FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- After handing Southern Virginia their first loss in conference play on Wednesday night, the Christopher Newport women's basketball team added the first loss of Mary Washington's conference docket Saturday afternoon to take over sole possession of first place in the league standings. The Captains (14-4, 3-0) used a suffocating defensive effort to hold Mary Washington (13-4, 2-1) to a season-low for scoring in a runaway victory, 63-37. 

Just three games into the 2019-20 Capital Athletic Conference season, Christopher Newport is the lone unbeaten team atop the conference standings. The win is the sixth straight for the Captains and halted a six-game winning run by the Eagles. Christopher Newport has also won 10 of their last 11 games with the only setback coming to No. 1 Tufts University by just five points on December 28. 

Sophomore Julia Hobbs led an impressive showing on the glass and defensively by hauling in a career-high 10 rebounds and grabbing a career-high five steals to lead the way for Christopher Newport in Saturday's conference tilt. As a team, the Captains hauled in 58 rebounds, including 26 offensive leading to 21 second-chance points. Sophomore Natalie Terwilliger added seven rebounds and rookie Anaya Simmons also had seven to help the Captains nearly reach 60 boards on the road. 

In the first half, the Captains took nearly twice as many shots as Mary Washington managed thanks to a tormenting defensive showing that saw the Eagles turn the ball over 16 times in the first 20 minutes of action. The Eagles were just 2-for-12 in the second quarter and managed just eight points in the opening stanza as the Captains built a 12-point halftime lead, 30-18. 

The third quarter proved to be the backbreaker for the home team as Christopher Newport came out of the locker room on fire on both ends of the floor. The Captains outscored Mary Washington, 18-6, and built the lead to 27 points on a three-point play by Katy Rader with 2:12 remaining. The defense allowed just nine shots in the stanza and Mary Washington missed all nine. The Captains also forced seven more turnovers and outrebounded the Eagles, 16-9, in the third quarter. Rader had five points to lead the burst while Terwilliger chipped in four with three rebounds and two steals. 

The Captains coasted through the fourth quarter with a big lead that eventually grew to as many as 30 points on a tough finish by rookie Sawyer Freeland with 6:33 remaining, 56-26. The turnovers continued to mount and with seven more in the quarter, Christopher Newport forced 30 in the game. Taking advantage of the miscues, the Captains scored 29 of their 63 total points off of Mary Washington giveaways. The defense held the Eagles to a paltry 23.3% shooting (10-43) for the second lowest shooting percentage allowed in the last 63 games played dating back to the middle of the 2017-18 season. 

Only one Christopher Newport player finished in double figures on Saturday as sophomore Sondra Fan led the way with 11 points. Terwilliger finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds while Simmons added 7 points and 7 boards. Ten different Captains logged at least one steal in the game highlighted by Hobbs' career-performance with five; she also added three blocked shots. 

A three-game road trip early in the conference season continues as the Captains will next head to Salisbury University on Saturday, January 25 for a 2:00 p.m. tip against the Sea Gulls. Salisbury improved to 7-9 overall and 1-2 in conference play on Saturday and will face Stevenson in a non-conference matchup Monday evening before taking on the Captains next week. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com.