WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Capital University women's basketball team dropped their fourth straight game on Saturday afternoon at the hands of Washington & Jefferson. The Presidents used a strong second half to breakaway from the Comets and take the game by a final score of 66-54.
Capital (1-4) was led offensively by freshman
Laney Murphy who shot the deep ball very well. Murphy was just 6-of-15 from the floor, but she was 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, giving her a game-high 18 points. Her six made three-pointers were just two off of the school record of eight, set by Katie Mang during the 1994-95 season. The performance once again gave Murphy a career-best in scoring just five games into her collegiate career.
Senior
Brooke Ommert had a season-best 14 points on 62.5% shooting the ball. Ommert was also tied for a team-best six rebounds. She matched
Demi Brewer and
Maddie Dougoud with the six boards.
The Comets carried a 28-26 lead into halftime after a strong second quarter. Trailing 19-14 after the first 10 minutes of play, Cap had a solid defensive effort in the second 10 minutes, holding W&J (3-2) to just seven points in the stanza.
The Presidents had a six point lead at 23-17 with 5:19 remaining before halftime. A strong effort from Ommert led Cap to a swing of momentum right before the break. Ommert scored six straight points, tying the game at 23-23. A 3-pointer from W&J slowed the run, but a jumper from
Erika Linder and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from
Laney Murphy sent Capital to the intermission with the edge.
Out of the halftime reprieve, Washington & Jefferson came out with an edge, putting together identical third and fourth quarters, outscoring Cap 20-13 in both periods. The control from the hosts led them to the final of 66-54.
All-in-all, the Presidents controlled the major statistical categories, including rebounding (49-38), steals (12-5), second chance points (13-4), and points off turnovers (20-14). Capital did shoot the ball more efficiently with a 35% effort, compared to W&J's 32%. Additionally, Cap shot a quality 47% from 3-point range, while the Presidents connected on just 20% of their deep efforts.
W&J had three players in double-digit scoring, led by Piper Morningstar who had 16 points. Meghan Dryburgh led all players with 11 rebounds. Dryburgh also had a game-high six assists.
Capital will return to action for another road game this coming Tuesday at Wittenberg University. Tipoff in Springfield is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will serve as Cap's last tune-up opportunity before OAC action commences on Saturday, December 4th against crosstown rivals, Otterbein.
