Game Notes
HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Closing out the 2023 calendar year with a pair of games in the Stevens Intitute of Technology Holiday Classic, the third-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team will look to remain undefeated with matchups against SUNY New Paltz (5-2) and the host Ducks of Stevens (5-4) this weekend. The Captains are 12-0 to start the year after a pair of wins at the Music City Classic right before the holiday break and will face another stiff test with two more away from home this weekend.
Rounding out the classic-style format will be Middlebury College (5-4) taking the court first against Stevens at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. That game will be followed by CNU facing New Paltz at 7:00 p.m. The Stevens men's program is hosting an event simultaneously and games will be played at 1:00 and 5:00 before and between the women's games. On Saturday, CNU will make the quick turnaround to play the hosts at 3:00 p.m. in Canavan Arena for the second of the four-game schedule.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for all the action with links found on the women's basketball schedule at CNUsports.com.
The Captains will be facing New Paltz for the first time and Stevens for just the second time in the all-time history of the CNU women's basketball program. New Paltz is off to a 5-2 start with both losses coming by a combined five points; the veteran-led Hawks have reached four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and are averaging 23.5 wins per season over the last four. CNU won the only previous matchup against Stevens with an 89-56 victory in the 2019 version of the same tournament. The Ducks are 5-4 so far this season after opening the year with five wins in the first six games.
CNU is coming off a big win over 16th-ranked Whitman College, 70-61, after holding the Blues to a season-low 11.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Captains' defense is holding opponents to just over 55 points per game this season including eight games in which their foe has failed to eclipse 60 points.
Offensively, the Captains got double-figure scoring from
Alivia Giles (19),
Hannah Kaloi (17), and
Camille Malagar (17) in the win over Whitman, and have continued to stress depth on the offensive end. Giles leads the squad with 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while Malagar is adding 9.4 points per game while knocking down 45.2 percent of her shots. Giles is also having an efficient season shooting, leading the squad with 62 percent from the field.
New Paltz enters the game with a formidable front court that ranks 12th nationally in offensive boards per game and 18th nationally in blocks per game. The Hawks have featured the same starting lineup in all seven games and include three players averaging double figures. Jenny Walton and Brianna Fitzgerald lead the charge with 18.0 and 17.7 points per game, respectively, while Abby Korzekwinski rounds out the trio with 10.3 points per game so far.
Stevens will take on the Captains being led by Leyla Castro's 14.2 points per game. The Ducks have four players in double figures through the first nine games including two more starters in Lucy Alberici (13.0 ppg) and Dorothy Loffredo (10.7 ppg). The fourth Stevens player averaging double figures is Elissa Nsenkyire (12.0 ppg), but the senior guard has not appeared in a game since November 18.
Following the trip to Hoboken, the Captains will then make another journey to New Jersey on January 3 when they travel to face Rowan University at 3:00 p.m. in Glassboro.
