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HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Led by tournament MVP Devon Byrd, the Christopher Newport women's basketball team captured the 2015 Juniata Holiday Tournament Championship with a 58-51 win over the host Eagles on Thursday. The Captains won their third straight, improving to 8-2 on the season while dropping Juniata to 4-6 on the season. 

Byrd finished just one rebound shy of her first career double-double, scoring a game-high  21 points, matching her career-high recently set against Virginia Wesleyan, while hauling in a career-high-tying nine rebounds. She added two assists, one block and one steal en route to being named the Most Valuable Player of the two-day in-season tournament. Byrd was joined on the All-Tournament Team by sophomore guard Makenzie Fancher. 

One day after no starters played more than 15 minutes, the Captains leaned heavily on its second-year forward as Byrd played a career-high 35 minutes to lead CNU on to victory. She was particularly impressive in the fourth quarter, going 4-for-4 with 11 points as the lead teetered back and forth between the two teams. 

The see-saw battle saw the lead change hands eight times, while the score was tied another seven times in the contest. In the first quarter, CNU scored nine of the first 13 points, but Juniata took a game-high eight-point lead, 17-9, on a three-pointer by Natalie Hager that capped a 13-0 run for the Eagles. The Captains responded, scoring the last six points of the period to close the gap to just two, 17-15. Bailey Dufrene, Zhara Tannor and Jasmine Bonivel each connected in the spurt to keep the early deficit manageable. 

Fancher led the way in a strong second quarter for the Captains, knocking down a pair of three-pointers and scoring all eight of her points in the second stanza. CNU took the lead with 5:11 left on one of her triples, and held the lead going into halftime up by three, 30-27. 

Both teams struggled in the third quarter, combining for just five total points in the first five and a half minutes. Juniata tied the game at 31, with 4:37 remaining, but the Captains again responded, with a 7-0 run to re-take their biggest lead of the game at 38-31. The Eagles would not go quietly, however, answering each of the Captains big shots as the fourth quarter approached. 

Byrd kicked off the fourth quarter with a tough reverse layup on the first possession, giving the Captains a 43-36 lead with 9:49 remaining. Maria Photiades and Dani Atkinson hit back-to-back three's for Juniata to quickly drop that lead to just one point, and after several minutes of trading baskets, another trey from Hager tied the game up at 47.

The Eagles would then inch back into the lead courtesy of foul shots from Dani Atkinson, but a huge three-point play from Byrd answered for CNU. The Grottoes, Va. native put the ball on the floor, drove right and was clipped on the way up for a right-handed layup; she converted the free-throw to put CNU up, 50-49. Atkinson knocked down a layup on the ensuing possession to re-take the lead, but Byrd's fourth and final field goal of the quarter came with 2:48 remaining as she slashed to the basket off a pass from Dufrene, connecting for a 52-51 lead. 

She capped off her MVP performance with a key defensive stand on the next possession, picking off a pass for the steal and leading to a pair of free-throws made by Dufrene. With under two minutes to go, the Captains forced three more turnovers and the team's stifling defense allowed just two desperation shots that wouldn't go as CNU pulled away for a seven-point win, 58-51. 

Dufrene finished with 10 points and seven rebounds while Anitra Thomas added five points and five rebounds. Tannor, off the bench, had an impressive defensive game with six steals, adding four points and four assists. 

Hager led the home team with 19 points on 8-11 shooting, including 3-4 from long range. She added five rebounds while Atkinson was the only other Eagle in double figures, with 13 points.

It was the eighth time in ten games the Captains held their opponent to under 60 points, as opponents are averaging just 49.2 points per game against CNU. The non-conference victory wraps up the first half of the season for CNU, who will now look forward to playing 15 more regular season games against Capital Athletic Conference competition. That schedule begins Saturday, January 2, as the Captains host Southern Virginia University at 2:00 pm in the Freeman Center.