NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport's nationally-ranked men's and women's basketball squads will travel Wednesday to play a Capital Athletic Conference doubleheader at Southern Virginia University. The women's game will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Knights Sports Arena in Buena Vista, Va., followed by the men's tilt at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Both CNU squads are coming off solid road victories last Saturday at Frostburg State. The men's squad is now 13-2 overall and 3-1 in the CAC, moving up to 18th this week in the national poll from D3hoops.com. The women's team is ranked 16th in the national coaches poll, while slotted at 25th from D3hoops.com. The CNU women are 12-3 and 3-1.
Junior forward Savonte Chappell is coming off a career-high 23-point performance Saturday at Frostburg State in a 76-65 triumph. Chappell scored a total of 40 points in CNU's two victories last week, and was selected the CAC's Player of the Week this week. It marked the first weekly honor this season for
John Krikorian's squad.
Christopher Newport's defense has been tremendous all season, and the Captains are second in the country in field goal percentage defense. CNU opponents are shooting just 35 percent from the field this season. The Captains have also done a tremendous job on the boards, holding a 44-36 average edge in the rebounding column.
The Southern Virginia men are 4-11 overall and 0-4 in the CAC heading into Wednesday night's clash. The Knights dropped a tight one at home on Saturday to Salisbury, 86-84. CNU has won 16 of 17 games all-time with the Knights, and the Captains have won six in a row in the series.
On the women's side,
Bill Broderick's squad held off Frostburg State Saturday, 89-83, behind freshman
Sondra Fan's career-high 20 points in 24 minutes of action. The offensive performance was one of the most impressive in CNU women's basketball history, ranking in the top-ten all-time in shooting percentage at 58.3% (28-48). It was also the best shooting percentage for the Captains since a record-breaking 73.8% (31-42) effort against Methodist in the 2009-10 season. Leading the dominant offensive performance for the Captains, Fan was 6-for-6 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Fan's 20-point performance topped the Captains scoring leaders, while rookie
Marlise Brunson also notched a career-high effort with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Freshman
Jessica Foster added 13 points and 6 assists, first-year forward
Natalie Terwilliger poured in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and junior scoring leader
Kiana Kirkland returned to the lineup with an 11-point performance.
The CNU women will be taking on a solid Southern Virginia squad that is 13-1 overall and 4-0 atop the CAC. The Knights have the national U.S. Basketball Writer's Association Player of the Week this week in sophomore Katie Garrish, who has also been named the CAC's Player of the Week the last three weeks. Garrish is averaging 18.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game
Both games will be broadcast live on CNUsports.com/watch with live stats available for both games as well. The men's action will be broadcast on the Christopher Newport/Pepsi Radio Network (Xtra 99.1 FM) with the pre-game show beginning at 7:10 p.m.
CLICK HERE FOR CNU MEN'S GAME NOTES
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE ACTION
