FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- The top-ranked and top-seeded Christopher Newport women's basketball team will open defense of it's conference championship crown on Friday, February 24 as they travel to Ron Rosner Arena at the Anderson Center in Fredericksburg, Va. for the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament this weekend. The Captains (24-0) will face #4-seed Finlandia University (12-11) at 5:00 p.m. on Friday evening with a title game berth on the line against the Lions. 

The semifinal round games will be played at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Friday with the second game featuring #2-seed UC Santa Cruz and the winner of Thursday's other quarterfinal between #3 Mary Washington and #6 Mount Mary. The two winning teams in Friday's semifinal will then advance to play in Saturday night's championship bout at 7:00 p.m. 

CNU has won three straight conference titles starting with an 83-67 win over Southern Virginia in 2018-19. The Captains also defeated York (Pa.), 86-66, in 2019-20 and defeated UC Santa Cruz, 71-64, in last year's version of the postseason event. Christopher Newport has four conference titles since joining the league in 2013-14 and won 11 USA South Athletic Conference Championships prior to that. CNU is 61-23 all-time in conference tournament play including an 11-4 record with seven straight wins since joining the Coast-To-Coast (formerly the Capital Athletic Conference). 

The Captains are in the midst of a tremendous run over the last three seasons, running their overall record to 75-5 (.938) including a burst of 67 wins in the last 68 games dating back to December, 2019. This season, Christopher Newport remains one of only three NCAA Division III women's basketball teams without a loss while leading the nation in scoring margin (+36.8 ppg) and ranking second nationally in field-goal percentage (.469). 

Senior forward Anaya Simmons has anchored that phenomenal effort from the field by leading the nation in field-goal percentage by an individual for the second straight year. Simmons is knocking down 66.8 percent of her attempts, outpacing the second ranked player in the nation by three percentage points. The first team All-Conference forward leads the team in rebounding (8.0 rpg) and ranks second on the squad in scoring this season, pouring in 14.2 points per game. 

Fifth-year guard Sondra Fan leads the team with 14.8 points per game and also ranks in the top-80 nationally in field-goal percentage. The 2022 Conference Player of the Year has moved into the top-ten all-time at CNU in scoring while eclipsing 200 carer made three-pointers in her last outing. Fan has added over 2.5 assists per game while grabbing 48 steals this year as well. 

The Captains will have to contend with the Conference Player and Defensive Player of the Year in Finlandia's Natalie Bartle. The junior star is averaging 21.4 points per game, 7.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per contest. The Division I transfer is also is grabbing 3.9 steals per game while leading the Lions to a 12-win campaign in her first year with the program. Finlandia downed Salisbury, 72-60, in the quarterfinals on Thursday. 

Friday night's matchup will just be the second all-time pairing between Christopher Newport and Finlandia, after CNU earned a 90-67 win over the Lions during the regular season last year. 

Live stats and live video will be available for all the action, courtesy of Mary Washington Athletics. Links to both will be found on the women's basketball schedule at CNUsports.com prior to tip.