ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- Overcoming a shaky start to the first quarter, the third-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team leaned on its timely defense and a career-high 20 point scoring performance by senior guard
Camille Malagar to improve to 2-0 on the season with a 57-47 victory over Emory University (0-1) on Saturday afternoon. The Captains took the lead early in the second quarter and held off the talented Eagles for a double-digit victory in the Jean Edge Classic hosted by North Carolina Wesleyan University.
Through the first eight minutes, the Captains connected on just three field goal attempts as
Hannah Orloff and Malagar each got on the board with layups before
McKenna Snively snapped in a three-pointer. On the other end, Emory matched CNU through the early stages before a quick 9-0 spurt put the Captains behind, 13-7, with just 2:03 left in the opening stanza. From there, though, the Captains responded with a 14-0 roll of their own to take a lead they would never relinquish.
Malagar and
Alivia Giles ended the first quarter with buckets and added one apiece at the start of the second as well. Rookie
Caitlin Crump got on the board off a nice feed from
Gabbi San Diego, giving the Captains the lead, 15-13, and Malagar added another quick bucket after Crump snagged a steal. Snively and Crump rounded out the 14-0 burst with a pair of layups and Christopher Newport got out to an eight-point lead, 21-13, with 6:07 showing on the clock.
Emory rebounded with six unanswered points, but they would prove to be the only six points in the second quarter for the Eagles as the CNU defense was suffocating, holding Emory to just 3-of-12 shooting in the period. The Captains forced eight turnovers in the second quarter, scoring ten points off of Eagles giveaways.
At halftime, the Captains held a 25-19 lead over Emory, who is receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 national rankings. Emory would pull to within four twice in the second half, but Christopher Newport kept them at bay before building a ten-point advantage heading into the final frame, 41-31. In the fourth, Malagar took over, burying 4-of-6 from the field and adding 3-for-4 from the free-throw line to score 11 points in the final ten minutes of action. She finished the game with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting while adding three rebounds and one steal.
Caitlin Crump and
Hannah Orloff each added eight points while Snively pitched in seven, including the lone made triple of the night for the Captains. Giles hauled in a team-high seven rebounds to go with five points in the Captains' front court while
Alexia Lindsey added five rebounds and a team-high three steals.
The CNU defense forced 24 turnovers in the game and held Emory to just 40.8 percent shooting (20-49). The Captains hauled in 17 offensive rebounds and swiped 12 steals in the contest.
Christopher Newport will return to action on Sunday, November 12 as they close out the Jean Edge Classic with a matchup against Maryville College (Tenn.) at 1:00 pm.
