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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport women's basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season Tuesday afternoon, closing out the non-conference slate with a 74-54 setback to Eastern Mennonite University (7-2). The Captains (7-4) trailed by 16 with 13 minutes to go before clawing all the way back to within four points, but could not complete the comeback as the Royals held on for the road win. 

It is just the second loss under head coach Bill Broderick in the Freeman Center, as CNU's home record in the last three seasons is now 28-2. The setback also marks just the 29th home loss for the Captains since opening the Freeman Center in 2000-01. 

Playing without the services of leading scorer and rebounder Camry Green due to personal reasons, the Captains were held to a season-low 54 points. Using fervent defensive pressure, the Captains managed to contain one of the top offenses in the nation for the majority of the first half, but trailed by nine at the break, 35-26. Eastern Mennonite drained six triples to make up for 15 first-half turnovers as CNU came away with eight steals in the opening stanza. 

Offensively, Jordan Miller scored 10 points in the first half to lead the Captains, while Lauren Cox, Devon Byrd and Kendra Stone each added four points. The long-range shooting of the Royals was led by Jess Rheinheimer and Alisa Brown dropping in a pair, while Shakeerah Sykes added eight points, seven rebounds and four assists in the first half.

After seven minutes passed in the second half, Eastern Mennonite added to its lead for a 16-point lead, 51-35, a game-high to that point. After a timeout called by CNU, the Captains showed off an impressive commitment to battle in their home gym. CNU scored eight straight points and rolled on to a 15-4 run, cutting the Royals lead to just four points, 54-50, with 6:52 remaining. 

Lauren Cox, Devon Byrd and Makeda Wright all hit three-pointers in the spurt, while Kendra Stone knocked down a putback and Jalynn Ponzo drilled a pair of free-throws.

Eastern Mennonite absorbed the run and responded in the final five minutes, swinging the momentum back in their favor to close out the win. After closing to within two possessions, Jess Rheinheimer and Sykes took over, scoring 10 straight points to regain a 15-point lead, 65-50, with 3:22 remaining. CNU was unable to re-take control and fell by a 20-point margin in the final score. 

Rheinheimer scored a career-high 29 points while grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds for the Royals. Sykes fell just shy of a triple-double, scoring 17 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists. For CNU, Miller scored a game-high 12 points while Cox added 10 points to round out the double-figure scoring. Sam Porter grabbed 11 rebounds and grabbed four steals in her first career start for the Captains. 

CNU finished the game with 15 steals, forcing 26 Eastern Mennonite turnovers. The Royals hit 49.1% (26-53) from the field, while CNU knocked down just 28.6% (20-70). 

The Captains will return to action this Saturday, January 3 as they host York College (Pa.) in Capital Athletic Conference play at 2:00 pm.