Game Notes

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Christopher Newport women's basketball, ranked No. 2 in the first regular season WBCA Top 25 poll, will return to action on Sunday afternoon as they host the University of Lynchburg (1-4) at 2:00 p.m. The game will be played as the second game in a basketball triple-header at the Freeman Center with the Holiday Inn CNU Invitational Men's Basketball tournament scheduled to tip off at Noon and 4:00 p.m. 

The nationally-ranked Captains enter the matchup with a pristine 5-0 start to the season after coming off a 97-point victory over Goucher College in their last out outing. CNU scored a program-record 120 points in the win over the Gophers while adding to a streak of five wire-to-wire wins for the program to start the 2022-23 season. Lynchburg enters the Sunday matinee with a 1-4 overall record after picking up a win against William Peace University earlier in the season before facing the Captains after a 75-53 loss to nationally-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor. 

The two Commonwealth-based programs will be facing off for just the 16th time in the all-time series, with Christopher Newport boasting a 13-2 advantage in the matchup. CNU has won 12 straight against the Hornets with the last Lynchburg win coming in the 1979-80 season. The last two games in the series, including a 69-60 win last season for the Captains, have been decided by single digits. 

So far this season, the Captains have paired a dynamic offense that ranks fourth nationally in scoring at over 90 points per game with a suffocating defense that ranks fifth in the country, holding opponents to less than 40 points per game. CNU leads the nation in scoring margin while also pacing the country in turnover margin (+21.0). 

As often has been the case under the direction of head coach Bill Broderick, no single player has stood out through the first five games. Five players have scored 47 points or more sitting at an average of 9.3 points per game or better, and all but one player is averaging at least 10 minutes played per game this season. No single player has averaged more than 18.4 minutes per game with seniors Katy Rader and Anaya Simmons checking in with the team lead. 

Lynchburg features an offense averaging just over 60 points per game this season led by Olivia Harris with 12.6 points per game. She and Kayla Terry, pouring in 10.2 points per game, lead the attack while Bree Spainhour and Sarah Johnson are the Hornets' leaders on the boards with over five rebounds per game each. 

Live stats and live video will be available at CNUsports.com. 

Following Sunday's matchup, the Captains will return to action at Bridgewater College on Wednesday, November 30.