Bexley, OH - The Wittenberg women's basketball team faced another tough road challenge on Tuesday evening to start the 2019-20 season, traveling to Capital University to battle the Crusaders. The two sides battled it out through the early going with the Crusaders holding a slight 17-10 lead after the first quarter of action. Wittenberg stormed back heading into the half, outscoring Capital 14-4 in the second quarter, taking a 24-21 advantage into the break. The two sides battled it out down the stretch, as Capital took the win 59-49 on their home floor. Kristie Kalis led the Tiger scoring effort with 16 points, pulling down seven rebounds. Kalis added four steals and one assist to her total on the night. As a team, Wittenberg knocked down 19 of 62 shots from the floor on the night.

Game Breakdown

Wittenberg took the opening tip, as Kalis put in the first bucket of the game. After Capital took the early lead at the end of the first quarter, Wittenberg began cutting away at the Crusader advantage coming by way of back-to-back made baskets from Kalis. Nora Hopkins rattled home her first three-pointer for the Red and White of the night, helping cut into the Capital advantage. Wittenberg would later take the lead, taking advantage of an overly aggressive Capital team through the early going, converting on 8 of 10 first-half free-throw attempts. Abigail Yunker kept up on the defensive side of the floor for the Red and White picking up two steals to go along with her six points. Wittenberg put together their largest scoring run together in the second quarter, putting up 12 points with just under a minute and half in the second half, and giving the Tiger's their largest lead of the night at five points. Samantha Wyatt provided four points and three rebounds with an assist to her credit off the bench for the Red and White on the night.

From The Bench

"We showed moments of great defense tonight. Specifically, in the second quarter.  We need to extend that into 40 minutes. Overall, I am really proud of the heart and fight we showed. We had to overcome a lot of adversity tonight," said Head Coach Kelly Mahlum.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will return to action making their home debut on Saturday, Nov. 23 hosting the Pioneers of Transylvania University at Pam Evans Smith Arena. Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM.