NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Facing Salisbury in the postseason for the first time since 2013-14, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team will look to hold off the Sea Gulls on Wednesday night for the right to compete in the 2020 Capital Athletic Conference Championship. The top-seeded Captains (21-4) will host the #4-seeded Sea Gulls (12-14) in the second game of a conference tournament semifinal doubleheader with tip scheduled tentatively for 8:00 p.m. 

Prior to the women's matchup being played, the Christopher Newport men will host St. Mary's (Md.) in the men's semifinal matchup at the Freeman Center. Tip for the first game is set for 6:00 pm and tickets are available for both games at the ticket office in the facility. For fans unable to attend in person, live stats and a live video webcast will be online at CNUsports.com. 

Christopher Newport comes into the CAC Tournament looking to defend the team's second conference crown after winning the title in 2016-17 and 2018-19. The Captains have reached three straight conference championship games but have not faced Salisbury since the first year joining the league in 2013-14. In that bout, the Captains pulled out a one-point win at home, 73-72, to advance to the 2014 CAC Championship. 

The all-time series has leaned heavily in favor of Christopher Newport of late, with the Captains capturing nine straight wins in the matchup. With the run, the Captains are now 24-12 all-time against Salisbury including a 12-3 mark under head coach Bill Broderick. 

Heading into Wednesday's postseason bout, the Captains learned they earned three All-Conference honors on Monday afternoon. Anaya Simmons was named the CAC Rookie of the Year while sophomores Sondra Fan and Natalie Terwilliger each garnered enough support to earn All-League honors. Fan is a first team All-Conference pick and Terwilliger hauled in second team plaudits. 

Christopher Newport has been led by Fan with 12.8 points per game and over 2.0 steals per contest defensively. The sophomore from Poquoson, Va. is averaging under 20 minutes played per game as party of the Captains' high-energy rotation, but has still managed to hit 43% of her shots including 37% of the three-pointers attempted. Terwilliger and Simmons have each been the team leaders on the glass, averaging 6.1 rebounds per game. Simmons is also shooting at an historically impressive rate from the field, knocking down 55.6% of her shots while averaging 10.2 points per game. 

Salisbury enters the game with the knowledge they are the team in the league that played Christopher Newport the closest this season. The Sea Gulls lost by just four and seven points in the two games against the Captains this season for an average of -5.5 scoring margin. The rest of the conference has been outscored by Christopher Newport by an average of over 24 points per game this season. 

Leading the way for the Sea Gulls is Kaylee Otlowski, a first team All-Conference forward averaging a double-double in 2019-20. She is scoring 14.0 points and grabbing 10.6 rebounds per game. Lauren Fortescue is also in double figures averaging 11.2 points per game this season. 

The winning team will advance to play in the CAC Championship on Saturday, February 29. Game time and location will be determined by the highest seed remaining.