Tournament Information  ||  Game Notes  ||  Live Video  ||  Live Stats

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Taking on Montclair State University (23-4) on Friday afternoon, the 3rd-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team will embark on the 25th NCAA Tournament journey in program history. CNU, sporting a sparkling 26-1 overall record, will tip off at 4:30 p.m. against the Red Hawks on a neutral court at Catholic University. 

Ticket prices are $15 for adults and $10 for children ages 2-12. The game will be played at Franny Murray Court in the DuFour Center in Washington, D.C. Tickets can be purchased in advance by clicking here. Parking in the DuFour Center lot is free of charge; street parking is also available and is metered. For fans unable to attend in person, live stats and a live video webcast will be available with links found at the top of this page and on the women's basketball schedule at CNUsports.com. 

CNU ranks fifth all-time with 25 NCAA Tournament appearances and has reached the postseason tournament in 11 of 12 seasons under head coach Bill Broderick. Last season, Christopher Newport suffered a second round loss to Johns Hopkins, snapping a streak of 11 consecutive sectional round appearances dating back to 2009. CNU has a 25-9 record in NCAA Tournament action since Broderick took the helm with two final four appearances and a national runner-up showing in 2023. 

The Captains are traveling for the opening round for the first time since 2022 when CNU earned a win over Mitchell College, 89-42, at Johns Hopkins. In neutral site NCAA Tournament games under Coach Broderick, Christopher Newport has a terrific 12-3 record including the first, in 2013, against Montclair State. 

That matchup against the Red Hawks represents the last time the two teams faced off, which came in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament. CNU earned the win, 83-70, and improved to 2-0 all-time against Montclair State. 

The Captains continue to lean on one of a suffocating defense that forces over 30 turnovers per game in 2024-25. Since 2016, Christopher Newport is 154-3 while holding opponents to 60 points or less including a 21-0 record this season. CNU has held six straight opponents under the 60-point threshold including both UC Santa Cruz and Mary Washington in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament to capture the team's sixth straight league title. 

In addition to holding opponents to just 52.8 points per game and forcing 30.7 turnovers per game, Hannah Orloff has been a formidable presence inside the paint with over 60 blocked shots this year. The C2C Defensive Player of the Year is just two rejections shy of 150 for her career and ranks fourth all-time at CNU. She was also named the C2C Player of the Year and is averaging 8.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. 

Camille Malagar is leading the team in scoring with 10.2 points per game and is knocking down over 45 percent of her shots from the field this year. The C2C Tournament MVP has been reliable at the line, shooting 96.4 percent (27-28) from the free-throw line, and ranks second on the team with 27 made three-pointers. Fifth-year senior Gabbi San Diego rounds out the C2C All-Conference honorees for CNU this season and enters the weekend sporting a career-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.05. She has dished out 61 assists paired with just 20 turnovers while averaging 5.6 points per game. 

Montclair State earned the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship for the seventh time this year. Alyssa Craigwell is averaging a team-high 15.7 points per game in her first year with five double-doubles. The NJAC Rookie of the Year made an immediate impact as the seven-time NJAC Rookie of the Week this season. Craigwell scored 30 points in the regular season finale and followed that performance up by averaging 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in the NJAC Tournament. Senior Olivia Vero is also averaging double figures, pouring in 13.8 points per game, while the Red Hawks Division I transfer at point guard, Sophie Beneventine, has dished 146 assists this season. 

The winning team will advance to the NCAA Tournament Second Round on Saturday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m. They will face the advancing team from the other first round matchup on Friday featuring the host Catholic University Cardinals and the SUNY Geneseo Knights.