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The Capital University women's basketball team plays its first game of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament tonight against Muskingum at 7:30 at the Capital Center.

The Crusaders (14-11 overall) enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed after finishing the regular season with a 9-9 mark in league play. The Muskies (7-18) won the eighth and final seed in the tournament by a tie-breaking coin flip over Heidelberg.

After a 13-5 start, including an 8-3 mark in conference play, Capital has dropped six of its last seven games heading into postseason play. The Crusaders endured a five-game losing streak, the longest in program history, from Jan. 26-Feb. 9.

Despite the stretch, recent history suggests the team can turn things around for the postseason. Capital has reached the OAC Tournament semifinals or further in nine consecutive seasons.

Senior forward Stacy Timmerman (New Bremen, Ohio) leads the Crusaders into postseason play. Timmerman, who on Feb. 6 became the program's 19th-ever player to reach the 1,000-career point milestone, ranks in the top 10 in the league with 14.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest. She leads the OAC in offensive rebounds per game with 3.4.

After totaling just one 20-plus point game through the first 15, Timmerman has scored 20 or more points in five of her last 10 contests. She started the run with a career-high 29 points on Feb. 16 at Marietta in a 67-56 Capital victory.

Junior guard Cookie Geroski (Fostoria, Ohio) is the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder at 11.4 points and 6.2 boards per game. In the second half of games this year, Geroski shoots 49 percent from the floor and 43.4 percent from 3-point range, both top marks on the team.

Junior forward Jamie Caton (Hilliard, Ohio) averages 10.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per affair entering tournament play.

Muskingum has lost five straight contests and 11 of its last 12 entering tonight's affair. Senior forward Hannah Nelson leads the Muskies into the tournament, ranking second in the league with 17.5 points per game and third with 7.2 rebounds per contest.

The Crusaders defeated Muskingum in both meetings this season. On Jan. 9 in Columbus, Capital knocked down eight free throws in overtime to hold off the Muskies, who rallied from 11 down with under six minutes to go in regulation, 70-64. Timmerman registered 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and Geroski posted 16 points and seven rebounds.

Last Wednesday, the Crusaders clinched their OAC Tournament seed with a 67-56 triumph in New Concord. Timmerman totaled a team-best 23 points and nine rebounds. Geroski and freshman guard Simonne Gage (Dayton, Ohio) added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The winner of tonight's affair travels to No. 4 seed Wilmington tomorrow for a 6 p.m. quarterfinal game. The semifinals take place Thursday at No. 1 Ohio Northern and No. 2 Otterbein. Capital would travel to Ada to take on the nationally-ranked Polar Bears with wins it its first two games.

The OAC Tournament championship game is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday at the highest remaining seed. The winner of the tournament earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, which commences next week.