Before the opening tip of its game against visiting Baldwin-Wallace on Saturday, Capital broke their pre-game huddle with a chant of "defense."

That message was epitomized emphatically in the Crusaders 67-58 victory over the Yellow Jackets at The Capital Center.

Facing one of the more potent offensive teams in the OAC, the Crusaders held the Yellow Jackets to 24 points under their season average of 82 points a game.

The Yellow Jackets, who were ranked 11^th in the nation in three-point efficiency, were held to just four treys made on the afternoon.

After leading by eight points at halftime, Baldwin-Wallace (5-2, 1-1 OAC) notted the score at 34 points apiece before the Crusaders rallied with a 17-4 run of their own to take control of the game.

Sophomore forward Kristen Thompson (Cincinnati, Ohio) paced all scorers with 19 points on nine of 12 shooting, while tallying six rebounds.

Senior forward Jamie Caton (Hilliard, Ohio) scored all 14 of her points in the second half, while classmate Cookie Geroski (Fostoria, Ohio) recorded a team-high seven rebounds to go with seven points.

Junior center Monica Heckman (Pitsburg, Ohio) chipped in eight points while leading Capital with four assists.

"I told our that team that the team that plays the best defense is this conference will be the team that wins," said head coach Dixie Jeffers. "Defensively we've done a great job the last couple of games."

The Crusaders set the tone early, limiting Baldwin-Wallace to a mere three field goals in the first half.

In addition, the Crusaders defense forced 10 turnovers while holding the Yellow Jackets to a one for eight mark from behind the arc through the game's first 20 minutes.

Capital scored nine of the game's first 11 points and led 19-8 midway through the first half, as a tough rebound and put-back basket by freshman forward Colleen Fondessy (Fostoria, Ohio) gave the Crusaders their first double-digit lead.

The Crusaders defense preserved their 28-20 halftime lead by shutting out the Yellow Jackets on their last three possessions of the half.

A team that was 11^th in the nation in three-point efficiency entering the contest, BW was held to just four treys for the game.

"We took a team that likes to shoot 3-pointers and took it away," Jeffers said. "We knew we had to contain the dribble. Our kids did a great job staying with our game plan and doing what we needed to do."

Baldwin-Wallace's offense looked to find itself at the start of the half. Led by Alissa Munro, the Yellow Jackets mounted a 14-6 run to tie the game with just less than 16 minutes remaining. Munro scored the last five points on the run that included a layup after rebounding her own missed free throw.

What followed was near flawless basketball by the Crusaders as Capital ripped off a 17-4 run over the next nine minutes to regain control at 51-38.

Caton scored nine points during that run that included a three-point play to put Capital ahead, 47-38, with 8:46 remaining.

A coast-to-coast steal and layup by sophomore guard Nina Napolitano (Akron, Ohio), with just seconds left, prompted a Yellow Jackets timeout with Capital leading by 11 points.

"Once we saw that they could came back, we realized that we couldn't quit," Caton said. "This definitely helps our confidence and we need to keep that confidence throughout the season."

The Crusaders never let their lead slip under eight points, responding after every Baldwin-Wallace attempt to turn the game's momentum in their favor.

While their defense allowed just three field goals in the final four minutes of the game, Geroski and sophomore guard Simonne Gage (Dayton, Ohio) capitalized on several timely free throws to seal the victory.

"We all finally came together today," Thompson said. "We knew that we had to come out hard, and it feels so good to have won today and get ahead in the OAC."