SALISBURY, Md. -- After shaking off a hot start by the home team in the first quarter, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team staged a dominant championship effort on both sides of the ball Saturday night as the Captains secured the team's seventh straight conference title with a 73-57 win over third-seeded Salisbury (17-11). CNU forced 24 turnovers and outscored the Sea Gulls, 42-18, in the middle quarters to pull away for the championship victory.
The top-seeded and 14th-ranked Captains improved to 23-4 with the 2026 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship and earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. CNU closed out its 19th all-time conference championship -- 11 in the DIAC/USA South Athletic Conference, 3 in the Capital Athletic Conference, and now 5 straight in the C2C. CNU has won eight of the last nine conference championships dating back to 2017 and will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the 27th time.
In the championship matchup, the Captains faced the Sea Gulls on their home floor in front of over 400 fans. As the team has proven successful all season, balance was key for the Captains as four CNU players finished in double figures with a trifecta leading the way with 13.
Hailey Kellogg continued her late-season surge with 13 while leading scorer
Madison McKenzie and junior starting forward
Elizabeth Creed also each added a baker's dozen. Rounding out the double-figure scoring performances for the Captains was
Mia Wilson, who scored 11 points for the Captains.
The opening quarter favored the host team at their home gym in the Maggs Center, with the Sea Gulls jumping out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter. After a CNU turnover turned into a Salisbury three-pointer by Abby Plaugher, the Sea Gulls led, 13-6, with 3:06 remaining. The team's traded buckets to make it 15-8, but then the Captains caught fire. McKenzie finished a tough layup and
Caitlin Crump grabbed a steal out of the press.
Jessica Dornak then backed down her defender before spinning in the paint and finishing with her left hand on a nice take to the basket and her defensive rebound on the other end kick-started a quick run up the floor for
Hazel Grepps. As the quarter came to a close, Grepps snagged a steal and dished to McKenzie on the run so the sophomore could add another fast-break bucket. The torrid turn saw CNU reverse a seven-point deficit to a one-point lead, 16-15, at the end of the quarter in just under three minutes of play.
Salisbury re-took the lead early in the second quarter with a three-pointer and a layup but the CNU defense would hold the Sea Gulls to just 13 points over the next 18:42 of game time between the bulk of the second quarter through the entire third. The tormenting and unrelenting defense forced 12 first-half turnovers and a pivotal third quarter saw the Captains outscore the home team, 22-7. In the third, the Sea Gulls were just 2-for-11 from the floor with six turnovers.
Meanwhile, excellent passing on the offensive end resulted in consistently easy buckets for the Captains. The interior passing between Dornak and Creed alongside the vision by senior point guard
Hailey Kellogg created open shots that CNU did not miss. A rapid 8-0 burst to start the second half increased the lead to 15, 43-28, and the advantage ballooned to 25 by the end of the period. In the decisive third quarter, Creed led the way for CNU by going 4-for-5 with nine points.
Showing off the prowess of unselfish play, the Captains recorded 13 assists on 26 field goals in the game. CNU led by as many as 27 when McKenzie scored on a layup with 7:22 remaining to make it 62-35. The Sea Gulls started to hit some long-range shots late to cut the big lead down to 16 for the final verdict, 73-57, but the Captains denied the comeback with strong free throw shooting down the stretch. Kellogg finished the game knocking down five of six free throws in the final minute.
The win marked the 175th time that the Captains have held their opponent to 60 points or less since the start of the 2016-17 season. In the last decade, the Captains are 171-4 (.977) when holding their opponent to 60 points, including accomplishing the feat in four straight conference championship games.
The senior class -- Kellogg and
McKenna Snively -- wrap their storied careers in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference as just the fourth class in program history to win the conference crown in all four of their seasons as Captains. The win pushed their overall record to 107-9 (.922) and is tied for the fourth most wins by a women's basketball class all-time at CNU.
Christopher Newport is one of 43 teams that will automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The remaining 21 at-large berths with be revealed along with the entire bracket on Monday, March 2 at 2:30 p.m. on NCAA.com. For updates on the Captains' first round opponent and game location, stay tuned to CNUsports.com.
