Game Notes:
CNU Men's Basketball ||
CNU Women's Basketball
ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- The Christopher Newport basketball teams are back in action Wednesday night as the Captains travel to St. Mary's College of Maryland for Capital Athletic Conference play on the road. The doubleheader will tip off at 6:00 pm with the women's matchup, followed by an 8:00 pm tip between the men's teams.
The games will be streamed live on CNUsports.com/watch with live stats of the action available on CNUsports.com. The men's game will also be broadcast live on the Christopher Newport/Pepsi Radio Network with pre-game starting at 7:40 p.m.
Both teams are coming off tough conference losses on the road Saturday afternoon as the Captains traveled to York (Pa.) and dropped matchups despite holding leads late in the second half. The CNU women fell, 65-58, before the Captains' men dropped a last-second decision to the Spartans, 82-81.
Looking to bounce back, the CNU women are unranked in either poll for the first time this season and carry a 14-5 overall record with a 5-3 mark in conference play. Christopher Newport features four players averaging double figures led by junior
Kiana Kirkland with 11.5 points per game. Rookies
Jessica Foster (10.3) and
Sondra Fan (10.2) are also averaging over 10 points per game, while senior
Jessica Daguilh (10.1) rounds out the team-leading quartet.
CNU returned senior
Zhara Tannor from a nine-game layoff due to injury and the guard eclipsed 300 assists for her career. CNU has dished 331 assists as a team this season, led by Foster's 47 and
Bailey Hodges' 45.
St. Mary's (Md.) has dropped seven of their last eight games but picked up a conference road win last Wednesday night at Penn State Harrisburg. The Lions then went on to defeat first-place Southern Virginia on the road in their next game. The Seahawks are led by Hallie Persell (9.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Katie Robey (9.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg), while Gina Seifert, Janey Mathisen, and Kyaira Priest are all also averaging over eight points per game. Under second-year head coach C.K. Calhoun, St. Mary's is 5-14, 1-7 heading into Wednesday's tilt.
On the men's side, CNU will look to rebound after their second conference loss of the season. The Captains are still No. 17 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 and carry a 16-3 overall record and 6-2 conference mark into the matchup. CNU played without senior guard Marcus Carter in Saturday's one-point loss at York (Pa.), meaning sophomore Jason Aigner is now the only Captain to start all 19 games this season.
Aigner ranks second on the team with 14.0 points per game behind Carter (16.2), while posting one of the top three-point shooting efforts in program history. He has knocked down 66 of his 148 three-point attempts for a 44.6% shooting percentage, ranking third all-time at Christopher Newport. This season, Aigner ranks 18th nationally in three-pointers made per game (3.47) and 29th in 3-point field goal percentage.
The Captains defense continues to be ranked among the best in the nation, holding opponents to just 62.5 points per game while shooting only 36.3% against the CNU defense. That mark ranks second nationally while the opponents points per game is a top-ten figure, ranked ninth nationally.
St. Mary's (Md.) features the league's leading scorer in Spencer Schultz, pouring in 19.0 points per game this season. Schultz also ranks third in the league's rebounding column, hauling in 7.6 boards per game. The Seahawks are also getting double-figures from Matt Ayoub, a dangerous three-point shooter averaging 14.1 points per game.
Coming into Wednesday's matchup, the Seahawks are 7-12 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
Following the CAC doubleheader on Wednesday, the Captains will return home to host Mary Washington this Saturday, February 2 at 2:00 and 4:00 pm. That twin bill is Hall of Fame Day at the Freeman Center, as CNU will induct the Hall of Fame Class of 2019 during halftime of the men's game.
