NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The wintry weather in Newport News was freezing on Saturday afternoon with a wind chill in the single digits and gusts worthy of speeding tickets whipping through the air. Inside, however, the Captains' offense heated up the Freeman Center as the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team cruised by the University of Mary Washington (9-13), 69-46. 

The Captains entertained the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference rival in front of a crowd of nearly 500 fans on the annual Play4Kay Challenge game. Sporting the pink jerseys in support of breast cancer awareness and research, CNU turned an early deficit into a double-digit lead by halftime. A three-pointer at the end of the third quarter made it a 20-point lead and the final quarter saw CNU tack on three more to the advantage for the final verdict of 69-46. 

As a team, the Captains continued its well-balanced offensive production and nearly outscored the visitors whole team just off the bench. The CNU reserves combined for 43 points while being led by leading scorer McKenna Snively, scoring a game-high 12 points while knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. Mia Wilson, also coming off the bench, added 11 points while leading the team in assists with five.

Rounding out a trio of double-figure scorers was starter Elizabeth Creed, who finished the game with 10 points. Creed also added a season-high five steals while filling the stat sheet with four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. 

Early in the game, Mary Washington leaned on Emma Terry with four first quarter assists to find open shots for the Eagles. The visitors snagged a five-point lead early and led, 14-13, on a three-pointer with 3:20 left in the opening quarter on Terry's last assist of the period. The Captains responded in the final stages of the first frame by holding the Eagles without a make from the field after that and closed the quarter on an 8-2 run. 

Caitlin Crump buried a three-pointer from the corner on a nice feed from rookie Sydney Richardson to start the second quarter before the Eagles scored five straight. Again Christopher Newport had the answer when Sydney Richardson grabbed a steal and finished close to the basket to trigger a 7-0 burst to give the Captains their first double-digit lead of the game, 31-21, after Snively buried a three-pointer with 5:33 left. 

By the end of the first half, the Captains led by 11 with a 39-28 advantage after shooting over 48 percent in the first 20 minutes. Wilson had eight points to lead the way at the break with three field goals. Sarah Pritz and Hazel Grepps each had personal runs in the opening half as the former had eight points in the first quarter and Grepps put back-to-back buckets on the board with four points in the second. 

A three-pointer for Mary Washington started the second half, but the Captains kept the foot pressed down on the gas with an 11-4 run over the first five minutes of the third quarter. Jessica Dornak sank back-to-back tries inside including one on the back side of a beautiful pass in the paint by Madison McKenzie. After a pair of free throws by Creed, she added a drive to the basket for two and a big splash from outside from Snively capped the run to take a 15-point lead, 50-35. By the end of the third, Snively had rained in another from deep and as the buzzer was ready to sound, Wilson buried another bomb to give the Captains a 20-point lead, 60-40. 

The offenses went silent in the fourth quarter with just five made field goals combined. Kaycee Doughty finished a nice take to the basket and Creed tacked on the eighth and final three of the game by the CNU offense. Finally, rookie Lily Soller sank a short jumper in the lane for the final points of the game for the Captains. Needing to just hold off a comeback attempt, the Captains outscored the visiting team, 9-6, in the final period. 

The CNU defense was exceptional again, forcing 33 turnovers by the Mary Washington offense and holding the Eagles to just 34 percent (17-50) shooting. In the second half, the Captains allowed just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc for 9.1 percent. Meanwhile, CNU finished the game shooting 43.9 percent (25-57) overall including an 8-for-19 mark from three-point land for 42.1 percent. 

Christopher Newport will next travel to Salisbury University for a 5:30 p.m. matchup against the Sea Gulls on Wednesday, February 11.