UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The Capital University women's basketball team (9-4, 4-2 OAC) paid a visit to the campus of John Carroll (8-5, 3-3 OAC) on Saturday, coming away with a hard fought victory. Despite a slow start offensively, the Comets came alive in the second quarter and remained neck-and-neck with the Blue Streaks until ultimately pulling away in the waning seconds of the game, 68-63.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Capital got off to a bit of an ugly start, making just two field goals in the first quarter, both being three-pointers. This, added to a 3-of-4 performance from the free throw line, left the Comets behind 18-9 at the first break.
CU flipped the switch in the second quarter, coming back with their best shooting stint of the game at 10-of-18 (55.6%) from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range. The much-improved Purple and White would go on to outscore John Carroll 27-16 in the period and take a 36-34 lead into halftime.
There was little to separate the two teams in the second half as the Blue Streaks would shave off Capital's two-point lead in the third quarter, squaring things up a 52-52 heading into the final ten minutes. Cap and John Carroll would remain neck-and-neck until the last minute when
Laney Murphy made a driving layup at the 1:00-mark to take the lead. JCU then squandered a few opportunities on offense and were forced to foul, sending
Maddi Weiland and
Bri O'Connor to line for what would become a combined three additional points for the Comets. Weiland would seal the deal with a last-second steal, handing the ball off to
Demi Brewer to dribble out the clock, 68-63.
THE NUMBERS
Samaree Perkins was the squad's leading scorer with 16 points, adding 14 rebounds for her fourth-straight double-double. She also had one assist and one steal.
Demi Brewer,
Laney Murphy, and
Bri O'Connor followed with 13 points each. Brewer and Murphy both hit three three-pointers, Brewer going a perfect 3-for-3 and Murphy making 3-of-5. Murphy now has 170 career three-pointers, just three behind the career record of 173 made by Joey Hayes from 1995-1999. O'Connor came away with five rebounds, three assists, and one steal to go alongside her scoring efforts. Brewer led the team in assists, dishing out six, as well as securing two rebounds, and one steal. Murphy made for seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Maddi Weiland recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She also accounted for two blocks and four steals, including the takeaway that sealed the deal for the Comets in the final seconds.
Kendall Spreen was the only other scorer for Capital, hitting a three off the bench.
UP NEXT
The Comets will be back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Heidelberg for a 7 p.m. tip.
