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HARRISONBURG, Va. - A frigid first-half shooting performance was too much for Bridgewater College to overcome Friday evening as the Eagles dropped their season-opener to the Capital Crusaders, 67-49, in the opening game of the Eastern Mennonite Tip-Off Classic at Yoder Arena.

The Eagles connected on just 13 percent (3-of-23) of their field goal attempts in the first half and Capital, the preseason favorite in the Ohio Athletic Conference, took advantage to open up a 20-point lead at the break.

The Crusaders jumped out to a 11-2 lead in the opening six minutes and never trailed. Bridgewater missed its first four shots before Oshene Kelly scored on a layup at the 6:07 mark. The Eagles had another two-minute dry spell before Sydni Carey hit a baseline jumper to make the score 11-4.

Two free throws, by Jessica Lam cut the margin to five, 12-7, but two foul shots by Jenna Erwin and a three-point play by Annika Wacthman pushed the margin to double digits for the first time, 17-7. A 3-pointer by Erwin gave Capital its biggest lead of the first period, 20-9, before Lam made 1-of-2 foul shots to make it 20-10 after one period of play.

The next 10 minutes proved to be a nightmare for the Eagles as they missed all 10 of their field goal attempts and turned the ball over 10 times.

Capital opened the second period with an 8-0 run to take a 28-10 lead. Lam hit 3-for-4 free throws to pull the Eagles to within 30-14 at the 2:23 mark, but a jumper by Erin Risner and a layup by Simonne Gage sent the Crusaders to the half with a 20-point, 34-14, advantage.

After the Crusaders increased the margin to 40-16 early in the third period, the Eagles finally began to find the range. With Capital holding a 42-20 lead, Bridgewater ran off seven straight points to pull to within 15. Lam started the run with a three-point play and Kelly converted an offensive rebound into an easy bucket, making the score 42-25. A steal and layup by Lam trimmed the deficit to 42-27 with 6:29 left in the period.

Capital responded with a quick 9-2 spurt to push its lead back to 22 points, 51-29, with 4:10 left in the period. Bridgewater then closed the period with a 7-2 flurry to once again pull to within 15. A layup by Jessi Strom and two buckets by Lam cut the margin to 16 before a bucket by Cassidy Burkholder trimmed the deficit to 14 points, 51-37. Nina Napolitano scored after a steal for the Crusaders before Burkholder hit 1-of-2 at the line to slice the Capital lead to 53-38 heading into the final period.

A layup by Lam pulled the Eagles to within 13 points, 53-40, early in the fourth period, but they would get no closer as Capital responded with a quick 6-0 spurt to push its lead back to 19 points, 59-40, with 7:00 left to play.

Lam was the lone Bridgewater player in double digits as she scored a game-hiigh 21 points while also adding a game-high six steals. Kelly pitched in with nine points and a team-best six rebounds. Briana Moore added eight points and five boards in her first collegiate game.

Napolitano led the winners with 16 points while Kristen Thompson added a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Erwin scored 12 points and Gage finished with 10.

Bridgewater returns to action Saturday afternoon to play Penn State-Altoona. The Lions lost to host Eastern Mennonite 78-54 in Friday's second contest. Tip-off for Saturday's game is set for 2:00 p.m.