ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- The non-conference portion of the 2019-20 women's basketball schedule will come to a close this weekend as the Christopher Newport women's basketball team travels to the St. Mary's College of Maryland New Year's Classic for matchups against Susquehanna University and Concordia University Chicago. The Captains (9-4) will first face the River Hawks at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, January 3 before taking on the Cougars of Concordia at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 4.
The Captains are coming off a convincing win at Stevens Institute of Technology in their last outing, led by sophomore
Jessica Foster's 17 points. Susquehanna is now 7-2 after a win over Marywood in their last game and Concordia Chicago is 1-6 so far this season. Both games will be available online in a live video webcast with live stats presented by the St. Mary's (Md.) Department of Athletics. Links can be found at CNUsports.com.
Christopher Newport will be facing both teams for just the second time in program history. Susquehanna won the only prior head-to-head meeting in 1994 and the Captains defeated Concordia on January 5, 2002 in their only other matchup.
Heading into the final weekend of non-conference action, the Captains lead the nation in total points and steals as they have impressed on both ends of the floor. The fast-paced offense ranks 9th nationally in scoring with 82.2 points per game while the Captains rank fifth nationally in turnovers forced (30.4) and steals (17.4) per game. The work on the boards has also been impressive, as Christopher Newport ranks third nationally in total rebounds and fifth in the country in offensive rebounds (22.2).
Consistent with the Captains style of play over the last several years, balance has been key offensively without a single player averaging 12 points per game despite the team's overall outburst offensively standing at over 82 points per game. Sophomore
Sondra Fan currently holds the team lead in scoring with 11.8 points per game while
Natalie Terwilliger (11.3),
Kiana Kirkland (10.4), and
Anaya Simmons (10.4) are also averaging double figures. Simmons, with 6.2 rebounds per game, leads the team while sophomore
Julia Ng has added 6.1 per contest as well to help the effort on the glass.
Susquehanna dropped it's opener at Johns Hopkins before running off six straight victories until a loss to Dickinson on December 11. The River Hawks then defeated Marywood, 84-65, in their final game before winter break on December 14 and have not played since. Erin Mcquillen leads the team with 13.3 points per game while knocking down 41% of her shots from three and hauling in 5.1 rebounds per game. Amalia Esposito is the team's leading rebounder, with 7.8 per game, and ranks second on the squad in scoring with 12.3 points per contest.
Concordia Chicago is led by Tara Hastings in seven starts this season, scoring 13.3 points per game. Michaela Thornton has added 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Hastings is a freshman and Thornton a senior for the Cougars, who have dropped six straight since a season-opening win at Rockford University.
Following the classic tournament in St. Mary's, the Captains will open conference play next week against York College of Pennsylvania at the Freeman Center on January 10. Tip off against the Spartans is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
