BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- Sophomore guard Madison McKenzie scored a career-high 19 points to lead the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team against the host Eagles in the Bridgewater College Invitational on Saturday, but Bridgewater used a fourth-quarter surge to hold off the Captains for a 71-65 win. The Captains suffer the first loss of the season and fall to 2-1 overall. 

McKenzie finished the game 9-for-15 from the floor while also ranking second on the team in rebounding with six boards. She added three steals in a team-high 31 minutes of action against Bridgewater while leading three CNU players in double figures. Sophomore Sarah Pritz and rookie Sydney Worsham each finished with 10 points in the game. 

Christopher Newport pulled ahead by as many as a dozen in the third quarter when sophomore transfer Noelle Cabiness knocked down a layup with 7:26 showing to give the Captains a 45-33 lead. After the teams traded three-pointers, including a drop from McKenzie beyond the arc, the visiting Captains held onto a 48-36 advantage for nearly two minutes. Cabiness had a blocked shot while McKenzie, Worsham, and Mia Wilson all had steals in the 1:45 of game clock before Bridgewater connected on a shot with 5:03 remaining to trim the lead back to ten. 

From there, the home team caught fire, scoring 14 of the next 16 points to draw even at 50-all with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. The burst would continue, as Bridgewater outscored the Captains by a count of 35-11 from the middle portion of the third quarter through the first eight minutes of the final period. The Eagles lead ballooned to 12 at 71-59, before the Captains scored the final six points of the game for the final margin, 71-65. 

Despite the loss, the Captains' defense continued to cause problems for their opponent with 31 forced turnovers including 16 steals. The Captains got five thefts from Worsham, four by Caitlin Crump, and three by McKenzie. 

Christopher Newport will look to bounce back against a top-ten opponent on Sunday to wrap up the Bridgewater Invitational against No. 8 Johns Hopkins University. Tip against the Blue Jays (4-0) is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.