By: Ray Delgado, assistant sports information director
ADDITIONAL INFO
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Capital University women's basketball team opened their season versus Heidelberg in The Capital Center on Friday, falling 61-54 to move to 0-1 for the year. The Crusaders held a 29-27 lead going into the half but poor shooting and untimely turnovers led to an eventual defeat at the hands of the Student Princes.

HOT START

• Junior Emma Burns opened the scoring with a three-point shot at the 9:32 mark and set the tone for the Capital offense through the first quarter.
• Shots started to fall for both teams after that and with a Kaylee Cyphers three that hit the mark, the Purple and White cut into the Student Princes lead that had climbed to five, making the score 14-12.
• Cyphers connected on another three later in the quarter, capping off a 10-0 scoring run that put Capital back on top by five and take an eventual lead of three into the second quarter.
• The Crusaders maintained their lead, climbing as high as five points up, trading buckets for most of the remaining time and taking the advantage into the break at 29-27.

TOUGH SLEDDING

• 40 seconds into the third quarter, Heidelberg's Brooke Beamer hit a jumper to take a share of the lead for the first time since the middle of the first quarter.
• The lead would stay with Capital for the next few minutes but momentum started to swing the other direction beginning with a three-pointer by Beamer at 6:41 that gave Heidelberg a two-point advantage.
• The Crusaders would not go down quietly however, matching buckets with the Student Princes through the end of the quarter and ending up down just one with 10 minutes to play.
• The fourth quarter was as hard fought as the preceding three, with Capital regaining the lead at the 8:10 mark on a Demi Brewer layup to make the score 49-47.
• Burns buried another three-pointer to shove the lead out to five but Heidelberg slowly began to chip away at the slim margin and gain the edge for the rest of the way.
• Capital made it difficult for Heidelberg down the stretch but after making some tough shots and a couple free throws at the 1:55 mark, the Student Princes would eventually prevail, 61-54.

KEY STATS

• Burns and Cyphers led the way in the scoring column for the Crusaders with 13-points apiece on the night.
• Burns filled up the stat sheet, dropping three of five from beyond the arc, four rebounds, and a block, steal, and assist.
• Cyphers hit two three-pointers of her own, grabbed five rebounds and knocked in all three attempts from the charity stripe.
• As a team, the Crusaders forced 19 turnovers and cashed in with 17-points off those takeaways.
• Capital also dished out 12 assists and had contributions to the tune of 17-points from the bench.

UP NEXT

• Redemption time is just around the corner as Capital heads up to Heidelberg to take on the Student Princes tomorrow, Jan. 30, at 6 p.m.