NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport University women's basketball team, fresh off their first national ranking of the season, will remain out on the road this weekend for a pair of tough conference matchups. The Captains, ranked 25th in this week's D3hoops.com National Rankings, will take on Greensboro College (6-2, 2-0) at Hanes Gymnasium this Friday, January 4 at 5:30 pm, followed by a 2:00 pm tip against Methodist University (6-2, 2-0) in Fayetteville on Saturday, January 5. 

CNU has opened the season 9-0 with a 2-0 mark in league play, and will look to run their second longest winning streak to open a season to double digits this weekend. It will be a tough task, however, as the Captains are in the midst of a nine-game road trip including seven straight USA South games away from home. The Pride was selected to finish fifth in the USA South, and the Monarchs sixth, and each team posted one win against the Captains last season. 

This year, CNU's defense has been strong, holding opponents to just 52.1 points per game, including seven games of 55 points or less. Tia Perry and Nicole Mitchell have led the defensive effort, with 28 and 24 steals, respectively, while also leading the team in scoring. Perry is pouring in 15.4 and Mitchell has added 10.4 points per game to pace the Captains offense, while Camry Green is averaging a double-double, with 10.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per. 

Led by senior Bianca Richburg, Greensboro is off to a nice start and is currently riding a five-game winning streak. The Pride has been off since December 18 for the holidays and will be playing the Captains after over a two-week layoff. Before the break, Richburg was averaging a league-high 22.0 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. The 5-10 senior forward has scored no less than 17 points this season, posting a season-high 28 against Mid-Atlantic Christian. 

Methodist has used the same starting five for all eight games so far this season, using a balanced attack to average 70 points per game. The Monarchs are led by Christina Schrader (11.9 ppg) and Brianna Robinson (10.8 ppg), but eight different players are chipping in 5.0 points or more per game. Robinson is adding 7.8 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game in the Monarch front court. 

Both games will be available as part of a live video webcast at CNUsports.com/LIVE.