At no point through 36 minutes did either team appear to have a significant advantage over the other. With both teams in foul trouble and well-within the double bonus, the tempo picked up in the final three minutes. Capital (12-9 overall, 8-6 OAC) used a 12-2 run to propel itself back into the driver's seat, 74-68. Emily Taylor split a pair of free throws and then benefitted from a loose ball that trickled off of a Crusader's fingertips. Danielle Rice then came back and converted a three-point play to cut Capital's lead to two points.

Colleen Fondessy (Fostoria, Ohio) and the Crusaders pushed through a tough defensive press put on by John Carroll (18-3, 11-3 OAC), setting up not one but two opportunities to gain a greater edge. After a missed shot, Fondessy came back with a key offensive rebound and then tossed it up for another two points.

John Carroll pushed it back up the floor and scored a quick bucket, but again Fondessy answered with a layup that was made possible by a no-look pass by junior guard Simonne Gage (Dayton, Ohio).

With the crowd now fully invested and deafening once prominent whistles, the Crusaders put it into another gear and finished off the nationally-ranked Blue Streaks. Jenna Erwin (Springfield, Ohio) came up with a big steal to turn the tide for good and with four consecutive free throw makes by Gage and Kristen Thompson (Cincinnati, Ohio), the Crusaders were well on their way to locking up their fourth consecutive victory.

Thompson highlighted with her fifth double-double of the year and her third straight game with at least 14 points coming off a game missed due to injury. She compiled a game-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and added nine more buckets from the charity stripe on 11 attempts.

Keeping true with her personality, senior Shelby Sheets (Fayetteville, Ohio) quietly picked up 15 points on another solid shooting day. Sheets celebrated her Senior Day by hitting 4-of-8 field goal attempts and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Include Saturday's stat line, Sheets now has 569 points in her four-year career, and now has 238 this season.

Erwin also had a solid game after scoring a season-high 21 points. Thirteen of those points came from the free-throw line where she went 13-for-16 on the evening. She also posted six assists, two steals, two blocks, and one assist.

Capital went to the free-throw line a season-high 47 times and converted on 38 chances, also a season high, good for an 80.9 percent success rate. The Blue Streaks were put on the charity stripe 33 times where they hit 23 attempts (.697).

The Blue Streaks featured two 20-point scorers in guard Katlyn Spahar (20) and Emily Taylor (21). Spahar also added 12 rebounds for a double-double effort while also tallying three assists and three steals.

John Carroll entered the game ranked No. 17 by the USA Today Coaches' Poll and No. 22 by D3Hoops.com. They have now lost two of their last four after enjoying a 10-game winning streak.

Capital remains in sole possession of fourth place in the OAC standings and have a one-game lead over Wilmington College (7-7) and Heidelberg University (7-7). The Crusaders have four games left to play in the regular season with three of those on the road, including a rematch with conference leader Baldwin Wallace University.

Next week, Capital will head to Muskingum University to play on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. They will then spend Valentine's Day in Westerville, Ohio to play crosstown rival Otterbein University as part of a basketball doubleheader at the Rike Center.