COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Capital University women's basketball matched up with a tenacious Mt. St. Joseph University on Monday night for both their season opener and home opener, but were unfortunately beaten, 69-63 at the final buzzer. 
The result sets the Comets back to 0-1 on the year, while MSJ moved ahead to 3-0 on the year and 3-0 against OAC opponents having beaten Wilmington, Otterbein and now Capital so far this season. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite a close and competitive score at halftime, the Comets trailed 36-31 at the break. The Lions played a stifling version of defense that limited Capital to just 25 field goal attempts in the first half, blocking four of them. With the limited number of chances, the Comets did convert on 44% of their chances, but a disappointing 54% from the charity stripe in the first half kept valuable points off the board. 

In the first half, both Samaree Perkins and Laney Murphy added eight points, while Demi Brewer put up seven points. Kept relatively quiet in the scoring department, Bri O'Connor dished out five first half assists. 

Out of the halftime interval, Capital played with a greater desire and began to work back into the game. The Comets closed the game to as close as one point on a Bri O'Connor made layup with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter that put the score at 59-58. Unfortunately for Capital, a few key missed opportunities to go ahead or to build on their momentum resulted in MSJ doing just enough to hang on for the winning result. 

As a team, Capital shot the ball pretty efficiently with five players shooting 40% or better on the night. Unfortunately, a flurry of turnovers and foul trouble made the offensive efforts few and far between, keeping Capital in catch-up mode for most of the evening. 

THE NUMBERS
Four players scored double figures, led by Bri O'Connor's 17 points. She was followed by Laney Murphy's 13 and both Demi Brewer and Samaree Perkins who ended with 12 points. 

Perkins ended with a double-double as she pulled in 13 rebounds. Both Maddi Weiland and Murphy ended with seven rebounds as well. 

In the assist column, O'Connor led the team with five dimes and Murphy dished out three. 

Both Murphy and Tahirah Ellis finished with a block. 

Brewer's three steals led the team, while O'Connor and Murphy recorded a swipe. 

UP NEXT
Capital will now travel to Kenyon College on Wednesday evening for a 7 p.m. contest as their season gets into full swing.