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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In a hotly contested battle between two of the top teams in the Capital Athletic Conference, Salisbury University snapped Christopher Newport's season-opening win streak at five when they slipped past the Captains, 54-48, on Wednesday night. 

Salisbury improved to 4-1 overall with a 1-0 mark in CAC action, while the Captains' first loss drops them to 5-1 overall, 1-1 in league play.  

A cold shooting effort in the second half doomed the Captains , who led for over 25 minutes in the game. CNU managed just 20 points after halftime while shooting 23.3% (7-30) from the field. The Sea Gulls were led by senior Julia McLaughlin, who poured in a career-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting. 

After falling behind early in the game, 6-2, the Captains answered with an 8-0 run powered by a pair of three-pointers from Devon Byd and Makenzie Fancher, along with a layup by Bailey Dufrene. Fancher knocked down a jumper off an assist by Byrd and then Dufrene buried a triple on the fast-break off an assist by Fancher to give the Captains a game-high five-point lead, 13-8. The sophomore trio combined to lead the Captains in the early going, but turnovers plagued CNU as Salisbury closed the gap to end the first quarter in a 13-all tie. 

The two teams were never separated for more than four points the remainder of the first half, and Salisbury carried a one-point lead into the locker room, 29-28. McLaughlin had 13 points and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes for the Sea Gulls while Fancher led the way for CNU with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.

In the third quarter, the back-and-forth battle continued to swing with every possession, as the lead changed hands 13 times and the score was tied seven times before the end of the stanza. Still, CNU looked primed to pull away by the end of the third when they re-took a five-point lead with 30 seconds to go. After falling behind 34-32 on a free-throw by McLaughlin with 4:18 remaining, the Captains went on a 10-3 run to take a 42-37 edge after a bucket and pair of free throws from Jalynn Ponzo. 

Two minutes into the final frame, CNU still led by four, 44-40, but missed opportunities on the offensive end and timely free-throw shooting by the Sea Gulls would turn the advantage into a deficit over the final four minutes of the game. The Gulls held CNU off the scoreboard for a five minute stretch in the fourth quarter, taking a 46-44 lead after a pair of shots from the charity stripe with 2:47 remaining.

Byrd knocked down a layup on the next possession to tie the game, and with 1:38 showing, hit one of two free-throws to give CNU their last lead of the game, 47-46. McLaughlin hit the go-ahead bucket the next time down the floor, and Salisbury went 6-of-8 from the line in the final minute of action to pull away for a 54-48 win. 

The Captains were led in the loss by a near double-double from Byrd, who finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and six steals. She added a pair of assists and one blocked shot for good measure, stuffing the stat sheet with a 5-for-9 effort from the field. 

CNU shot 31.5% (17-54) from the field in the game, including a 21.4% (3-14) effort from long-range. Salisbury hit 44.2% (19-43) of their shots, with just 20% (1-5) from deep. The Captains grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, leading the charge in a 36-34 advantage on the glass overall. 

Following Wednesday's setback, the Captains will turn their focus to another tough conference tilt on Saturday, December 5 at Marymount University (4-2, 1-0). Tip is scheduled for 2:00 pm.