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Box Score

The Capital University women's basketball team started off its four-game road swing Wednesday with a 67-56 victory over Marietta in an Ohio Athletic Conference contest in Marietta, Ohio.

The Crusaders (11-5 overall, 6-3 OAC) fell behind by a 37-28 margin through one half but grinded the deficit down and eventually took the lead for good with 9:02 left in the affair. Capital capped a 15-4 run with just over five minutes to play and hung on in the closing minutes to clinch its 49th consecutive victory over the Pioneers (6-10, 1-8).

Senior forward Stacy Timmerman (New Bremen, Ohio; at right) scored a career-high 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor to go along with seven rebounds. Timmerman knocked down all 11 free throws she attempted.

Junior guard Cookie Geroski (Fostoria, Ohio) posted 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Crusaders, who forced 25 Marietta turnovers and made 19-of-22 as a team from the free throw line.

"Stacy played like a possessed senior who didn't want to lose," Capital coach Dixie Jeffers said. "(Senior guard) Rebekah Will also played some good minutes, and Cookie hit some big shots for us. Any road win is a good win."

The Pioneers, who shot 57.7 percent in the period, sprinted out to a 12-2 advantage just under four minutes into the contest. The run proved to be the difference, as Capital got no closer than four points over the course of the rest of the period.

The Crusaders began the second half on a 9-1 run to close within 38-37 following a Geroski jumper with 13:19 to play. The two teams went back and forth before another shot by Geroski, who tallied 15 points in the frame, gave Capital a 46-45 lead with just over nine minutes to play.

After Marietta closed to within three points with 2:13 on the clock, the Crusaders knocked down eight free throws, including six by Timmerman, and got a key lay-up from junior forward Jamie Caton (Hilliard, Ohio) with 1:16 left to maintain their lead.

"We made some halftime adjustments that helped us get back into the game, and we played more freely in the second half," Jeffers said. "Kudos to Marietta, they hit some tough shots with our hands in their faces. Luckily we were able to keep it close and take the lead."

Capital scored 23 points off Pioneer turnovers and outscored Marietta 12-4 on second-chance points. The Crusaders shot 35.5 percent in the contest compared to 44.9 percent for the Pioneers.

Capital returns to action this Saturday at Baldwin Wallace. The 2 p.m. contest is the first of a women's-men's doubleheader in Berea. The game will be televised on tape delay by SportsTime Ohio (Time Warner Cable channel 34) at 11 p.m. that night.