NEWPORT NEWS,  Va. -- Christopher Newport led wire-to-wire in today's women's basketball game, firing past the the Meredith Avenging Angels (3-7, 1-3), in an 80-58 final. The Captains won their third straight, led by senior Kimmy Hopkins and sophomore Tia Perry with 19 points apiece. 

CNU improved to 8-3 overall, 3-1 in USA South action.

The Captains raced out to a double-digit lead after just 6:10 in the first half. Hopkins scored on a fast-break layup to give CNU a 14-4 lead in the early surge. The run would continue for CNU, as they built the lead all the way to 31-12 in the first 11:02 of the game, taking a 19-point lead. Perry capped the run with another fast-break jumper.

Meredith senior Megan Rahn was dominant in the first half, grabbing a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. She scored the first seven points of the game for the Angels and then again scored seven straight in a 10-0 run to close back within single digits to slow the CNU run. 

A three-point play by Rahn with 3:15 remaining capped the 10-0 run to close to within nine, 35-26. The Captains answered, though, scoring six of the next eight points to regain a 13-point halftime lead, 41-28.

Freshman Camry Green was dominant on the glass in the first half, grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds in just 11 minutes off the bench. She added four points on stick-backs, while the Captains were led by 11 from sophomores Perry and Nicole Mitchell. Hopkins also had double figures in the first half, with 10 points for CNU.

Early in the second half, the Captains were able to build the lead all the way up to a game-high 22 points, on a free-throw from Perry making it 61-39 with 9:34 remaining.

Meredith again put together a big run to close back to single-digits, though, with under six minutes remaining. Long-range shooting led the way in a 17-4 run that was finished off by a three-pointer from Brittany Baker off an assist by Kristen Alford. It was the third three-pointer in the run that also included another traditional three-point play by Rahn.

The Captains withstood the run, though, and never let the Angels get closer than nine and answered in a big way. CNU scored 13 straight, as Perry and Hopkins combined for 10 points in the run. The surge gave CNU a 78-56 lead with 1:40 remaining in the game and sealed the victory.

CNU held a decided 32-16 advantage in the paint, and also scored 22 points off of turnovers against Meredith. The Angels got a game-high 25 points and 16 rebounds from Rahn, but shot just 35.1% from the floor as a team.

Perry finished with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting while also grabbing four rebounds with three steals. Hopkins added her 19 points on 7-of-16 with a perfect 4-for-4 night from the line, adding six rebounds and three assists. Green collected three more rebounds in the second half to finish with a career-high 14, just missing a double-double with nine points. Mitchell poured in 17 points with five rebounds as well for CNU.

CNU will return to action tomorrow as they take on Ferrum College (9-1, 4-0) at 2:00 pm.