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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team will return to the NCAA Tournament for the 23rd time in program history on Friday night as the undefeated Captains (26-0) host CUNYAC Champion Brooklyn College (19-7) at 8:30 p.m. The Captains will also host another first round matchup at 6:00 p.m. featuring No. 20 Elizabethtown College (22-4) and Stevens Institute of Technology (22-5). 

When the top-ranked Captains take the floor against the Bulldogs, they will be facing their 42nd different opponent in NCAA Tournament history. CNU is making the team's seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth in ten seasons under head coach Bill Broderick. 

Christopher Newport carries one of the longest active win streaks in the nation into the tournament, winning 26 straight and improving to 69-1 over the last 70 games played. The Captains have been dominant at home, posting the second longest win streak in Freeman Center history with 38 consecutive victories. It will be the ninth time in program history the Captains have been awarded home court in the NCAA Tournament and the first since 2016-17. 

Ticket prices are $15 for chairback seating and $10 for general admission. For fans unable to make it out to the Freeman Center, live stats and a live video webcast will be available, free of charge, with links at CNUsports.com. Tickets may be purchased online (CLICK HERE) or over the phone at (757) 594-7880. Fans may also purchase tickets in person at the Freeman Center Box Office between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Thursday or Friday. 

The Captains won the team's 16th conference championship to earn hosting duties in the NCAA Tournament with a perfect 26-0 record. CNU currently ranks first in the nation in scoring margin, outpacing opponents by an average of 36.0 points per game. Headlining the Captains' offensive success is Division III field-goal percentage leader Anaya Simmons, who is knocking down 67.7 percent of her shots this season. Simmons has improved her career FG% to 63 percent, which shatters the Christopher Newport and Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference standards while ranking in the top-10 all-time in Division III. Since 1982 when Division III began, only Kari Tufte (Luther 1994-96), Lisa Murphy (Carnegie Mellon 2015-17), and Hannah Spaulding (St. Thomas (MN) 2018-19) have ever led the nation in field-goal percentage in back-to-back seasons. Simmons is attempting to become the fourth and leads the category by nearly five percentage points heading into the NCAA Tournament. 

While Simmons leads the front court, fifth-year guard Sondra Fan continues to be a dangerous asset in the backcourt, both offensively and defensively. One of the most consistent players in program history, Fan has climbed to ninth all-time in career scoring with 1,414 points and became the first Captain to ever win four straight conference championships. Fan ranks in the top-20 in three-point shooting nationally and currently leads the Captains with 14.3 points per game. 

Brooklyn enters Friday night's matchup after three-peating as conference champs of the CUNYAC while beind led by senior guard Gianna Gotti. One of the best two-way players in Division III, Gotti ranks eighth in the nation in points per game and leads the nation in steals per game. The veteran star is pouring in 22.0 points per game and snags 5.7 steals per contest to lead the Bulldogs in 2022-23. Brooklyn is led by the all-time winningest coach in program history, Alex Lang, who captured his 300th career win earlier this season. 

The advancing teams will play in Saturday night's second round at 8:00 p.m. with a bid to the sectional round on the line.