Game Notes  ||  vs. Wheaton: Live Stats / Live Video  ||  vs. Finlandia: Live Stats / Live Video

WHEATON, Ill. -- After being minted the nation's top team by both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Top-25 polls this week, the Christopher Newport women's basketball team will put it's pristing 17-0 record on the line in the Midwest against Wheaton College (Ill.) and Finlandia University this weekend. The Captains will first travel to Illinois to take on the Thunder (14-6) for a 2:00 pm local (3:00 pm ET) tip at Wheaton on Saturday before heading North to face Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference foe Finlandia (10-7) at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. 

Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for both games with links on the women's basketball schedule at CNUsports.com. 

It is just the second all-time matchup for CNU against the Thunder and will serve as the first meeting between the Captains and Finlandia Lions. Christopher Newport is riding a 34-game winning streak which stands currently as the longest active roll in NCAA Basketball, men's or women's, at any level. 

The Captains are coming off a 72-50 win against Mary Washington last Saturday, which helped propel them to the top of the national rankings. One of the keys to success for CNU this year has been getting out to leads and holding on as Christopher Newport has six wire-to-wire victories and have trailed by no more than nine points in any one of the 17 games this year. Only twice has an opponent led by more than four points all season long as the high-powered Captains offense ranks third nationally with 88.5 points per game. 

Led by sophomore point guard Gabbi San Diego, the Captains have taken care of the basketball this season and rank tenth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.18). San Diego ranks 19th individually and has dished out 64 assists so far this season. As a team, the Captains are finding the open man 18.4 times per game, ranking eighth nationally in assists, while only committing 15.6 turnovers per contest. 

In the scoring column, senior Sondra Fan leads a roster that features 11 different players averaging at least 5 points per game. Fan is scoring 15.4 ppg while Anaya Simmons has added 12.5 to help lead the way. Only two players are averaging more than 19 minutes played per contest. 

Wheaton will counter with a lineup that features some size as all five starters are listed at 5-8 or taller. Senior guard Hannah Swider, a 5-10 local product from Wheaton, Ill., leads the Thunder with 12.6 points per game, while 6-1 junior forward Ellie Cassel is hauling in 8.5 boards to go with 8.6 points per game. 

In the Sunday matchup against Finlandia, Christopher Newport will contend with senior guard Bailey Froberg, scoring 15.5 points per game to rank second in the conference. A tough defensive team, the Lions rank second in the C2C in steals per game with 12.0 and are a strong free-throw shooting program knocking down nearly 75% from the line. 

Following the trip to the Midwest, the Captains will return to the Commonwealth of Virginia for two neutral site games against C2C competition next weekend. Christopher Newport will face UC Santa Cruz and Pratt Institute on February 12-13 in the final road games of the regular season.