The Capital University women's basketball team showed toughness away from its home floor Wednesday night, erasing an early deficit with an offensive surge in a 78-65 victory at Muskingum in an Ohio Athletic Conference affair in New Concord.

Trailing 23-14 with seven minutes to play in the first half, the Crusaders (8-5 overall, 5-2 OAC) ended the period on a 21-5 run, forcing seven Muskie turnovers over that span to spark the surge.

Capital settled in and extended its lead in the second half, never allowing Muskingum (4-9, 2-5) closer than five points.

Senior forward Jamie Caton (Hilliard, Ohio) totaled a team-high 21 points to go along with six rebounds and six steals. Sophomore guard Simonne Gage (Dayton, Ohio) added a career-high 18 points, knocking down 10-of-11 at the free throw line, as well as five rebounds and four assists.

Senior guard Cookie Geroski (Fostoria, Ohio) posted 17 points and five rebounds. Junior forward Monica Heckman (Pitsburg, Ohio) and sophomore forward Kristen Thompson (Cincinnati, Ohio) each grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.

The Crusaders shot 45.5 percent from the floor and 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) at the free throw line. The Muskies made 38.9 percent of their looks and knocked down 13-of-17 at the line.

Both teams struggled to find offensive rhythm early in the first half. Caton's jumper with 10:21 left in the frame tied the score at 12-12. Muskingum responded with an 11-2 run to take its nine-point lead near the seven-minute mark, when Capital began its run into halftime. Caton and Geroski combined for nine of the first 11 points in the spurt, with Geroski's jumper giving the Crusaders the lead for good with 4:55 left in the opening period.

Capital recorded its first double-digit advantage of the game at the 15:04 mark of the second half following a 3-pointer by Geroski. A 3-point play by Gage with 6:28 to play put the Crusaders ahead 63-47, matching the team's largest lead of the game.

The Muskies cut their deficit down to eight with 2:33 on the clock, but Capital proceeded to knock down 9-of-10 at the free throw line over the final 2:10 to seal its sixth win in the last seven games against Muskingum. The Crusaders also avenged last season's OAC Tournament first round loss against the Muskies.

Capital resumes conference play and finishes its five-game road swing this Saturday at defending league champion Ohio Northern. Tip-off in Ada is slated for 3 p.m.