HOBOKEN, N.J. -- The Christopher Newport women's basketball team gave the top-ranked team in the nation a hard-fought battle for 40 minutes in the opening round of Saturday's Stevens Institute Holiday Classic, but the Captains fell by a narrow margin to No. 1 Tufts University, 70-65. Christopher Newport led by as many as 10 points in the first half and out-rebounded the Jumbos, 46-30, but could not overcome a momentum swing in the third quarter that allowed Tufts to hold off the Captains and improve to 9-0 on the season. 

With the loss, a modest four-game winning streak is snapped for Christopher Newport who falls to 8-4 on the year. The Captains led by seven at halftime, 41-34, and continued to showcase a dominant performance on the glass with 19 offensive rebounds leading to 20 second-chance points. 

In the opening stages of the first quarter, the Captains fell behind, 8-5, with 6:33 left before both teams went silent offensively for nearly two minutes. With under five minutes to play in the opening stanza, it was the Captains that came to life on the offensive side, posting a 12-4 run that put them in the lead for the rest of the first half. Sophomore Julia Hobbs played a big role, scoring five points and grabbing five rebounds with a 3-for-3 effort from the free-throw line. Riding the roll into the second quarter, Christopher Newport carried a 17-12 edge after the opening ten minutes. 

In the second quarter, the Captains offense kept firing, shooting 50% from the field (8-16) with a pair of three-pointers from Sondra Fan to highlight the burst. Junior Bailey Hodges and rookie Anaya Simmons each added six points in the frame, combining to go 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and 3-for-4 from the field. Sophomore Natalie Terwilliger had four points late in the half, including a layup with seven seconds remaining to push the lead to a game-high 10 points, 41-31, before Tufts hit the last shot of the first half.

A buzzer-beating three by DeCandido triggered a 21-8 run from the final moment of the first half through the opening ten minutes of the second. It would be a decisive swing for Tufts who leaned on their senior leader, who had been saddled with two quick fouls in the first quarter and only played five and a half minutes in the first half. DeCandido had 10 of her game-high 19 points in the run to help lead the Jumbos to a lead they would not relinquish in the second half. 

In the fourth, the Captains closed to within one shot multiple times including on a pair of free-throws that cut the lead to one, 60-59, by senior Kiana Kirkland with 3:21 remaining, but Tufts had an answer each each time. Christopher Newport continued to haul in key offensive rebounds in pivotal moments, but failed to convert on the ensuing shot. The Captains were just 6-for-27 in the second half for a shooting percentage of 22.2%. On the other end, Tufts knocked down 44% of their attempts, going 11-for-25 after the intermission. 

The matchup was hotly contested throughout the final 20 minutes with back-and-forth action as Tufts was forced to hold off the upset-minded Captains. Jessica Foster hit a long three-pointer in the third quarter to cut the lead to one, but the Jumbos responded immediately with a triple of their own. Natalie Terwilliger picked up a devastating block of a Jumbos forward in the fourth, but Tufts answered with a key steal moments later. Each time Tufts looked primed to pull away, however, the Captains would battle back. DeCandido and Emily Briggs gave the top-ranked Tufts squad a six-point lead with 4:25 remaining, 60-54, but Kirkland drained a three-pointer and Julia Ng got a big steal for the Captains. Then, Kirkland drove to the basket, earned and buried a pair of free throws. 

Both teams took big shots and came away with big defensive stands. At the end of the heavyweight bout, it was Tufts who held onto a slim margin for the win, 70-65. DeCandido finished with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 4 steals; two more Tufts players had double figure scoring performances as Molly Ryan added 15 points and Cailin Harrington had 10. Christopher Newport also featured three double-figure scoring performances with 13 points from Fan and 10 each by Kirkland and Simmons. Junior Bailey Hodges finished just shy of a double-double with 9 points and a career-high 9 rebounds. 

Tufts came into the matchup averaging a scoring margin of +25.9 points per game. Christopher Newport is just the third team over the last 44 Tufts wins to fall by five points or fewer. 

The Captains will look to right the ship on Sunday at 1:00 pm as they take on the host Stevens Ducks (3-5) after they defeated The College of New Jersey in Saturday's opening game. Live stats and video will be available at CNUsports.com.