BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The eighth-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team led from start to finish against William Paterson University (6-4) at the Steel Club Classic on Sunday afternoon and pulled away for an 87-59 win in the tournament opener hosted by Moravian University. The Captains improved to 11-1 on the season after
Mia Wilson and
Alexia Lindsey led the way with 10 points apiece in the victory.
Lindsey got the Captains started with a pair of driving layups in the first minute to take the lead for good. The quick start would amount to a 15-4 run at the beginning of the first quarter as Christopher Newport opened up a double-digit lead just over five minutes into the contest.
Madison McKenzie dropped in a layup off a feed from Wilson to put the Captains up by 11 with 4:39 left in the opening stanza.
A short 5-0 run by the Pioneers trimmed the lead to single digits again but
Hannah Orloff and
Hailey Kellogg pushed the lead back to 11 with a 7-2 burst to close out the first ten minutes. Orloff connected on her second attempt from the field and Kellogg followed with a pair of free-throws and a splash from long distance to make it 22-11.
The lead would shrink to no less than eleven the rest of the game as Christopher Newport led by as many as 16 in the first half when Orloff connected on two free throws with 3:46 left in the first half. CNU held a 13-point advantage at the break, 37-24.
On the first possession of the second half,
Camille Malagar buried a three-pointer off a pass from
Elizabeth Creed and sparked another early run for CNU as Creed made it 42-24 with a layup on the next possession. After back-and-forth action for much of the third quarter, a pair of free-throws from Leilani Pinder got the Pioneers back to within 11 at 51-40, but a 9-0 run by the Captains erased any thought of a second-half comeback as CNU took a 20-point lead, 60-40. Creed scored two, Wilson had three at the line, Malagar added a steal and run-out layup and Wilson capped the spurt with a fast-break jumper.
Having distanced themselves by 23 points heading into the final quarter, the Captains outpaced the Pioneers by a game-high 11 points in the fourth quarter, 26-15. The largest lead came at the final score with a 28-point win, 87-59. CNU scored 16 of the last 18 points in the game, turning a 14-point lead, 71-57, into the final margin with contributions from four freshmen including
Emma O'Connor,
Madison McKenzie,
Sarah Pritz, and
Katerina Dakos. Junior
McKenna Snively also scored in the final burst for the Captains as the well-balanced offense continued to showcase numerous offensive options throughout the game.
Lindsey and Wilson each finished with 10 points to lead the way while Creed and Malagar had nine.
Hailey Kellogg and Orloff each had eight points while all but two players found their way into the scoring column in the game. Orloff also hauled in 10 rebounds, finishing just shy of a double-double in just 18 minutes of action. O'Connor was second on the team in rebounding with eight boards, helping CNU secure a 48-39 advantage on the glass.
CNU forced 30 turnovers out of the William Paterson offense with 18 steals. Lindsey and Malagar led the way with three thefts each while all but three Captains snagged at least one steal for the ball-hawking defense.
Christopher Newport will advance to Monday's Steel Club Classic Championship Game at 1:00 pm. The Captains will take on either host Moravian or Saint Elizabeth.
