COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Capital University women's basketball team scrapped their way to a 62-52 win over Muskingum University on Wednesday evening. The win vaults Capital to 6-2 overall and evens the OAC record at 1-1 on the season.
Despite a so-so offensive night for the Comets, a strong defensive presence made up the difference and forced the Muskies into 28 turnovers in the game – to which Capital scored 18 points directly from those new possessions.
In the game, CU shot 38% from the floor and just 29% from beyond the arc. However, of those 28 Muskie turnovers, Capital swiped 12 steals, thanks to six from
Bri O'Connor and three from
Laney Murphy. The other three steals came from
Maddi Weiland,
Demi Brewer and
Rani Thigpen.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Capital maintained a slim lead at the half, 30-29 and catapulted themselves forward in the second half by outsourcing Muskingum 32-23 in the final 20 minutes of action.
Despite a slow start by both teams in the third quarter, the Comets got a spark from O'Connor with 7:02 left in the stanza and she knocked down a 3-pointer. After that, Weiland, Murphy, and
Samaree Perkins pushed Capital out to a 10-point spread with 1:28 left.
From there, the closest Muskingum would get would be six points on two occasions, but the Comets successfully shut down any sense of a comeback and defended their lead well.
THE NUMBERS
Bri O'Connor led all players with 18 points and she complimented that effort with five assists, six steals and a block. O'Connor's six steals are the most by a Capital player since Cassidy Bosch swiped six in a win over Fredonia in November of 2019.
Laney Murphy was next on the scoring charts with 16 points. She added four rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Samaree Perkins rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting. She added 10 rebounds as well to complete her third career double-double in just her eighth career game. She added a block to her night of work as well.
POSTGAME WITH SAMAREE PERKINS
THE OPPONENT
Points - Taylor DeMassimo (16)
Rebounds - Taylor DeMassimo (7)
Assists - Anna Lippiatt/Halle Morehead (4)
Steals - Claudia Harrington/Anna Lippiatt (1)
UP NEXT
Capital will return to action on Saturday, December 10th at 3 p.m. as they host John Carroll University at The Capital Center.
