ADA, Ohio – The fourth-seeded Capital University women's basketball team claimed the OAC Tournament championship Saturday, defeating host, reigning tournament champion and 21st-ranked No.21 Ohio Northern 67-50 Saturday afternoon.

With their tenth OAC Tournament championship in hand, the fourth-ranked Crusaders also earned an automatic invitation to the 2014 NCAA Division III Tournament. Capital, which will make its 15th appearance in the national tournament and 13th under legendary coach Dixie Jeffers, will find out where it is headed Monday at 2:30 p.m. as the NCAA broadcasts the Selection Show live on NCAA.com.

It will be the program's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 2008-09 season.

The Crusaders (19-8) never trailed and led by four points at halftime. They utilized torrid outside shooting, peerless passing and suffocating defense to go on a 23-10 run in the second half to give

themselves an insurmountable lead.

Capital avenged its 75-73 overtime loss at the hands of Ohio Northern last Saturday and defeated the Polar Bears for the first time in the last four outings.

"We definitely embraced the underdog role and had fun all week," coach Dixie Jeffers said. "We just got after it and stayed lose today. We had everything to gain and nothing to lose this afternoon. What a great performance by these kids."

Senior Jamie Caton (Hilliard, Ohio) earned Tournament MVP honors by pacing both teams with 20 points on 10-of-23 shooting. Sophomore Simonne Gage (Dayton, Ohio) was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring 11 points while adding four rebounds and four assists.

Senior Cookie Geroski (Fostoria, Ohio) added seven points on 3-for-5 shooting to go with four assists and two rebounds. Geroski also recorded her 1,000th career point in the victory.

Sophomore Kristen Thompson (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored eight points off the bench to go with her team-high six rebounds. All nine of freshman Lauren Stefancin's (Mentor, Ohio) points came on three-point shots in the second half to help stretch Capital's lead into double digits.

The Crusaders shot 50 percent (21-for-42) as a team while forcing 24 turnovers on defense. Capital also held Ohio Northern (23-5) to 1-of-11 shooting from three-point range.

While Jeffers has been on the bench for each of Capital's OAC Tournament championships, it's the first title for this current group of players.

Fittingly, Geroski and Caton scored the game-clinching baskets in the game's closing minutes. The duo left the game to a standing ovation by the Capital faithful in attendance with 12 seconds left.

"It's always been our goal (to win the OAC Tournament) throughout the season," Caton said. "Cookie and I have gone through this program together, so we gave it our all today to make sure we got to the

tournament. Everything came together today. We completely played together on both ends of the court and answered every time (Ohio Northern) scored. We're going to enjoy this, but we'll get back on the grind as soon as we get back on the court."

Geroski added: "Being here and knowing we got the ring, this is unreal. My and Jamie's whole career, we've never won on this court. It's unbelievable. We all knew that this regular season would be

tough. But we knew it was 0-0 and that we could win it all when this week began. It's been a journey with some ups and downs. I'm so glad we stuck through it, because this is exactly what we wanted. And we want to keep winning."

Capital led 28-24 at halftime on the strength of 13 forced turnovers. The Crusaders scored the game's first seven points, as baskets by Caton and a three-point shot by Geroski gave Capital an early advantage.

A three-point shot by Gage spearheaded a 9-2 run for the Crusaders to go ahead 16-7 with 12:08 left in the first half the Polar Bears scored their first five points.

"It's exciting being on a offense that is getting up and down the floor and executing like that," Gage said. "We were really rolling, and put our foot on the gas petal and made sure we were going to get it."

A 10-2 Polar Bears run that trimmed CU's lead to a point at 18-17. A tough rebound and layup by Kristin Thompson followed by baskets by Caton and Heckman (after an assist from Caton) gave Capital a 24-17 advantage with 7:16 remaining in the first half.

After feeding Monica Heckman for a layup to put Capital up by seven points, Thompson scored the Crusaders last points of the first half.

Caton led Capital with eight points in the first half as the Crusaders shot 52.6 percent (10-19) in the first 20 minutes. Capital's defense held the Polar Bears to 36.7 percent shooting (11-30) in the first half.

"We felt really good about our defense, so we said (at halftime) that we just had to keep fighting and clawing in the second half," Jeffers said. "The quick hands on defense were a big difference, and we just flipped out in the second half."

After Ohio Northern scored the first basket in the second half, the Crusaders raced out to an 8-2 run. Caton and Gage were responsible for each of Capital's points during the run, as Gage's feed to Caton

forced an Ohio Northern timeout with the Crusaders ahead 36-28 with 15:07 left in the game.

"It gives me goosebumps thinking about how we played (in the second half)," Geroski said. "It was beautiful to be on the floor and to be a part of it."

Ahead by six just moments later, the Crusaders looked to their outside shooting to distance themselves from the Polar Bears. Anchored by three three-point shots by Stefancin, the Crusaders rolled to a 19-8 run to go ahead 55-38 with just over nine minutes remaining. Geroski, Caton, and sophomore Nina Napolitano (Akron, Ohio) also scored during the run. Capital also upped the ante on defense, as a forced turnover led to Stefancin hitting her first three to ignite Capital's scoring spree.

"I was a little nervous at first, being a freshman and coming into a championship game," Stefancin said. "But after I got (the ball back) after hitting the first one, I started really feeling it. I like the contested shots and not the open ones, so that worked in my favor."

Capital's lead never fell below 13 points for the rest of the game. They led by as many as 19 points while outscoring Ohio Northern in the second half, 39-26.

Jeffers feels that the team's unity and momentum heading into the tournament will make the Crusaders a tough out for any opponent.

"The difference between this teams and some others has been team chemistry," Jeffers said. "They really do love each other and love playing with each other. What a perfect time to be peaking heading into the tournament."