The Crusaders improve to 13-4 (9-2 OAC) and have won seven straight games, while the Quakers, ranked No. 5 in the coaches poll and No. 9 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, fall to 16-2 (10-1 OAC).
Capital jumped out to an 8-2 lead on a fastbreak layup by Daniele Manalac and extended its lead to 20-7 with 13:33 left in the first half after an Abbey Davenport free throw. Wilmington ended the half on an 11-4 run though and trailed 38-35 going into halftime.
The Crusaders took a six-point lead at 57-51 with 10:05 remaining in the game after a layup by freshman guard Kristen Richardson. The Quakers cut the deficit to one at 58-57 with 8:12 left after a layup by Kelly Peters, but Capital took control with a 13-0 run over the next three minutes, finished by Graessle's layup with 5:14 left. The Crusaders shot 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) in the second half.
Richardson scored 15 for the Crusaders, sophomore Caitlin Elsass added 11 and senior Ralphie Beal scored 10. For Wilmington, Katie Streck led all scorers with 28 points, including 11-of-11 free throw shooting, and Peters grabbed 14 rebounds.
Newspaper Box Score Wilmington vs Capital 01/24/07 7:30 p.m. at Columbus, Ohio - The Capital Center At Columbus, Ohio - The Capital Center CAPITAL 77, WILMINGTON 69 WILMINGTON (16-2, 10-1 OAC) Katie Streck 9-14 11-11 30; Sam Hood 3-4 0-0 8; Gina Hyle 3-7 0-0 7; Kelly Peters 2-11 3-6 7; Erica Smith 2-10 2-2 6; Anne Haky 1-2 2-4 5; Jackie Hauke 1-11 0-2 3; Ki Godfrey 1-2 0-0 2; Marianne McGoron 0-3 1-2 1; Kortney Kin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-65 19-27 69. CAPITAL (13-4, 9-2 OAC) Caitlin Graessle 8-13 2-4 21; Kristen Richardson 6-9 3-5 15; Caitlin Elsass 5-10 1-4 11; Ralphie Beal 1-3 8-10 10; Daniele Manalac 4-6 0-0 8; Mackenzi Thompson 2-6 0-0 6; Abbey Davenport 1-3 1-2 4; Jenna Algie 1-5 0-0 2; Chelsea Ruoff 0-2 0-0 0; Tiffany Withers 0-0 0-0 0; Abbey Winland 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 15-25 77. Wilmington.................... 35 34 - 69 Capital....................... 38 39 - 77 3-point goals--Wilmington 6-27 (Sam Hood 2-2; Anne Haky 1-2; Gina Hyle 1-3; Katie Streck 1-4; Jackie Hauke 1-8; Kortney Kin 0-1; Marianne McGoron 0-2; Erica Smith 0-5), Capital 6-15 (Caitlin Graessle 3-8; Mackenzi Thompson 2-4; Abbey Davenport 1-2; Kristen Richardson 0-1). Fouled out--Wilmington-None, Capital-Daniele Manalac. Rebounds--Wilmington 45 (Kelly Peters 14), Capital 37 (Ralphie Beal 6; Daniele Manalac 6; Caitlin Elsass 6). Assists--Wilmington 10 (Anne Haky 3; Katie Streck 3), Capital 12 (Daniele Manalac 3). Total fouls--Wilmington 21, Capital 23. Technical fouls--Wilmington-None, Capital-None. A-1837 Wilmington ranked #5 in coaches poll; #9 in D3hoops.com Top 25 Capital never trailed and ends Wilmington's eight-game win streak. Capital now on a seven game win streak.