WILMINGTON, Ohio -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team will get underway with the 2025-26 season this weekend as the Captains (0-0) are set to travel to Wilmington College for the Fred Raizk Memorial Classic. Christopher Newport, ranked No. 7 in the WBCA Coaches' Poll and No. 20 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, will face Wittenberg University at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and then UC Santa Cruz at the same time on Sunday afternoon.
The two neutral site matchups will be played at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court as part of the season-opening tip-off tournament hosted by Wilmington College. The Quakers will face UC Santa Cruz at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and Wittenberg in the final matchup on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
Live stats will be available, free of charge, courtesy of the Wilmington Department of Athletics. A live video webcast will also be available online with a paid service through FloCollege. The links to both can be found online at the women's basketball schedule on CNUsports.com.
It will be the first ever matchup between the Captains and the Tigers of Wittenberg University. CNU will be facing the Banana Slugs for the fifth time, boasting a 4-0 all-time record in the series against UC Santa Cruz.
Heading into the season, Christopher Newport will have a new look after graduating a heavy load of the rotation in 2025. Still, the Captains return eight players from a team that ranked second nationally in bench scoring with over 43 points per game last season. Among them are seniors
McKenna Snively (4.9 ppg, 26 3FGM) and
Hailey Kellogg (4.0 ppg, 2.4 apg) along with juniors
Elizabeth Creed (7.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg),
Caitlin Crump (3.4 ppg, 1.2 spg),
Jessica Dornak (
Mia Wilson (2.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg), and
Mia Wilson (5.5 ppg, 30 3FGM).
The Captains will welcome a bevy of newcomers including Division I transfers
Atiana Williams (James Madison) and
Noelle Cabiness (Le Moyne). Six freshmen will immediately factor into the fast-paced rotation for head coach
Bill Broderick entering his 13th season at the helm.
Wittenberg was picked to finish fourth in the NCAC Preseason Poll after an 18-10 record last season. The Tigers reached the NCAC Championship Game last season before finishing the season in the title game against nationally-ranked DePauw.
UC Santa Cruz was 8-17 last season and finished in the C2C semifinals where the Captains ousted the Banana Slugs by a final score of 76-50. This year, UCSC picked up a first-place vote and were selected fourth in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
Following the opening weekend on the road, Christopher Newport will return to action the next weekend at the Bridgewater College Invitational. CNU will take on the host Eagles on Saturday, November 15 and face Johns Hopkins on Sunday, November 16.
