LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team suffered it's second loss of the season on Sunday afternoon, falling to Emory & Henry College (9-2) in the Lynchburg Holiday Classic, 76-56. The Captains fell to 9-2 after the loss which closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule for CNU.

Junior Kiana Kirkland and rookie Sondra Fan earned spots on the Holiday Classic All-Tournament team following the final game on Sunday. Kirkland averaged a team-high 12.5 points per game in the two-game classic while Fan added 19 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. 

The difference in the game would come on the glass as the Captains struggled to rebound against the Wasps, giving up 56 rebounds while only grabbing 28. Three Emory & Henry players finished with at least 11 rebounds while CNU's leading rebounder was rookie Natalie Terwilliger, with six. 

Despite the advantage for Emory & Henry down low, the Captains managed to hang with the ODAC opponent throughout the first half. CNU entered the locker room trailing just 35-28 while being led by Fan and fellow rookie Jessica Foster. Foster hit three first-half three-pointers to lead the team with nine points and keep the Captains within striking distance. 

In the second half, though, the Emory & Henry defense continued to frustrate the Captains, who managed to hit just 30.6% of shots from the floor in the game (19-62), while taking half of their shots from beyond the arc. 

The CNU defense was at it's usual intensity, forcing 25 turnovers out of Emory & Henry and scoring 20 points off of those takeaways. Kirkland led the team with four steals while Bailey Hodges added three as the team picked up 12 thefts as a unit. 

Kirkland had a perfect performance from the free-throw line, knocking down 6-of-6 attempts from the charity stripe to get into double figures for the Captains. She finished with 10 points, while Fan led the way with 11. Terwilliger added 10 points to go with her team-high six boards, while rookie Julia Ng led the team in assists with four. 

The Captains potent offense was held below 60 points for the first time this season and just the third time in the last 51 games. 

Christopher Newport closes out non-conference play with an impressive 9-2 overall record heading into the Capital Athletic Conference portion of the schedule. CNU will host York (Pa.) in the league opener on Wednesday, January 2 at 4:00 pm. 
 

All-Tournament Team
Taylor Blevins, Emory & Henry
Lizzie Davis, Lynchburg
Sondra Fan, Christopher Newport
Tessa Johnston, Emory & Henry
Kiana Kirkland, Christopher Newport
Sydney McKinney, Emory & Henry
Kimberly Schuh, Meredith
Molly Shephard, Lynchburg