WILMINGTON, Ohio – A fourth quarter flourish from rookie Sydney Worsham and a well-balanced overall performance helped lift the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball to a season-opening win over Wittenberg University (0-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament in Wilmington, Ohio. The Captains (1-0) won, 80-66, as Worsham led three CNU players in double figures with 15 points while joined by veterans Elizabeth Creed (13) and Hailey Kellogg (13).
 
Christopher Newport improved to 12-1 in season-opening games under head coach Bill Broderick entering his 13^th season at the helm for the Captains this year. It was the fourth win on a neutral court to kick off the season in his tenure.
 
The game was played at Wilmington College as part of the season-opening tournament. Christopher Newport, ranked No. 7 in the WBCA Coaches' Poll and No. 20 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, saw 15 players get into the action and ten CNU players entered the scoring column to open up the 2025-26 season.
 
Christopher Newport was able to maintain a lead for the majority of the contest, but Wittenberg kept it close until the fourth quarter. The Captains took a two-point lead into halftime, 38-36, and the Tigers snuck ahead of CNU late in the third quarter. From there, though, CNU tilted the game heavily in their own favor courtesy of a 15-3 run that spanned nearly six-and-a-half minutes of game time between the end of the third quarter to less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Worsham scored 11 fourth quarter points, going 5-of-6 from the field, including seven points in the big run that created distance for the Captains in the final period. Junior Mia Wilson triggered the run with a momentum-shifting triple at the end of the third quarter after junior Caitlin Crump had knotted the game at 56-all with just over a minute remaining.
 
The burst turned a 56-55 deficit into a 70-59 lead for the Captains as they took the first double-digit lead of the ball game. Now with some breathing room, Christopher Newport was efficient at the free-throw line and ramped up the defensive intensity to hold off Wittenberg in the final five minutes and adding to the lead. By the final horn, CNU was up by 14 and captured the win, 80-66.

In the decisive fourth quarter, Christopher Newport forced 11 Wittenberg turnovers and held the Tigers to just 2-of-9 shooting from the field. On the other end, CNU turned the ball over just thrice and converted on nearly 47 percent of their attempts from the field. Additionally, the Captains went 7-for-11 from the free-throw line to ice the victory, led by Kellogg with a 4-for-4 showing. 

Kellogg's performance at the stripe was accentuated in the final quarter, but the senior point guard put together a career effort at the free-throw line. Coming into the game, Kellogg had played in 86 career games and never attempted more than six free throws in a game -- on Saturday, the Gainesville, Va. native kicked off her final season by going 11-for-12 from the line. Overall, CNU was 26-for-35 from the FT line with Crump, Worsham, Creed, and Sarah Pritz all adding three makes with the clock stopped. 

The game began with Christopher Newport jumping out to an 8-2 lead when Crump nailed the first three-pointer of the season and Kellogg knocked down two from the line. Wilson added her first triple and Creed finished a traditional three-point play as CNU scored 11 points in the first four minutes of the game. The torrid pace slowed as Wittenberg countered, scoring six straight to pull back within one.  Three-point shooting continued to be the difference for the Captains, though, as Madison McKenzie and Atiana Williams hit from deep to retake an eight-poind edge, 20-12. 

In the second quarter, the teams went back-and-forth as Wittenberg chipped away at the lead, leaning on Molly Mossing and Karley Moore. Mossing and Moore each finished with a game-high 18 points for the Tigers, but could only muster 30 points from the rest of the lineup against the stiff Captains' defense. The other nine Wittenberg players combined to shoot just under 26 percent in the game against the stifling pressure, which also forced 31 turnovers in the game. 

Overall, the Captains finished out game one shooting 35.4 percent (23-65) from the field including a 33.3 percent (8-24) effort from three-point land. Wittenberg shot 41.8 percent (23-55) from the field and CNU held the Tigers to just 6.3 percent (1-16) from beyond the arc. 

Creed led all rebounders with six caroms while Jessica Dornak and newcomer Noelle Cabiness each also hauled in four boards. Defensively, Creed and Worsham each snagged three steals while CNU collected 16 in the win. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Sunday afternoon as the Captains take on Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference foe UC Santa Cruz. The Banana Slugs are facing the host Quakers of Wilmington College in the second game on Saturday.