After trailing by as many as nine points with less than three minutes to go in the second half, Capital mounted a push that was started by Jenna Erwin (Springfield, Ohio).  Near the two-minute mark, Erwin hit a layup to cut the lead to 69-62. On the next Maroons possession, Erwin pulled down an offensive rebound setting up Simonne Gage (Dayton, Ohio) to score four straight points by nailing two free throws and then going inside for another Capital layup.

Capital forced Chicago into a turnover and went back down the floor. Nina Napolitano (Akron, Ohio) went up for two, missed and then cleaned up her own mess under the basket to make for a two-point game. The Maroons called a timeout and a free throw shooting contest ensured.

The Crusaders got its break when after missing a three-point shot they put Caitlyn Moore to the line for two free throws. Moore missed both and left Capital 14 seconds left on the clock to work with. However, Moore came back down the floor and caused a Capital turnover, thus ending the game.

Capital overcame deficits of at least nine points three different times in the second half alone to contend at the end of the game. Much of the offense ran through Gage, who sported the hot hand by going off for 23 points on 8-for-18 shooting. Kristen Thompson (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

In her Capital debut, junior Jaren Francis (Columbus, Ohio/Africentric) scored seven points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field while freshman Chelsea Pla (Macedonia, Ohio) scored her first collegiate points and collected nine on the night.

The Crusaders will now play the loser of host Manchester University (Ind.) and Benedictine University (Ill.) on Saturday afternoon. Game time is set for 1 p.m.