57 mark and outscored Heidelberg, 11-8, to take a 27-18 lead—its largest of the first half—with 4:13 on the clock as Geroski canned a trey.
The Berg went on a 5-1 run to close to within 28-23 when Giel sank a three-pointer of her own with 2:00 to play in the opening frame.
A Geroski jumper with 23 seconds left sent the Crusaders into the intermission with a 32-25 advantage.
Capital outscored the Berg, 6-2, to start the second half and took its first double-digit lead of the game at 38-27 when Rebekah Will made a jumper at the 15:14 mark. The Crusaders increased their advantage to 51-33—their largest lead of the game—following a Hawkins lay-up with 10:56 to play. Capital allowed just six Heidelberg field goal attempts while going seven-of-seven from the line to spur the 13-6 jaunt.
Heidelberg needed just 4:24 to cut the deficit back to single digits, going on a 10-1 spurt to cut the Capital lead to 52-43 at the 6:32 mark when sophomore guard Paige Ricketts (Mineral City/Tusky Valley) made a jumper. Ricketts later sank a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 56-49—its smallest deficit of the second half—with 1:13 to play.
Following a jumper by junior forward Molly Schriber (Sidney), fourth-year head coach Marcie Alberts called timeout. With Capital leading, 56-51, with just 36 seconds to play, Heidelberg was forced to foul on every Crusader possession. Three different Crusaders each made a pair of free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
The Berg shot 30.4 percent (21-of-69) from the field and was limited to just seven-of-11 from the charity stripe, but committed just 14 turnovers, its lowest mark in five games.
The Crusaders were 33.3 percent (20-of-60) from the field and 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the free throw line and held a 48-45 advantage on the glass.
Heidelberg will embark on its first road trip in nearly three weeks on Saturday, Jan. 21 when it travels to Wilmington, Ohio for an OAC tilt with Wilmington College at 3 p.m.