NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With a free-throw in the fourth quarter, Christopher Newport University senior Sam Porter became the 27th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points as the nationally-ranked Captains ran away with an 88-32 win over Frostburg State on Saturday afternoon. The CNU defense stifled the Bobcats in front of nearly 400 fans at the Freeman Center as the Captains improved to 6-0 overall, 2-0 in conference play. 

Porter is the first to reach the 1K point plateau since Camry Green did so in 2015. The Captains' preseason All-American and 2017 All-Region performer is off to another strong start this year, averaging 9.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.4 steals per game. 

In Saturday's contest against Frostburg State, the Captains defense put together an exceptional overall performance while holding the Bobcats to just 18.8% (9-48) shooting. The conference foes were held to 10 points or fewer in all four quarters, including back-to-back seven-point efforts in the second half. The CNU defense forced 39 turnovers and grabbed 28 steals as a team, while the interior defense was also strong with seven blocked shots.  

After an 8-8 start to the first quarter, the Captains ratcheted up the defense and held Frostburg State scoreless for the final 5:36 of the frame. On the offensive side, CNU went on an 11-0 run to take a double-digit lead after the first 10 minutes, 19-8. Three-pointers from Makenzie Fancher, Kiana Kirkland, and a three-point play by Devon Byrd highlighted the run. 

Three-pointers by Adjowa Pinkrah and Megan Kelly in the first three minutes of the second quarter cut the lead back to single digits, but another triple from Fancher kickstarted another 9-0 run to build the lead to 18, 32-14. In the spurt rookie Jasmine Norman drilled a long-range jumper and Anitra Thomas finished off a fast-break with a layup.  

CNU would carry a 20-point advantage into the locker room, up 38-18 at the end of the first half. Sophomore Annemarie Beran and senior Makenzie Fancher had six first-half points apiece to lead the way for the Captains. CNU had 11 steals and force 18 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, but the defense would only improve as the game went along. 

In the third quarter, the Captains defense held Frostburg State without a made basket as the Bobcats were 0-for-13 from the field. All seven points the road team scored came from the free-throw line as CNU continued to dominate on both ends of the floor. Seniors Anitra Thomas and Bailey Dufrene led the way in the first stretch after halftime, scoring 7 and 6 points, respectively. The Captains dominated the rebounding battle in the stanza, 17-8, led by three from Byrd and Micah Maloney. 

Another strong performance in the fourth quarter from the CNU reserves would hold Frostburg State to just 2-of-13 from the floor with 12 turnovers. Balanced scoring saw eight different players score in the final ten minutes, including Porter's historic free-throw.  Bailey Hodges, Erin Carroll, Jessica Daguilh, and Maloney all tallied three points in the fourth, while Beran added four to finish with her first career double-figure scoring performance. Beran was 4-6 from the field and finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. 

She was one of four players in double figures as Thomas led the way with 11 points on 4-8 shooting. Maloney and Dufrene matched Beran's 10-point effort and Maloney tacked on a team-high 7 rebounds in the game. 

With the loss, Frostburg State falls to 4-3 overall, 1-1 against the league. 

CNU will now hit the road for their next conference matchup on Wednesday, December 6 at St. Mary's (Md.). Tip is at 8:00 pm as the second half of the CAC doubleheader with the men's teams' set to tip at 6:00 pm.