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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Christopher Newport junior guard Kiana Kirkland scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Captains (17-5, 8-3) to a key victory in Capital Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night, downing first-place Southern Virginia University (17-4, 8-3) by a final score of 69-47. The Captains moved into a tie for first with the Knights after the win with three games left on the regular season schedule. 

Kirkland knocked down a career-high five three-pointers in the game and finished 9-for-16 from the field in her career-best scoring performance. Only one other Captain finished in double figures as senior Zhara Tannor added 10 points. 

CNU led wire-to-wire in the game, avenging a loss to the Knights on the road earlier this season and splitting the regular season series. A 17-4 burst to open the game kick-started the victory that saw the Captains lead by as many as 25 points. 

As has been custom for the Captains over the last several years, defense led to offense in the early going, as CNU scored their first five points after steals by Tannor. .Jessica Daguilh finished at the basket on an assist by Madison Howdyshell and Sondra Fan buried a transition three-pointer on her first attempt on an assist by Kirkland. Southern Virginia sophomore Katie Garrish scored twice in the run for the Knights, but jumpers by Jasmine Norman and Tannor in the paint, followed by a three-pointer by Tannor extended the lead to 17-4 in the first quarter. 

After dominating the first ten minutes, the Captains and Knights battled back-and-forth in the second quarter, seeing Southern Virginia cut the lead to seven, 19-12, with 7:08 remaining in the first half. After head coach Bill Broderick called a timeout, the Captains went on another small run to re-take a double-digit lead. Capping the short burst was a three-pointer by Jessica Foster with 2:30 remaining. Then, Kirkland buried a pair of triples in the final 68 seconds of the half, including one at the buzzer, to take a 14-point lead into the locker room, 32-18. 

It was the 11th time this season an opponent has scored 25 points or less in the first half against the vaunted Captains defense. SVU shot just 20.7% (6-29) in the first 20 minutes while the Captains converted on 33.3% (12-36) and forced 14 turnovers. 

Despite a double-double and five blocked shots for Garrish in the first half, the Captains went to the paint to start the second half. First, Jessica Daguilh earned a trip to the free-throw line that was followed by a layup from Kirkland. The junior then finished on a fast-break with 5:01 remaining before Julia Hobbs and Daguilh each knocked down buckets in the paint to close out the quarter. CNU scored eight of their 13 third quarter points close to the basket while holding onto a 14-point lead headed into the final frame. 

Another triple from Kirkland opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, kicking off a strong eight-point finishing effort. She was 3-for-6 in the fourth quarter for eight points to set her new career-high. Jessica Foster also hit a three with 2:25 remaining before a pair of free-throws from Fan stretched the lead to a game-high 25 points with just over a minute remaining.

Garrish finished with 21 points, a facility-record 18 rebounds, and six blocked shots, but no other Southern Virginia player finished with more than nine points. Amanda Wood had nine, on 3-of-11 shooting, and Bryndie Ballam added 8 points on 2-of-10 shooting. The Captains defense held Southern Virginia to just 28.8% shooting on 17-of-59 attempts from the field. CNU forced 22 turnovers and grabbed 16 steals, led by four from Tannor and three by Fan. 

The Captains will return home for their final home regular season game on Saturday, February 9 at 2:00 pm against Frostburg State University. The game will serve as Senior Day for three Captains in Jessica Daguilh, Madison Howdyshell, and Zhara Tannor, and the trio will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. 
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