FERRUM, Va. – The Capital University women's basketball team played a ranked team down to the wire on its home floor Friday, but was eventually downed 73-70 against No. 16 Ferrum in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Swartz Gymnasium.

The Crusaders, who automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament by virtue of their Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship, finish the 2013-14season with a 19-9 overall record.

Senior forward Jamie Caton (Hilliard, Ohio) led all scorers with 25 points and became the 21st player in Capital women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. She also added three assists and four steals.

Senior guard Cookie Geroski (Fostoria, Ohio) tallied 11 points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Simonne Gage (Dayton, Ohio) posted 10 points and five rebounds.

The Crusaders had their final lead with just 1:10 to go in the contest as sophomore guard Nina Napolitano (Akron, Ohio) found a seam to the basket to give Capital a 64-63 lead.

Ferrum (27-2) took the lead for good with 44 seconds on the clock, then, after an empty Crusader possession, hit nine of its final 10 free throws over the last 28 seconds to seal the win.

Freshman guard Lauren Stefancin (Mentor, Ohio) knocked down a 3-pointer with six seconds to play to cut the deficit to 71-70. After a pair of free throws on the other end, Capital had one last heave from beyond half court to tie the contest, but the ball hit the back of the rim and fell out.

The Crusaders shot 36 percent (27-for-75) for the contest, compared to 41.5 percent (22-for-53) for the Panthers. Capital forced 19 Ferrum turnovers while committing just seven of its own.

In the first half, the Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first minute and a half, but the Crusaders quickly responded with six straight of their own to tie the contest at 6-6 with 16:19 on the clock.

Geroski's 3-pointer at the 12:57 mark gave Capital its first lead of the contest, 11-10. The advantage swelled to 10 points with 6:39 left in the period following a 9-0 run by the Crusaders, sparked by a 3-pointer by Stefancin and capped on a jumper by sophomore forward Kristen Thompson (Cincinnati, Ohio).

From there, the Panthers embarked on a 20-3 run entering the half, knocking down 11-of-16 from the free throw line during that span. Capital was held scoreless over the final 4:53 of the frame as Ferrum took a 36-27 advantage into the locker room.

Capital plucked away at the deficit in the second half, whittling it down to 47-46 at the 11:29 mark before eventually taking a 50-49 advantage – its first of the second half – with 9:08 left on a lay-up by Caton.

Caton registered her 1,000th point with 4:27 to play, then scored on the ensuing two possessions to give the Crusaders a 60-57 at the 3:31 mark.

The Panthers finished with a 51-34 rebounding edge and knocked down 26-of-32 at the free throw line. Capital tallied 25 points off turnovers in the affair.

Caton and Geroski are the fifth tandem graduating in the same year to each finish with 1,000 career points.