Box Score in HTML Format  ||  Press Conference

HOLLAND, Mich. -- After falling 68-64 to fourth-ranked Hope College (29-1) in the NCAA Sweet 16, the season came to an end for the 18th-ranked CNU women's basketball team, who finished the year with a 25-5 overall record. The Captains held an 11-point lead at halftime, but the Flying Dutch used a strong performance from the free-throw line in the second half to rally against Christopher Newport. 

The Captains forced 20 turnovers and held the dangerous shooting Hope squad to just two made three-pointers in the game. The home team took advantage of a 24-12 foul disparity, though, knocking down 22-of-34 free throws, including a 17-22 performance in the second half. 

Senior Makenzie Fancher led all scorers with 16 points, including four three-pointers, while three CNU players finished in double figures. Sophomore Micah Maloney added 14 and senior Bailey Dufrene managed 11 points. Hope was led by Francesca Buchanan, who scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the only Flying Dutch player in double figures. 

The first minute of the ballgame was a flurry for the Captains, who won the tip, raced to the basket and got an offensive rebound and stick-back from Maloney. After a turnover, the sophomore forward buried another layup off the glass and the Captains forced another turnover on Hope's first possession. On the ensuing offensive possession, senior Makenzie Fancher tickled the twine on a three-pointer from the corner to get CNU out in front, 7-0, less than a minute into the action.
 
Through the remainder of the first quarter, the teams played back-and-forth, with Hope forcing eight turnovers in the first quarter to cut into the early lead. By the end of the first ten minutes, the Flying Dutch had teetered in front with an 18-17 lead.
 
The Captains ramped up the pressure in the second quarter, forcing seven turnovers and holding Hope to just 3-of-11 shooting in the quarter. CNU outscored the Flying Dutch, 21-9, in the second ten minutes of action marking only the fifth time this season Hope was held to single digits in a quarter.
 
In the second, the Captains opened on a 7-2 run. Capping the spurt, Kiana Kirkland drove to the paint and kicked out to the corner for Fancher, who drilled another three-pointer to make it 24-20. That run would grow to 11-3 before it was ended by a pair of free-throws after CNU took a 28-21 lead.
 
CNU took a 10-point lead when senior Devon Byrd drove to her right for a bucket off the glass, which was followed by a steal at halfcourt by Madison Howdyshell. That turnover led to another triple from Fancher as the Captains led, 33-23, with 3:12 remaining in the half. After Hope cut it back to six, the Captains closed with the final five points to take a 38-27 lead into the locker room.
 
CNU shot 46.9% (15-32) in the first half while Hope knocked down 40% (10-25) from the field. The rebounding disparity was heavily in favor of the Captains, 22-12, including eight offensive rebounds that led to eight points.
 
Hope came out of the locker room with a strong start, scoring the first six points. CNU shot 28.6% (4-14) from the floor in the third as the home team erased the 11-point lead with a 24-12 period. The effort was balanced, with Madison Geers scoring five for Hope in the quarter. 

The Captains never trailed by more than one possession until the final play of the game as they answered every bucket in the fourth quarter. Early in the frame, CNU connected on a highlight-reel bucket on a broken play when junior point guard Zhara Tannor nearly lost the ball out of bounds, but Kirkland jumped and saved the ball with a high-arcing pass toward the perimeter. Maloney caught it, dished to Fancher at the top of the key, where the senior hit the three-pointer in rhythm. 

CNU's leading scorer, Sam Porter, scored the first time with 7 minutes remaining to tie the game at 57, when Tannor slipped a bounce pass to the senior for an easy layup. A tough turnaround jumper by Francesca Buchanan teetered Hope back in front, but Porter added a nice drive under the basket for the tie again. Another trip to the line for Hope got the Flying Dutch in front by two, 61-59 with under three and a half to play.
 
Maloney dropped a bucket on a nice pass from Fancher who picked up the double-team, tying the game at 61. After Hope took it's largest game of the night on three free-throws, senior Bailey Dufrene buried a three-pointer from the wing to tie the game at 64 on her first three pointer of the night. There was just over a minute remaining when CNU connected on it's sixth triple of the night. 

In the final minute, though, Hope got a key offensive rebound and putback by Buchanan to take the lead for good, and Kennedy Schoonveld connected on the final two free-throws and the final deficit of 68-64.

CNU was held to 30.3% (10-33) shooting in the second half while Hope improved to 46.2% (12-26). The Captains forced 20 turnovers and held the Flying Dutch to just nine assists on 22 made baskets. 

Makenzie Fancher added five assists to eclipse the century mark for the first time in her career. The senior finished the year with 101 assists, while junior Zhara Tannor added 107. It was the first time since 2002-03 that a pair of CNU players dished over 100 assists in the same season. Fancher wrapped her career with 340 career dimes, tied with CNU Hall of Famer Chelsie Schweers for 7th all-time at Christopher Newport. 

Christopher Newport wraps up the season with the fifth 25-win season in program history and an appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fifth time in six seasons under head coach Bill Broderick. The senior class reached a pair of Sweet 16's and the 2017 Final Four as one of the most successful groups in program history, winning 95 games while registering a 8-3 record in NCAA Tournament play.