ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Riding a nine-game winning streak and a well-traveled roster through the first 13 games, the Christopher Newport women's basketball team will get back to work on Monday, December 29 at the 2025 D3 St. Pete Classic hosted by Eckerd College. The Captains (11-2) will first take on Wellesley College (4-4) at 11:00 a.m. on Monday before returning to the hardwood to face 18th-ranked WashU (7-2) at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 30.
Christopher Newport has played ten of its first 13 games away from home this season and boasts an 8-2 record away from the Freeman Center. The neutral site trek to the Sunshine State will feature games versus two opponents against whom the Captains have never faced. It will be the first meeting against the Blue, a women's college in the NEWMAC located in Wellesley, Massachusetts. It will also be the first against the Bears, located in St. Louis, Mo. and part of the UAA.
The Blue have also played a majority of their contests this season away from home, going 2-3, while WashU is 5-0 in their first nine games at home with a 2-2 record outside of the friendly confines.
All the games in the 2025 St. Pete Classic will be played at the McArthur Center on the campus of the NCAA Division II institution Eckerd College. Games will be filmed and streamed with a fee to purchase the games. Live stats will also be available free of charge and links to both can be found on the women's basketball schedule at CNUsports.com.
The other games will feature WashU against Southern Virginia on Monday and Southern Virginia taking on Wellesley Tuesday afternoon.
Heading into the flight south for winter, the Captains were sailing through the schedule with nine straight wins most recently including an 81-73 win against Catholic on December 20.
Mia Wilson scored a game-high 19 points, matching her season-high, while
Jessica Dornak added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Captains. Dornak would go on to earn C2C Player of the Week honors and is currently second on the team in rebounding with 5.2 rebounds per game.
Offensively, the Captains are led by
Madison McKenzie with 11.4 points per game and the sophomore also ranks second on the team in assists with 29. Leading the charge in facilitating is senior point guard
Hailey Kellogg with 41 dimes in the first 13 games, surpassing 200 for her career.
Wellesley features four double-figure scorers including leading scorer and rebounder Ava Shane (14.4 ppg / 8.0 rpg). All five starters are averaging over 31 minutes per game Shane is joined by Hailey Moy (13.0 ppg), Trinity Barrow (12.8 ppg), and Stacy Chen (10.9 ppg) in double figures.
WashU also features a quartet of double figure scorers and a dominant starting lineup that carries the bulk of the production in 2025-26. Lexy Harris is averaging nearly a double-double with 15.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game while Sidney Rogers and Alyssa Hughes have been dangerous beyond the arc, averaging over two triples per game.
Following the Floridian foray, Christopher Newport will return to the Freeman Center for the Camper Reunion Game on Saturday, January 3 at 2:00 p.m. against Stockton University.
