Game Notes

BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- The undefeated Christopher Newport women's basketball team moved up in both national rankings this week prior to a mid-week contest at Bridgewater College (4-1) on Wednesday night at 6:00 pm. After starting the season with a 5-0 mark, the Captains are now ranked No. 11 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 and No. 14 in the WBCA NCAA Division III National Rankings. 

CNU shot up nine spots in the media poll after being ranked 20th in the preseason rankings. The coaches association pegged CNU at No. 18 last week, moving up the Captains four spots in this week's edition of the poll. 

The Captains are coming off an 86-47 thrashing of Meredith College at home, marking their fourth lopsided victory in the first five games. CNU now ranks 11th nationally in scoring margin, outscoring their first five opponents by an average of 28.6 points per game. As has been the case for several years in head coach Bill Broderick's offense, balance has been the key, as six different CNU players have led the team in scoring already this season. 

Against the Avenging Angels, it was rookie Sondra Fan who had the hot hand and led the Captains in scoring for the first time in her career. Fan scored 15 points and grabbed four steals in the win for the Captains. Also out of the rookie class was the third double-double in five games for freshman Natalie Terwilliger. She scored 11 points and grabbed 10 boards in just 17 minutes of action off the bench for CNU. Other standouts in the win included a nine-rebound performance from Julia Ng and an eight-board, seven-point effort by Madison Howdyshell. 

Defensively, the Captains continue to lead the nation in total steals and steals per game as they have already forced 161 turnovers from their opponents this season. Howdyshell has 18 steals to lead the team while fellow senior Zhara Tannor has added 16 thefts. Kiana Kirkland has 14 and Fan has added 12, while all but one CNU player has at least two steals this season. 

Christopher Newport will be playing in the team's first road game of 2018-19 after starting the year with three home contests and a pair of neutral site battles. Bridgewater has split a pair of games on the home floor at Nininger Hall after winning their first three away from home. The Eagles feature a high-scoring offense that is averaging 85.0 points per game through their first five contests. 

Led by a pair of seniors in Rebecca Harvey and Briana Moore, each averaging 15.2 points per game, the Eagles have four players in double-figure scoring this season. Joining the senior tandem are rookie Lindsay Estes (14.0 ppg) and sophomore Madison Baum (10.4 ppg). Harvey, Moore, and Estes are all dangerous three-point threats averaging around 1.5 made triples per game. 

For fans who will not be attending the game in person, the Bridgewater Department of Athletics will provide live stats and a live video webcast of the action. Links to the game coverage can be found on the CNU women's basketball schedule at CNUsports.com. 

Following the Wednesday night matchup, the Captains will return home to host No. 11 Messiah College on Saturday, December 1 at 2:00 pm.