Postgame Press Conference  ||  Photo Gallery

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The madness that is March reared its head in a thrilling second round matchup during the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on Saturday as the Christopher Newport Captains (24-5) trimmed a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to four with 1:21 remaining but were denied completing the comeback bid against undefeated and third-ranked Washington and Lee University (30-0). The Generals held off the feisty CNU squad for a 61-55 win and advance to the Round of 16 next weekend. 

Junior forward Jessica Dornak led the way for Christopher Newport with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting while also grabbing a team-high five rebounds. Senior Hailey Kellogg added nine points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in her final game as a Captain while fellow senior McKenna Snively added eight points including her 121st career three. That bucket moves her into sole possession of sixth all-time at Christopher Newport, surpassing Kinsey Pritchett (1990-93) on the chart. 

CNU played from behind for the majority of the contest as an early 8-0 run by Washington and Lee turned a 6-4 Captains advantage into a 12-6 lead for the Generals in the opening quarter. Christopher Newport trailed by just five at the break, 32-27, but the home team built a lead to 12 in the fourth quarter, 54-42, before the indomitable spirit of the Captains ruled the final eight minutes. CNU went on a 13-5 run to cut the lead to four, 59-55, with just under 90 seconds remaining, but could not connect on their final three possessions before being forced to foul. 

The Christopher Newport defense all but neutralized first team All-American Mary Schleusner by holding the Charlotte native to just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, ending her streak of 75 consecutive double-figure scoring performances. But the hosts found answers elsewhere as sisters Sarah and Megan Zimmerman finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Riley Bryant added 10 off the bench as well. It was just the second double-figure effort of the season for Megan Zimmerman and the eighth for Bryant. 

Seemingly every time the Captains managed to hit a big shot, Washington and Lee answered on the other end. Both defenses had the upperhand in the game as CNU shot 34 percent (22-64) and W&L managed just 37 percent (23-61) in the game. The Captains forced 22 turnovers and snagged nine steals in the game including a game-high four by Mia Wilson. 

After the aforementioned 8-0 run in the first quarter, Sarah Pritz banked home a three-pointer to try and spark the Captains, but Bri Shuttlewood knocked down a triple on the other end to extend the lead back to six. At the start of the second quarter, Kellogg and Snively each finished layups to make it 18-15, but the Generals answered right back with back-to-back buckets, including a three, by Quinn McGuinness. CNU trimmed the eight-point deficit back to three with a 5-0 run featuring an and-one three-point play by Dornak and a runner by Wilson in the lane. The teams traded baskets the rest of the second half including momentum-shifting final possession shots with a three by Megan Zimmerman answered by a mid-range jumper by Kellogg as the horn sounded to make it 32-27. 

Dornak knocked down the first shot of the second half over two minutes into the period, making it 32-29, but it was the only field goal made by either team in the first four minutes. The Generals expanded the lead to eight again, 37-29, followed by a small burst by the Captains to make it 37-33 on another layup by Dornak. Once again, W&L cued up an answer with a three-pointer from the corner by Sam Collins. The same story unfolded at the end of the third when Snively splashed in a three-pointer with 43 seconds remaining, but Shuttlewood took advantage of an offensive rebound to answer right back with a trey at the buzzer. 

That triple shifted momentum in favor of the home team early in the fourth as the Generals built the lead to a dozen. Kellogg kickstarted the CNU response on a short jumper with 6:41 remaining and then McKenzie, who struggled from the field for most of the night, came through with her first two makes in a key situation. The sophomore and leading scorer for the Captains dropped in a pull-up jumper with 5:06 left (55-46) and added a driving layup the next time down the floor (55-48). W&L re-took an 11-point lead, 59-48, with 3:26 left, on four straight points, but Wilson, McKenzie, and Kellogg combined for five consecutive CNU points and the lead was just 59-55. Unfortunately for CNU fans, the offense stopped there for the Captains, who could not take advantage of a poor shooting night at the free-throw line by Washington and Lee to complete the comeback. 

Christopher Newport closes the book on another banner season for the program with a 24-5 overall record and the 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in 13 seasons under head coach Bill Broderick. The senior class -- Kellogg and Snively -- finish their four-year tenure at 108-10 for a winning percentage of 91.5 percent to rank as the third-best in program history.