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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Closing out the home slate on Saturday against a 2024 NCAA Tournament participant in Penn State Harrisburg (15-7), the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team will tip off at 2:00 p.m. against the Lions. The final home regular season game for six players will serve as Senior Day at the Freeman Center with a special presentation prior to the game. 

In addition to the six senior student-athletes -- Hannah Kaloi, Alexia Lindsey, Camille Malagar, Hannah Orloff, Gabbi San Diego, and Sydney Sherman -- head coach Bill Broderick will also recognize four-year team manager Joely Morgan and play-by-play broadcaster Noah Shubert. Over the last four years, the group assembling on Saturday played a role in a 105-5 overall record, marking the finest four-year stretch in program history with a winning percentage of 95.4 percent. As part of that tremendous success, the Captains have piled up a 39-0 regular season home record over the last four years and have extended the overall run to 55 straight for CNU.

On Saturday, the Captains will take on a Penn State Harrisburg squad that has won 15 games or more in four straight seasons. It will be the 13th matchup all-time between the two programs with Christopher Newport owning a 12-0 record against the Lions. CNU played the Lions twice a year from 2013-19 as conference foes in the Capital Athletic Conference. 

In addition to the 12-game run against the Lions, the Captains have won 14 in a row overall this year while improving to 21-1 on the season. This week, Christopher Newport reached 50 consecutive appearances in the national rankings as the Captains are ranked No. 5 in the WBCA Coaches Poll and No. 10 in the D3hoops.com National Rankings.

On the court, CNU has paired the fifth-ranked scoring offense (81.0 ppg) with a defensive unit that ranks fourth nationally in turnovers forced (32.6) and steals per game (18.0). The Captains have been balanced offensively, with no player averaging double figures this season. Fifth-year senior Camille Malagar is leading the charge with 9.2 points per game while senior Hannah Orloff (8.7 ppg) and sophomore Elizabeth Creed (7.9 ppg) are atop the balanced attack. Defensively, Orloff ranks 16th in the country in blocked shots and reached 50 for the second time in her career. Senior Alexia Lindsey has the team-high in steals with 46 as one of eight Captains with at least 25 steals. 

The Captains are coming off a 92-39 victory against Regent University last week. Against the Royals, rookie Katerina Dakos led the team in scoring with 23 points, marking the seventh straight game that a different Captain scored a team-high. In that game, Sydney Sherman hauled in a season-high 11 rebounds and Emma O'Connor finished with a double-double scoring 13 points and adding 10 boards. 

Countering the CNU attack will be a Lions squad that is led by graduate transfer Jordan Carpenter. Carpenter was a two-time All-American for the University of Mary Washington and is the reigning Conference Player and Defensive Player of the year in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference. In her graduate season with Penn State Harrisburg, Carpenter is leading the team and ranks in the top-25 in both scoring and rebounding this year. She is pouring in 19.7 points and grabbing 11.0 rebounds per game while also adding 37 steals, 20 blocks, and 52 assists. 

While Carpenter has been a focal point, the Lions also feature two more double-figure scorers in Mikayla Coleman, averaging 14.2 points per game, and Giahny Correa, adding 11.3 points per game. Coleman has a team-high 49 three-pointers while Correa ranks second on the team with 20 triples. With 90 assists, Ali Lister leads Harrisburg and averaged 3.5 per game over her two-year Division III career after playing two seasons at Division II Adelphi. 

Following the contest on Saturday, the Captains will travel to Mary Washington (Feb 15) and Salisbury (Feb 20) to close out the regular season. After those two games, Christopher Newport will fly to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the 2025 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship from Feb 27-March 1.