NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In a mid-season tussle between two of just ten remaining undefeated teams in the nation, the sixth-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a hard-fought win over ninth-ranked Mary Washington on Wednesday night, 75-67. The Captains improved to 16-0 with a perfect 9-0 record in conference play, taking sole possession of the top spot in the league standings while the Eagles fall to 15-1, 8-1 in the Capital Athletic Conference.

As usual, the CNU offense enjoyed contributions from up and down the roster, but junior Makenzie Fancher stood out as the leader against the Eagles with a season-high 20 points. Fancher helped kickstart the night as CNU raced out to a 14-2 advantage early, and was equally reliable in the second half with 10 points before and after the intermission. 

The Capital Athletic Conference bout rounded out the first half of league play for both teams, with just nine games remaining on the regular season schedule. The two nationally-ranked programs will match up again in Fredericksburg two weeks from tonight, on February 1 at 6:00 pm. 

In Wednesday's tilt, both teams came in ranked in the Top 20 nationally in scoring defense, but it was the offensive units that took control early in a 41-point first quarter. The Captains took charge at the outset, getting out to a double-digit lead just three and a half minutes in courtesy of back-to-back three-pointers from Zhara Tannor and Makeda Wright. CNU scored 14 of the first 16 points, racing out to a 12-point lead after a layup by Sam Porter capped the roll.

After enduring the early surge by the home team, the Eagles came back to cut the lead to five headed into the second quarter, 23-18. The first half comeback would end there, though, as Devon Byrd kicked off another big run to start the second stanza. It was a 12-2 spurt in the beginning of the second that was enough to extend the lead back to 15, about halfway through the period. In the roll, Fancher buried a pair of three pointers, while Porter and Devon Byrd each added buckets. The Eagles threatened to close again headed into the locker room, but a late three-pointer from Stephanie Seaman gave CNU an 11-point edge at halftime, 40-29. 

Despite the Captains extending their lead to as many as 17 points on a shot from long range by Anitra Thomas with 4:39 remaining, Mary Washington was far from out of the contest. From that point, when CNU took a 56-39 lead, the Eagles clawed back to within five with a 20-8 run over the next seven minutes of game action. Senior Megan Green had five straight points to start the fourth quarter to cut the CNU advantage to just 64-59 with 7:33 remaining. Now locked in a two-possession game, the Captains defense stood tall, forcing Mary Washington into difficult shots and earning key turnovers to hold on for the eight point win, 75-67. 

In a low scoring fourth quarter, the Eagles finished with just three made field goals in 17 attempts, for a 17.6% shooting effort. The Captains defense picked up three blocked shots and three steals in the final ten minutes.

Seven different CNU players scored six points or more, including the 20-point effort from Fancher. The junior guard knocked down 6-of-11 attempts and finished a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. She added five assists, two steals and three rebounds. Fancher drained a trio of three-pointers, and added a pretty three-point play the old fashioned way when she grabbed a steal on the inbounds and finished through contact with her left hand in the second half. She also picked up one of the most important defensive plays of the night, taking a charge on a fast break to foul out Mary Washington guard McKenzie Jenkins.

On the glass, CNU outrebounded Mary Washington by 20, with a final tally of 48-28, led by ten-rebound games from Byrd and Porter. Byrd just missed a double-double by finishing with nine points. 

Mary Washington saw three different players finish in double figures, led by 16 points from Kendall Parker and Jordan Pamlanye. 

The Captains will look to extend the program's second longest season-opening win streak this weekend as they travel to Frostburg State University to face the Bobcats at 1:00 pm on Saturday, January 21.