NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The 22nd-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team closed out the first half of conference play on Wednesday night with a convincing 80-58 victory at home over Salisbury University (12-6, 4-3). Four starters finished in double figures as the Captains' high-powered offense scored at least 80 points for the ninth time this season as the team improved to 14-4 overall, 5-2 in league play.
Senior Jessica Daguilh led the Captains with 15 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Three more starters finished in double figures as Kiana Kirkland had 13 points, Jessica Foster added 11 and Sondra Fan poured in 10. With Madison Howdyshell's five points included, the starters accounted for 54 of the Captains' 80-point effort.
In a battle of the two toughest defensive teams in the league, the Captains came away with a first-half lead after holding Salisbury to just six points in the second quarter. CNU stretched to a 35-22 advantage at the break courtesy of a big run headed into the locker room. With a one-point lead, 21-20, and six minutes left in the half, CNU scored 14 of the next 16 points. In the run, Jasmine Norman had a pair of steals on back-to-back plays that led to easy layups. First, she finished herself, followed by a layup by Madison Howdyshell. At the end of the second quarter, Kirkland buried a three-pointer to extend the lead to 13.
The offense kept firing at the start of the third quarter as Foster hit a three-pointer and Fan connected on a steal and fast-break lay-in. A quick burst by the freshman saw Fan score seven points in just over a minute of game action. The hot start out of halftime continued as CNU scored 32 points in the third quarter, taking a game-high 28-point lead with 35 seconds left on a layup by Julia Hobbs off a nice feed from Norman. The bucket made it 67-39 as Norman continued her strong night, filling the stat sheet with 8 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds.
Salisbury closed with a 16-13 edge in the fourth quarter, but CNU picked up the team's sixth straight win over the Sea Gulls by a final count of 80-58. CNU shot 47.5% from the field (29-61) including a 43.2% effort from long-range (10-23). It was also the Captains' fifth win of the season when being outrebounded as Salisbury held a 41-33 advantage on the glass.
In addition to Norman's court vision, the Captains got multiple assists from seven total players including another five dimes from rookie Marlise Brunson. She now has 28 on the season and CNU features six different players with at least 25 assists on the year.
Salisbury was led by Kaylee Otlowski with a double-double, scoring 16 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. Kylie Webb added 10 points while Megan Konig had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Captains concluded the first round of CAC action with a 5-2 record and will kick-off the second half on Saturday with a road trip to York College of Pennsylvania (8-10, 3-4). The Spartans defeated Frostburg State University, 71-61, on Wednesday night and will host the Captains at 1:00 pm.