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YORK, Pa. -- The Christopher Newport women's basketball team scored a season-low 42 points while struggling through a tough afternoon of shooting, suffering a road loss to York College of Pennsylvania (9-10, 5-7), by a final score of 54-42. The Captains shot just 26.5% from the floor as their overall record falls to 12-7 with an 8-4 mark in league play. 

Senior Camry Green played well all night for the Captains, shooting 8-of-14 from the field, but her 16 point, nine-rebound performance was not enough to get past a Spartans team fighting for one of the six spots in the CAC Tournament. 

CNU never led as York got on the board first with a three-pointer from Morgan Golec. It was the first of a game-opening run that saw the Spartans take a 12-point lead, 18-6, with 10:39 left in the first half. The Captains responded with a 13-4 run to pull back within three, led by three-pointers from Makenzie Fancher, Lauren Cox and Jordan Miller.

As CNU clawed back to within one possession, the home team didn't waiver and answered in the final four minutes of the half to re-take a 12-point lead. A 12-3 run to close the half saw the Spartans teeter back in control heading into the locker room. Sam Hruz and Shea Wassel, facing the Captains for the first time this season after missing the early game with an illness, led the way for York with nine points apiece. Wassel was 4-4 and added two rebounds, a block and a steal. 

Six points from Green led the way for CNU in the first half, as she added four rebounds, while Cox and Miller each had five points. Devon Byrd was helping out on the glass, hauling in four rebounds on the defensive end in the first. 

Back-to-back three-pointers to start the second half gave the home team a game-high 18-point edge, 40-22, and forced a CNU timeout early in the stanza. Answering the call, Green tried to put the team on her back with back-to-back tough layups in traffic. Rookies Bailey Dufrene and Fancher added two more buckets in an 8-0 run to get CNU back within 10 points, 40-30, with 12:38 showing on the clock. Selby slowed the surge with a jumper the next time down the floor, but Green rose up over two defenders in the paint for a jumper in the lane on the very next possession. 

With the score locked at 42-32, neither team managed a score over the next two and a half minutes, and traded just one make each over the next six. Finally, with 6:03 remaining, Cox drove to the basket and got her layup to go down as she was fouled by Julianne Lambert. The sophomore PG knocked down the free-throw for the traditional three-point play, and inched CNU back to within seven points, 44-37. 

As was the case in the first half, however, York College had a response, holding off the Captains from getting any closer. Wassel and Lambert hit shots on back-to-back possessions and the lead was back to 11 with under five minutes to go. Green would add one more bucket, but the Spartans hit enough free-throws down the stretch to hold onto a 12-point win, 54-42. 

The shooting woes plagued nearly everyone on the team, but was particularly evident off the bench, which finished with just 12 points for a season-low. The Captains depth has led to over 34 points per game off the bench prior to Saturday's setback. 

Green moved into the Top 20 all-time scorers at CNU with her 16-point performance, and finished the night with 1,099 career points. She passed Linda Richardson ('81) for 20th on the all-time list, and trails Amber Hallman for 19th by just 16 points. The 6-2 senior leader just missed her 12th double-double of the year by hauling in nine rebounds, while adding two blocks, three steals and an assist.

CNU did a solid job defensively in the second half, holding the Spartans to just 29.2% (7-24) shooting, but could not take advantage on the offensive end shooting just 26.5% (9-34). From three-point range, the Captains knocked down just three shots in 21 attempts, while York hit six of 17. 

A short memory will be necessary for the Captains, as they focus their attention on the first-place Salisbury Sea Gulls, ranked 18th in the nation, coming into the Freeman Center on Wednesday, February 4. CNU will host Salisbury in a conference doubleheader that will also be Academic Recognition Night for all student-athletes; tip is set for 5:30 / 7:30 pm.