For pretty much the entirety of its series against Capital, the John Carroll women's basketball team has been the underdog. So to enter the Capital Center Saturday with a similar record to the Crusaders was rare air indeed for the Blue Streaks.

Unfortunately, leaving the Capital Center with a rare victory once again proved elusive, as the combination of a tough Capital defense and an off-shooting afternoon from John Carroll evolved into a 75-60 win by the Crusaders in the Ohio Athletic Conference lid lifter for both teams.

Box Score

"We didn't play well enough," said JCU head coach Kristie Maravalli shortly after the game. "We had 18 turnovers, we gave up too many offenive rebounds - any opportunity we had to make those couple stops, we could never make that run to close the gap."

After eight-and-a-half minutes of play, John Carroll held a 15-12 lead following a pair of free throws by Allison Lustig. Capital would then embark on a 14-3 run that would give the hosts a lead they would not relinquish. A jumper by Rebekah Will put the Crusaders up 29-18 with 6:51 to play in the half.

A 7-0 run by the Streaks helped stem the tide, but the visitors still trailed 39-32 at the break.

The Blue Streaks simply could not generate enough consistency to mount a threat. A Lee Jennings lay-up at the 15:06 mark of the second half pulled the Streaks to within three points at 45-42, but John Carroll missed its next six shots as Capital went on a 7-0 run.

John Carroll had one last solid opportunity after Sadie Zander drained a three at the 2:33 mark to make the score 66-58. The Streaks quickly forced a turnover, but could not take advantage and managed to score just one basket down the stretch.

"I think we came out strong and played hard, but we have a lot to learn," said junior Emilee Ritchie, who scored a team-high 16 points in her league debut. "Capital is a good test. They are respected in the OAC. I feel like we need to come together defensively and take care of the boards better."

Capital (3-1, 1-0 OAC) was led by Lauren Geroski with 16 points and Tara Harper with 15. The Crusaders managed to make 25-56 (.446) from the floor as compared to the Blue Streaks 24-66 (.364) effort.

John Carroll (4-2, 0-1 OAC) was paced by 16 from Ritchie and 14 from Jennings. Missy Spahar added a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 boards.