TOWSON, Md. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team won it's 20th straight game on Friday night by holding off Gettysburg College (0-1) in a neutral site battle in the Renie Amoss Tip-Off Classic, 70-67. The back-and-forth matchup featured 15 lead changes and eight ties, but the Captains led by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter before having to stave off a furious comeback bid by the Bullets. 

The Captains improved to 3-0 on the season to establish the current win streak as the second longest in program history. CNU has not dropped a game since December 29, 2019 when they suffered a five-point loss to then No. 1 Tufts University before streaking through 17 straight to end the year. It is only the 10th win streak of 20 or more games in CNU Athletics history and only the third sport to win 20 or more in a row more than once, joining volleyball and men's basketball. 

Junior forward Anaya Simmons led the Captains with an exceptional performance from the field, knocking down 9 of 14 attempts for 20 points in the game. She added five rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists in 28 minutes of action to headline the Captains' individual performances. Sondra Fan added 15 points with four triples and Gabbi San Diego wrapped up her second straight double-figure scoring performance with 11 points on 5-7 shooting. 

The Captains never trailed by more than four points, but Gettysburg also never let CNU pull away until early in the fourth quarter. The game was played within a five-point margin until there was a minute left in the third quarter when Simmons knocked down back-to-back layups, including a three-point play, to extend the lead to eight, 52-44.

To start the fourth quarter, Natalie Terwilliger knocked down a stick-back and Jessica Foster buried a long three-pointer to give the Captains a game-high 12-point advantage, 57-45. Gettysburg would not go quietly, however, scoring 13 of the next 14 points to even the match at 58-58 with 4:55 left in regulation. After a pair of free throws went down for the Captains to regain a two-point edge, the Bullets looked poise to complete a thrilling come-from-behind comeback with a momentum grabbing three-point play by Delaney Donohoe.

The lead would bounce back and fourth until the 1:40 mark when CNU faced a 65-64 deficit coming out of a timeout. Turning to preseason All-American guard Sondra Fan, the Captains got a huge three-pointer to flip the scoreboard again. Moments later, the Captains press earned a huge steal when Simmons jumped into a passing lane and was rewarded on the offensive end with a layup to push the lead to four, 69-65. It would prove to be the winning basket as Simmons wrapped up her fourth career 20-point performance. 

Gettysburg continued to fight, getting a jumper in the paint to fall with less than a minute remaining and forcing a CNU turnover, but junior Jovia Winkey grabbed an all-important steal of her own with 16 seconds left to all but seal the contest. After a foul, San Diego hit one of two free throws and Gettysburg went empty from long range in the final moments. 

CNU managed an uncharacteristic 11 steals but the two in the final minute were crucial to the Captains' victory. The defense forced 25 turnovers in the win while holding the Bullets to just 29.4% shooting from beyond the arc (5-17). 

As a team, the Captains shot 41.5% from the field with eight made three-pointers. Julia Ng led the Captains in rebounding with six boards and Terwilliger blocked three shots for the second consecutive game. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday, November 12 at 4:00 pm as they take on the host Goucher Gophers (1-2) at 4:00 pm.