MARSHALL, Texas -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team heads out of state for an early-season test this weekend, traveling to the ETBU Tip-Off Classic for a pair of contests. The Captains (1-0) will first take on the host East Texas Baptist Tigers on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. EST) before facing LeTourneau in a Noon (1:00 p.m. EST) tip on Saturday.
The tip-off tournament will feature the first matchups ever between the programs as Christopher Newport will be making its first ever trip to the Lone Star State. CNU has played only twice against teams from the state of Texas in the first 49 years of the program, defeating McMurry in 2010-11 in Hawaii during the Hoop 'N Surf Classic and falling to Trinity (Texas) in Massachusetts during the 2022 NCAA Tournament. This weekend, they will double that number with matchups against the American Southwest Conference representatives.
Both games will be played at East Texas Baptist in Ornelas Gymnasium. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for fans unable to make the trip along with the Captains. Links to both can be found on the women's basketball schedule at CNUsports.com.
The Captains, ranked No. 4 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 6 in the D3hoops.com national rankings, opened the season with a commanding 92-39 victory at home against Averett University. Leading the way in that contest was a career-best performance from junior
Alivia Giles, who poured in 22 points on a perfect 10-for-10 shooting night at the Freeman Center. She became the first player in program history to score at least ten field goals and not miss a single shot in the game.
CNU also got double-figure scoring performances from senior
Anaya Simmons, with 13, senior
Katy Rader, with 10, and sophomore
Hannah Orloff, with 10. The balanced performance for CNU included nine points for
Sondra Fan and eight for
Camille Malagar.
The Friday night contest against the host Tigers will pit the Captains against a team that has won 20 or more games in five straight seasons and reached the NCAA national quarterfinals in 2017-18. During the 2020-21 season with no postseason tournament sponsored by the NCAA, the Tigers registered a program-best 25-1 overall record in their first year under head coach Blake Arbogast. Last season, the growing power reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and closed the year with a 21-6 overall record.
The matchup against the Captains will be the first game of the season for ETBU. The Tigers leading scorer returning is graduate student Bridget Upton, who scored 8.0 points per game as one of the team's leading three-point shooters. Starters Kaia Williams and Mollie Dittmar are also back alongside top reserve Jade Goynes. The Tigers roster also features several transfers including 6-2 post Hannah Matthews from Abilene Christian and Tarleton before joining ETBU.
On Saturday, CNU will take on LeTourneau after the YellowJackets open their season against Centenary on Friday night. Last season, LeTourneau was 13-9 overall and played eight games against teams at least receiving votes in the national rankings. This season, the YellowJackets roster features only four returners including fifth-year starter Ajanae Thomas who scored 11.0 points and hauled in 6.0 rebounds per game last season. The team has one sophomore transfer and seven freshmen listed on the roster heading into the opening weekend.
Following the flight home, the Captains will hit the road again on Wednesday, November 16 to take on Mary Baldwin University at 6:00 p.m.
