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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Led by double figure scoring performances from all five starters, the Christopher Newport women's basketball team opened up the 2015-16 season with a big win at home, 79-63, over Washington & Lee University (0-1). The Captains (1-0) shot over 63% in the second half as they distanced themselves from the Generals in the season-opening victory. 

The Captains improved to 4-0 in home openers under head coach Bill Broderick, and 13-3 in the first game of the season at the Freeman Center since the doors opened in 2000-01. 

Sam Porter scored a career-high 19 points, leading a balanced effort from the starting group that included 14 from Jalynn Ponzo, 12 from Devon Byrd, 11 by Bailey Dufrene and 10 from Makenzie Fancher. The quintet of second-year players scored all but 13 of the Captains points in the win, while also adding 10 steals on the defensive end. 

Out of the gates, neither team excelled from the floor, as the Captains carried a 9-6 advantage into the second quarter. Things started to turn around for CNU after the first break, as CNU scored 19 points in the second quarter while still managing to hold the Generals to just ten. The CNU defense held Washington & Lee to just 16 total first-half points, on 4-of-19 shooting. 

After shooting 0-for-5 from long range in the first half, the Generals caught fire from deep in the second, keeping themselves in the game for the entire third quarter. Led by 12 third-quarter points from Emily Perszyk, all on converted treys, Washington & Lee clawed all the way back to within six with 1:49 remaining in the third quarter. Porter and Dufrene combined for six points in the final two minutes to get the lead back to nine heading into the final frame, 53-44.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Captains offense put the pressure on the gas again, getting the lead back up to 16 points just 2:52 into the stanza, 62-46. An early 7-0 run in the quarter powered the surge, capped by a pair of fast-break layups from Ponzo and Porter. 

The lead would grow to as many as 17 in the fourth quarter, as Christopher Newport held off any attempt of a comeback by the Generals. The strong three-point shooting continued for Washington & Lee, who finished 8-of-17 from long range in the second half, but the Captains countered with excellent team basketball, chipping in ten assists on 19 made baskets after halftime. 

Porter, who managed just two points in the first half because of foul trouble, finished the second frame with a 6-for-9 shooting effort to close out with a career-best 19 points. She added a team-high eight rebounds with two assists and three steals. Newcomer Jasmine Bonivel also hauled in a game-high eight boards, while adding five points and three assists off the bench. 

Byrd posted a team-best four steals while adding 12 points and six rebounds, while Fancher dished out a game-high five assists, adding ten points and four rebounds. Dufrene, with 11 points and four rebounds, and Ponzo, with 14 points, six boards and two steals, rounded out the starting lineup production. 

Christopher Newport also saw some excellent debuts from a pair of freshmen, as Zhara Tannor and Jessica Daguilh contributed off the bench. Tannor had six points and a pair of assists while going 4-for-5 from the free-throw line, and Daguilh had seven first half rebounds in pivotal minutes with Porter in foul trouble. 

The Captains will return to action on Wednesday, November 15, as they host Bridgewater College. Tip is set for 7:00 pm against the Eagles, who started the season 1-1 this weekend with an appearance in the Eastern Mennonite Tip-Off Tournament.