Game Notes:  CNU Women's Basketball  ||  CNU Men's Basketball

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport basketball teams will host a Capital Athletic Conference doubleheader on Wednesday evening, welcoming the Seahawks of St. Mary's College of Maryland at 5:30 and 7:30 pm in the Freeman Center.

Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for both games at CNUsports.com/live. Tip of the women's matchup is scheduled for 5:30 pm and the men's teams will take the court immediately following, at approximately 7:30 pm. The games will be just the third home game since the calendar turned to 2018 for the Captains. 

First up,  the nationally-ranked CNU women's team will look to add to a four-game winning streak coming into the game with a 15-2 overall record and 9-1 mark in conference play. The Captains are ranked No.10 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 13 in the D3hoops.com national rankings. The offense has been firing on all cylinders during the current win streak and is coming off back-to-back 50+ point victories.

Against St. Mary's (Md.), the Captains have won 14 straight games, marking the second longest active win streak against a single program; the longest current streak is 15-straight victories against William Peace University. CNU owns a 20-3 advantage in the all-time series. 

This season, the Captains have been one of the most balanced teams in the nation, featuring a top 20 scoring offense without a single player averaging over nine points per game. Nine different players have led the team in scoring in a game this season, including senior Bailey Dufrene, averaging a team-high 8.2 points per game, and sophomore Kiana Kirkland, averaging 7.5 points per game. Senior Makenzie Fancher has been exceptional distributing and taking care of the basketball, ranking third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.11), while also leading the team in three-pointers made. 

St. Mary's comes into the women's contest as the league's leading shot-blocking team, averaging 5.1 blocks per game. Kobe Chaney ranks second in the league and among the top 40 nationally in total blocks and blocks per game this season. Under the direction of first-year head coach C.K. Calhoun, the Seahawks were 4-2 in non-conference action, but a four-game losing streak has dropped the overall team record to 6-10 with a 2-8 mark in league action. 

On the men's side, Christopher Newport has picked up two straight wins in conference play, improving to 13-4, 7-3 this season. The Captains will be taking on the Seahawks, coming in with a 3-14 overall mark and 2-8 record in conference play. Enduring a tough season, the Seahawks have suffered losses in eight of their last nine games, but are coming off a close game against Marymount in a 67-64 loss. 

The Captains are led by two seniors in double figures this season with Aaron McFarland (17.0 ppg) and Spencer Marin (12.7 ppg) pacing the CNU attack. Defensively, the Captains are ranked 33rd nationally in scoring defense to lead the league by holding opponents to 66.2 points per game. Sophomore Luther Gibbs leads the defensive effort with 24 blocks and 22 steals this season. 

The St. Mary's (Md.) men's team features three players averaging double figures in sophomore Spencer Schultz (15.6 ppg), senior Ochae Bynum (12.7 ppg), and sophomore Matt Ayoub (11.9 ppg). In his first year with the team, Schultz is knocking down over 53% of his shots to lead the Seahawks offense. 

Following the mid-week doubleheader, the Captains will travel to Wesley College this weekend for a conference twin bill in Dover, Del. on Saturday, January 27. Tip-off time is set for 1:00 and 3:00 pm against the Wolverines.