Feb 25, 2011
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- For the fifth straight season, the Christopher Newport Captains earned a trip to the USA South Championship game, this time behind the impressive season-best performance of senior Barbara Davis. The second-seeded Captains improved to 24-3 with a 71-52 win over third-seeded Ferrum College (18-9). Davis filled the stat sheet with 18 points, 13 rebounds, seven steals and four blocks, while also going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
CNU will advance to face top-seeded Greensboro College on their home floor Sunday, February 27 at 2:00 pm. A change in format this season awards the higher seed the right to host throughout the conference tournament.
USA South Player of the Year Chelsie Schweers scored 31 points in the win, moving within 28 points of Lamont Strothers' school record (2,709) and into sole possession of third all-time at the NCAA Division III women's level. She passed Ronda Jo Miller (Gallaudet) with 2,656 and now has 2,681 points in her career.
Schweers kicked things off early in the game, leading the Captains to an eight-point lead at halftime. The Chesapeake native had 17 points to lead all scorers, while Davis was also on fire early. Davis scored six points and had already grabbed nine rebounds at intermission, with five steals and two blocks. Junior Lauren Gural also chipped in seven points in the first half.
Ferrum was led by Shea Smith and reserve Boreika Burwell, who each scored eight points in the frame, while Burwell grabbed five rebounds.
The lead would grow to as many as 20 in the second half as Schweers and Davis continued to lead the way. The Captains opened the second half on an 18-6 run, capped by a three-pointer from Schweers with 12:00 minutes remaining, followed a Kimmy Hopkins jumper to give CNU it's largest lead of the night, 51-31.
Ferrum would get no closer than 13 the rest of the way as CNU held off the third-seeded Panthers and advanced to the 2011 Championship. Kristen Keith and Shea Smith finished in double figures for Ferrum, with 15 and 12 respectively.
Schweers' 31 points came on 12-of-25 shooting, including a 5-of-11 night from beyond the arc. Schweers now has 389 career trey's, eight shy of the NCAA record of 397 set by Melissa Beyruti (Kean). She added five assists and a rebound, while Davis' night was the best overall of the game. Gural finished with 11 to round out the double-figure scoring for CNU, adding five rebounds.
Christopher Newport will face top-seeded and nationally ranked Greensboro College on Sunday at 2:00 pm. Greensboro has just one loss all season, that coming at the hands of Christopher Newport less than a week ago. The Pride boast a 26-1 mark and are the last team to defeat CNU in the conference tournament with a win over the Captains in the 2008 championship game, 83-80.
The game will be presented via a live video webcast at CNUsports.com through Captains Sports Live. Stay tuned to CNUsports.com for more updates.