TACOMA, Wash. -- This weekend, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team was set to open the 2024-25 season at the Puget Sound Tip-Off in the Evergreen State with games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, an unexpected travel delay on the way to the airport in the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel forced the Captains to miss their flight and into an adjustment to the weekend schedule. CNU will now play Willamette University on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. before taking on the host University of Puget Sound on Monday evening at 5:00 p.m. 

The Captains were on the road when a cooking oil spill and a disabled tractor trailer wound up closing the bridge tunnel for nearly four hours. While the season's start will be delayed by a day, the excitement surrounding the beginning of the year continues to grow as the Captains travel to play in Washington state for the first time since the 2014 NCAA Tournament at Whitman College. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available with links found on the women's basketball schedule at CNUsports.com. 

Fans not able to attend in person should note the game times listed are times local to the game. Tip on the East Coast will come at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday and 8:00 p.m. on Monday. 

Christopher Newport, ranked No. 5 in the WBCA Preseason Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25, will face off against a pair of NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. The Bearcats of Willamette earned an at-large bid into the postseason and exited in the first round while the Loggers of Puget Sound won the Northwest Conference and defeated nationally-ranked Carroll University in the first round before dropping a match to UW-Stout in the second round.

The Sunday evening matchup against Willamette will be the second all-time as CNU earned an 83-51 win in Hawaii during the 2017-18 campaign in the only previous bout. It will be the first ever appearance against Puget Sound. 

Christopher Newport will lean on its veteran depth at the start of the year with three fifth-year players on the roster and three more seniors back in the fold for head coach Bill Broderick. Transfer Sydney Sherman joins fifth-years Camille Malagar and Gabbi San Diego as the eldest players for CNU while traditional seniors Hannah Kaloi, Hannah Orloff, and Alexia Lindsey round out the the talented group of upperclassmen. Juniors McKenna Snively and Hailey Kellogg are also key players in the fast-paced CNU rotation adding depth at the guard positions. 

The Captains' senior class boasts one of the finest regular season records in the NCAA over the last three years, combining for a 70-1 record and a 98.6 winning percentage. 

Following the trip to Washington State, the Captains will return to the Freeman Center for the home opener on Wednesday, November 13 at 6:00 pm against Averett University.