SALISBURY, Md. -- Carrying the Captains into their ninth consecutive conference championship appearance, sophomore Madison McKenzie scored 26 points to help lead the 14th-ranked and top-seeded Christopher Newport women's basketball team to a 64-54 triumph over #4 Mary Washington (11-16) on Friday evening. The Captains will face host and #3-seed Salisbury at 7:00 p.m. Saturday in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship Game. 

CNU improved to 22-4 with the semifinal victory while adding to an 18-game win streak against the Eagles. In the postseason, Christopher Newport is 7-1 against Mary Washington including matchups in each of the last five seasons.

All games of the 2026 C2C Women's Basketball Championship are being played in the Maggs Center on the campus of Salisbury University. For the second time this year, a CNU player put together an impressive scoring performance on that floor after senior McKenna Snively poured in 30 points against the Sea Gulls just over two weeks prior. On Friday, it was McKenzie who notched her third 20-point scoring performance of the season and poured in 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. 

McKenzie knocked down all three of her shots from beyond the arc, including a dagger from the right wing to push the lead to a dozen with just under three minutes remaining. Mary Washington had pulled to within four, 49-45, with 7:43 remaining in regulation, but McKenzie scored 12 straight points for the Captains to take a 61-49 lead on the late triple. Her fourth quarter outburst saw the second-year star finish 3-for-4 with two three-pointers and a 5-for-6 mark at the free-throw line while finishing off the Eagles. She scored 21 of her 26 points in the second half while going 6-for-8 from the field. 

Prior to the second-half takeover, the two familiar foes were locked in a close battle that saw neither team lead by more than four over the first 18 minutes of action. The back-and-forth affair was broken by the Captains when Kaycee Doughty connected on a free throw and Mia Wilson buried a three-pointer late in the second quarter to send the Captains into the locker room up by eight, 29-21. 

CNU extended to a game-high 14 points with back-to-back three-pointers to start the second half when Snively and McKenzie came out firing. Mary Washington, though, clinged to hopes of a comeback and used a 12-0 run to get back within two points, 35-33, with 4:23 left in the third quarter. A pair of offensive rebounds by Jessica Dornak led to four points for the Captains and Noelle Cabiness added an offensive board and stickback moments later to keep CNU ahead by six. 

The fourth quarter started with a three-pointer by McKenna Huff to get the Eagles back within three, 44-41, but CNU held off the comeback bid by answering each make with one of their own until McKenzie's big fourth quarter run. 

The CNU defense forced 24 Mary Washington turnovers and grabbed 11 steals including a game-high five by McKenzie, the C2C Defensive Player of the Year. She added a blocked shot and hauled in three rebounds for the Captains. Hailey Kellogg, coming off a career-high 18 points against the Eagles six days prior, added nine points and four assists in the game while connecting on 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Snively knocked down on three-pointer and finished with eight points in the win for CNU. 

In the other semifinal matchup, Salisbury downed #2-seed Johnson & Wales (NC) and advanced to the C2C Championship Game for the first time since 2015 when they defeated Mary Washington in double overtime, 74-68. It will be the first time the two teams have ever faced off in the conference championship as Christopher Newport seeks its seventh straight conference crown while the Sea Gulls hope to hoist the trophy for the fifth time.