by Kirby Boehm
This past Friday, the Capital University Women’s basketball game fell at the hands of nationally ranked Ferrum College by a score of 73-70. This win marked the first win in four trips to the NCAA postseason.
The Crusaders took on the host team in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,050 people. The Panthers earned the right to host the NCAA tournament after a 27-2 mark during the regular season and a win at the USA South tournament.
The ladies entered the game as conference champions after defeating Baldwin Wallace and Ohio Northern in the OAC tournament. The team was battle-tested from a challenging regular season that included games against four teams that went on to receive at-large bids to the NCAA tournament.
Ferrum jumped on the Crusaders early into the game going up 6-0 in the first two minutes of play. This was the first of many runs made by each team throughout the game.
They were able to weather the initial storm responding with a 24-8 run of their own to take the lead; however, Ferrum outscored Capital 22-3 to take an 11-point lead into halftime.
The Crusaders showed great resilience throughout the second half as they chipped the deficit down to 55-59 with a little over six minutes left. Then after a pair of baskets from senior Jamie Caton, the Crusaders led 60-57 heading into the final minutes.
Down the stretch Ferrum received a huge three point shot from senior guard Kayla Goins to tie the game. Goins also played a huge role in sealing the game for the Panthers going 4-4 from the charity strike in the final minute.
Caton finished with 25 points for the Crusaders and recorded her 1,000th point with around four minutes left in the game. The Panthers out-rebounded the Crusaders 51-34, thanks in most part to Kylene Culler’s 24-rebound performance, setting a new NCAA Division III Tournament Record.
The Crusaders finished the 2013-2014 season with a 19-9 record, going 13-5 in the OAC. The Crusaders also defeated every team in their conference at least one time, with the exception of John Carroll. The Crusaders are also the first team since 2009 to win an OAC tournament and earn an NCAA tournament appearance for Coach Jeffers.
Two seniors, Jamie Caton and Cookie Geroski, will exit the program after leading a youthful squad to a successful season. Caton and Geroski both recorded their 1,000th point of their careers becoming the fifth pair of graduating seniors to accomplish this milestone.
While the team will miss the two seniors, sophomores Kristin Thompson and Simonne Gage will look to increase their roles on the team. Other notable returns include center Monica Heckman, junior; and guards Jenna Erwin, sophomore; Nina Napolitano, sophomore; Shelby Sheets, junior; and Lauren Stefancin, freshman.
Reflecting on this season, Coach Jeffers and her players added another accomplishment into the record books of the Women’s Basketball program. The history of winning has been a constant expectation under Coach Jeffers in her time at Capital.
With the majority of the team returning next season, the Crusaders will aim to add more pages to the record books, maintaining the winning tradition.
kboehm789@capital.edu
