BUENA VISTA, Va. -- The Christopher Newport women's basketball team will be back in action on Wednesday night as they travel to Southern Virginia University (5-2) for a 6:00 p.m. tip against the Knights. The Captains will be adorned with a higher national ranking as they take the hardwood at Knight Arena, moving up to No. 4 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 8 in the D3hoops.com National Rankings.
Off to a 7-0 start this season, the Captains are coming of an 86-28 win at Greensboro College prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. In that win, the defense continued to shine by forcing 47 turnovers and outrebounding the Pride by a count of 63-34. No CNU player registered double figure scoring in the game despite nearly 90 points on the board and rookie
Sarah Pritz fell just one point shy of her first career double-double after hauling in a season-high 11 rebounds.
The matchup against Southern Virginia dates back to December 4, 1999 and CNU owns a 22-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Captains have won seven straight in the series including two in a row in Buena Vista.
This season, the balance offensively has been troublesome for Christopher Newport opponents as only one player is averaging over 10 points per game. Fifth-year senior
Camille Malagar is pouring in 10.7 points per game while averaging just under 15 minutes per contest so far this season. Behind her, nine more CNU players are adding between 5.4 and 8.0 points per game and four more are averaging over 4.0 points per game. With so many options on the offensive end, the Captains are averaging 84.6 points per game and rank 13th in Division III this season. The Captains bench production is the second-highest among Division III programs with over 52 points per game.
On the defensive end, CNU has been as tough to break as ever with 34 turnovers forced per game to rank fourth in the nation. Senior
Alexia Lindsey leads the team with 18 thefts while junior
Hailey Kellogg has added 16.
The Captains will take on a Southern Virginia squad that has featured a tough defense so far this season, holding opponents to just 55.6 points per game. The Knights have been off since last Tuesday, November 26 when they earned a 20-point win over Stevenson at home, 71-51. Southern Virginia has just two losses, including a narrow eight-point setback to seventh-ranked Washington and Lee on the road. Abigail Snyder is the scoring leader for the home team with 15.6 points per game while Ruth Kempler is adding 12.9 points per game.
Following the mid-week road game, the Captains will return to the Freeman Center for a matchup on Monday evening against North Carolina Wesleyan. Tip against the Battling Bishops on Monday, December 9 is set for 6:0 p.m.
