NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Taking on the Lightning of Lehman College (8-6) for the first time in program history, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team will return to the Freeman Center on Sunday, January 11 for its next matchup. The Captains, who improved to 14-3 on Thursday evening, will tip off again Lehman at 1:00 p.m. 

The Freeman Center will open an hour before tip at Noon and tickets will be available for purchase at the ticket office. For fans unable to attend in person, live stats and a live video webcast are available at CNUsports.com. 

Christopher Newport captured an 80-70 road victory at Pfeiffer on Thursday and earned the team's 12th win in the last 13 games. In those 12 victories, the Captains are outscoring opponents by an average of over 22 points per game while leaning on a dominant defense and well-balanced offense. 

The balanced offense includes 37.2 points per game from the bench as the CNU reserves have been critical to the Captains' success. That includes 8.9 points per game from senior McKenna Snively, who has been one of the most efficient scorers this year while knocking down 44.7 percent from the field. Sophomore Sarah Pritz has also come off the bench while playing in all 17 games this season and is averaging 7.0 points per game. She has also been a presence on the glass, ranking third on the team with 4.1 rebounds per game. 

Defensively, CNU has continued its patented brand of pressure defense and ranks sixth nationally in turnovers forced per game (28.9). The Captains have averaged 15.4 steals per game, ranking 12th nationally. Seven different CNU players have at least 20 steals through the first 17 games including a team-high 33 by sophomore Madison McKenzie and 30 by junior Caitlin Crump. 

Lehman has won two in a row and improved to 8-6 overall heading into the Sunday afternoon tilt while also featuring a 3-1 record in road games this year. The Lightning snagged a pair of dominant conference road wins this week with a 40-point win at Medgar Evers and a 27-point win at CCNY. The matchup at CNU is the final non-conference game of the year for Lehman. 

A stark contrast to the Captains offensively, the five regular starters are averaging double figures and account for over 91 percent of the Lightning's total offense. Leading the charge as the the team's leading scorer and rebounder has been Heaven Figueroa with 16.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Sage Fanelli is adding 13.4 points per game and Isabela Araujo has chipped in 12.4 points per game. The trio has combined for 61 made three-pointers in 14 games played with over 15 attempts per game. 

Following the home matchup against Lehman, the Captains will get their first look at a Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference foe on Saturday, January 17 when they welcome Salisbury University to the Freeman Center. Tip against the Sea Gulls is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.