NORFOLK, Va. -- Behind career-best performances from sophomores Devon Byrd and Bailey Dufrene, the Christopher Newport women's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to pull away from Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday, winning by a final score of 83-73. Byrd and Dufrene each poured in 20-point efforts for the first time in their careers as CNU improved to 6-2 on the season.

The Marlins battled throughout a game that included nine ties and 12 lead changes, but ultimately succumbed to the Captains, falling to 2-7 on the season. CNU shot 50% from the field and scored 46 second-half points en route to the victory.  

Byrd and Dufrene's career-best efforts were buoyed by the best game of the young careers of two rookies, as Zhara Tannor and Jessica Daguilh impressed against the Marlins. Tannor poured in 15 points off the bench, and Daguilh was just shy of a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds, providing the Captains with much needed depth up front. 

After a disjointed first half that saw the Captains land four starters in foul trouble, the CNU bench was called on early for big minutes. CNU turned the ball over 13 times in the first 20 minutes, while Sam Porter and Makenzie Fancher were forced to play just six and seven minutes, respectively. Stepping in were Tannor and Daguilh, with 15 and 10 minutes. Daguilh was 3-for-3 from the field with six points and three rebounds, while Tannor managed the offense and finished the half with four points and two steals. 

Crystal Strother led the Marlins offense in the first half, scoring 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting. She dropped a pair of three-pointers from long range and helped Virginia Wesleyan erase deficits a six-point deficit. Strother was at the center of a 16-5 run that saw VWC turn a 10-4 start by the Captains into a 20-15 lead for the Marlins.

After back-to-back three-pointers by Strother, the Captains leaned on Byrd until the final 3:15 of the half when Daguilh took over. The 6-2 freshman knocked down layups on three straight possessions to put CNU back on top, 31-29, with two minutes remaining. After a big three-pointer from Byrd to put CNU up by four, the Marlins scored twice from the free-throw line for the halftime score of 37-35. 

With new life in the second half, CNU carried momentum into the third quarter and pulled ahead by five, 42-37. Dufrene and Byrd each had buckets in the early run, but Strother and senior Kelly Jones erased the lead with a small spurt of their own. Jones caught fire for the Marlins, seemingly having the answer to every CNU run.  

A three-pointer by Byrd with 2:23 left in the third quarter put the Captains up by seven, 56-49, and CNU carried a four-point edge into the final frame. On the second possession of the quarter, However, it was again Jones that got the Marlins back in the game. Jones was loose for a three in the corner and buried it, pulling within one. After Dufrene knocked down a runner in the lane, Jayla Harris tied the game at 60 with a triple of her own. Tannor scored on a fast-break for CNU to go up 62-60, but the home team got its third straight three-pointer, this time from Strother, and took their first lead since early in the third quarter, 63-62. 

The final five minutes turned on a technical foul by Alexis Platt, sending CNU to the line for two shots. Fancher drilled both from the line to re-take the lead, keying a 13-0 run in a three minute span as CNU took control. The passing was impeccable, as four of the next five shots were wide open courtesy of a nice assist. First, Byrd found Dufrene on a set play inside the circle for a 16-foot jumper, and then Tannor found Porter loose on a fast break for an easy bucket.  Porter then picked up a traditional three-point play off an assist by Fancher, and the run was completed when Jalynn Ponzo found Dufrene open on the wing for a dagger of a three-pointer with 1:38 remaining. After the trey, CNU led 78-65. 

Down the stretch, CNU was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line to seal the win, holding off Virginia Wesleyan for the 83-73 victory. The Captains dominated the paint scoring, with a 38-18 advantage in the statistic, while hauling in 41 rebounds. A scalding second-half shooting effort of 64% led the way for the Captains, as CNU finished 16-of-25 from the floor after the break. 

The Marlins are just the second team to score over 60 points against the Captains this season, but CNU won both shootout victories. Strother led the Marlins with 18 points including four three's, while Kelly Jones added 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Four Marlins were in double figures as Harris and Raya Berkley added 14 and 13 points, respectively. 

Byrd, with 21 points, and Dufrene, with 20, each set new career-high's in scoring, while Tannor and Daguilh also registered career-best marks with 15 and eight. Dufrene added six rebounds while Byrd finished with four boards, two blocks and one steal. 

CNU is off for over two weeks and will return to action on the road at the Juniata Holiday Tournament on December 30. The Captains face Penn State-Altoona at 2:00 pm in the first of two games in Huntingdon, Pa.