ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- The Christopher Newport women's basketball team picked up win number ten on the season with a 90-79 victory over Susquehanna University (7-3) in the St. Mary's (Md.) New Year's Classic. The Captains (9-4) recorded another high-scoring performance by pouring in 89 or more points in four of their last five games and five of the last seven.
After the score was tied, 41-41, at halftime, it was Christopher Newport who took control in the third quarter by outscoring the River Hawks by 11 points in the period. Sophomore
Natalie Terwilliger led the way in a 29-point period by scoring nine points and hauling in five rebounds in the decisive quarter.
For the game, Terwilliger tied for the game-high scoring total with 18 points as senior
Kiana Kirkland matched her second-year teammate on 7-of-14 shooting. Rookie
Anaya Simmons just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds and sophomore
Sondra Fan added her team-leading 11th double-figure scoring performance of the season with 10 points.
In the first half, the Captains took a quick 10 point lead when
Anaya Simmons capped a 13-0 run to give Christopher Newport a 17-7 advantage with 4:48 remaining in the opening quarter. Simmons' layup came after the Captains got buckets from
Julia Ng, Kirkland, Terwilliger, and
Julia Hobbs in the stretch to erase an early lull. After a couple answering buckets from Susquehanna,
Jasmine Norman drilled a jumper and
Phylicia McInnis got into the scoring column with a fast-break triple to give the Captains an 11-point edge, 22-11, with 2:58 left.
From their, both teams battled back-and-forth as the River Hawks slowly whittled the lead back down through the second quarter. A jumper in the final minute of the first half by Madi Welliver tied the game at 41 despite the Captains shooting nearly 50% from the field and forcing 16 first half turnovers.
In the second half, the defensive tenacity would continue as the Captains would force 32 total turnovers in the game. Credited for 11 steals in the contest, Kirkland led with three and Simmons grabbed two for Christopher Newport. With less than four minutes to go in the third quarter, the defense keyed a game-changing run for the Captains. Trailing by one, 55-54, after a three-pointer by Erin McQuillen, the Captains closed the third quarter on a 16-4 burst that proved to be the difference in the game. Five turnovers led to eight points in the run, including a pivotal three-pointer by
Jessica Foster with 1:03 showing on the clock to boost the Captains' lead back to double figures, 67-57.
After the long-range dagger, Christopher Newport would hold onto a double-digit lead the rest of the game, growing it to as many as 16 in the fourth quarter.
As a team, the Captains shot 40% (30-75) from the field and 35% from beyond the arc (7-20). Continuing to attack the basket, Christopher Newport shot 30 or more free-throws for the fourth time this season and knocked down 74% (23-31) of their shots with the clock stopped.
Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. to face Concordia University Chicago (2-6) after the Cougars picked up a 69-49 win over the host Seahawks on Friday. Live stats and video are available with links at CNUsports.com.
