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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport women's basketball team held one of the league's leading three-point shooters in check for over 39 minutes on Wednesday night, but Mary Washington senior guard Claire Haeuptle drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 24 seconds left on the clock to hand CNU a rare home loss, 71-66. The Captains (10-6, 6-3) led for nearly 28 minutes, powered by a double-double from Sam Porter and a game-high 17 points from Camry Green, but the Eagles improved to 12-4 on the season with an 8-1 mark in league play with the win. 

Mary Washington never led by more than five points, taking a quick 5-0 lead to start the contest before Christopher Newport could answer with an 8-0 run of their own to take the lead. It was a lead they would hold for the remainder of the first half, until the final buzzer-beating shot by Taylor Barton went down to give the Eagles a 34-33 lead at the break. Mary Washington erased a ten-point deficit in the first half, as the Captains pulled ahead 19-9 with 10:04 remaining in the first half. 

Back-and-forth in the second half, the home team managed to hold onto a two-possession edge for most of the stanza. The Captains failed to stretch the lead to more than seven points, however, opening a window for the veteran Mary Washington squad. Bailey Dufrene hit a three-pointer with 8:58 remaining to put CNU up 54-47, and a minute later Green slipped in a layup off an assist by Lauren Cox to give CNU a 56-50 edge. Over the next 1:13 of game time, though, the Eagles posted a 6-0 run to tie things up and on their next possession, would get a three-pointer from Kendall Parker to take a 59-58 lead with five minutes remaining. 

In the final five minutes, the game teetered in favor of both teams, as CNU turned to its senior leader for the answer down the stretch. Green was up to the task, drilling three straight layups to answer the Eagles offensive surge at the end of the game. After a pair of free-throws by Erin Drumheller gave the Eagles a 66-62 lead with just 1:33 on the clock, rookie Sam Porter dropped a nice pass between defenders for Green, who rose up for a layup. Then, on the defensive end, Haeuptle was called for an offensive foul, giving CNU a chance to tie the game on another layup by Green off an assist by Cox. 

With the game tied at 66, Mary Washington found Haeuptle in the corner for an open look from beyond the arc, and the senior made it count to put the road team back on top. After CNU failed to convert on the offensive end, Drumheller was fouled and hit two more free throws for the final score, 71-66. 

It was the 200th women's game played in the Freeman Center since it opened in the 2000-01 season and just the 30th loss for the Captains in the building, good for a winning percentage of 85%. The setback was just the second in the last 24 home conference games, with both coming at the hands of Mary Washington. 

Porter had a stellar individual performance for the Captains, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds to go with 12 points for her second career double-double, while adding four assists. Green was 8-for-9 from the field and scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half, and finished with eight rebounds in the game. Green also chipped in three steals and three blocks while moving up to 21st on the all-time scoring chart, passing Liisa Barnes (1,040). Rounding out the double figure scoring for the Captains was Cox, with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Mary Washington had two players finish in double figures, with Kendall Parker and Brianne Comden scoring 16 points apiece. Drumheller had five assists with just one turnover, scoring eight points, all from the free-throw line. 

CNU will be back in action on Saturday, January 24 as they host Frostburg State University at 2:00 pm.