BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- In an early season test, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team is set to travel to Bridgewater College for a pair of matchups this weekend. The Captains (2-0), ranked No. 7 in the WBCA Coaches' Poll and No. 20 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, will first face the host Eagles on Saturday, November 15 at 8:00 p.m. before taking on the 8th-ranked Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins Uniiversity on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

The Bridgewater Invitational also welcomes in 19th-ranked Catholic University to face the aforementioned squads from Bridgewater and Johns Hopkins in the other games on Saturday and Sunday. The talented field will compete at Nininger Hall with a live video stream available with a FloSports subscription. Live stats will also be available, free of charge, online. 

Christopher Newport opened the season with a 2-0 record at the Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament last weekend on the campus of Wilmington College in Ohio. CNU defeated Wittenberg (80-66) and UC Santa Cruz (64-54) and were led by Madison McKenzie offensively with 11.5 points and 2.5 steals per game. Caitlin Crump (10.5 ppg) and Sydney Worsham (10.0 ppg) also averaged in double figures the opening weekend to help lift CNU to a pair of wins. 

The matchup against Bridgewater will be the 28th all-time meeting between the two programs with CNU winning eight straight to take a slight 14-13 advantage in the series. Head coach Stephanie Flamini, in her fourth season with Bridgewater, has led the Eagles back into the national spotlight as BC is receiving votes in the preseason coaches poll. Last season, Bridgewater was 21-5 as Flamini, long-time coach at Guilford College, led the Eagles to the most wins in the program since 2010-11. This year, the Eagles opened with a dominant 74-37 victory against Mary Baldwin on Monday night. 

Johns Hopkins continues its impressive run under third-year head coach Rodney Rogan, who has dropped just nine games in his tenure with the Blue Jays. This year, Hopkins has started 3-0 with wins against Luther (95-60), Wartburg (70-49), and Trinity (DC) (102-25). Hopkins has reached the NCAA Tournament sectional round in back-to-back seasons and has been ranked a top-ten team to start the 2025-26 season. So far, the Blue Jays are led by Layla Henderson with 10.3 points per game including five three-pointers. Lauren Knudson has started all three games and buried seven three-pointers while averaging 9.3 points per game. 

Following the trip to Bridgewater, the Captains will travel to face The College of New Jersey on Wednesday, November 19 at 5:00 p.m.