Columbus, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's basketball team wrapped up the Marriott Columbus Airport Holiday Tournament on the campus of Capital University by falling to host Crusaders, 63-45, on Sunday afternoon.
 
Sophomore Sammy Spanier led the Yeowomen with 11 points and matched Jasmine Sorrells and Mackenzie Michaels with a team-high six rebounds. Cheyenne Arthur, who was named to the all-tournament team, and Jasmine Roberts added seven points each while Maggie Gross chipped in with six.
 
For the second straight game, the Yeowomen got off to an extremely slow start as the Crusaders opened up a 15-2 lead before an 8-1 Oberlin response run put them back within striking distance at the end of the quarter.
 
Early in the second period, an Arthur jumper shrunk the Capital cushion down to 17-14 and the Yeowomen would eventually find a way to even the count at 22-22 as Roberts followed up a pair of free throws with a 3-pointer with 2:15 left to play in the half. However, Capital ultimately carried a 26-25 edge into the intermission.
 
The home Crusaders would create some significant separation in the third quarter, doubling up the Yeowomen 22-11 in the frame. The Yeowomen went the first five minutes of the session without a bucket before a pair of Gross charity tosses stopped the scoreless drought to make it a 41-27 game at the 4:49 mark.
 
Oberlin would head into the fourth quarter facing a 48-36 deficit and three times cut the margin down to 10 with the last instance coming courtesy of a Spanier triple-hit that made it 53-43 with 5:19 to play. Unfortunately, the Yeowomen would muster just two points the rest of the way as the Crusaders pulled away for the win.
 
The Yeowomen shot 29.3 percent (17-of-58) from the floor and were plagued by 19 turnovers that turned into 23 points for Capital. The Crusaders checked in at 38.3 percent (18-of-47) shooting and went 24-of-33 (72.7%) at the free-throw line, while Oberlin hit on eight of the 11 freebies it hoisted for an identical 72.7 percent success rate.
 
The loss dropped Oberlin back to 3-7 on the year while Capital improved to 7-3.
 
The Yeowomen will return to North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday, January 4, at Denison University. Tip-time is set for 2 p.m.