NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The 11th-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team opened up Capital Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night with a dominant 85-46 win at home over Southern Virginia University (2-4, 0-1). Sophomore Jessica Daguilh led all scorers with 17 points in a perfect 8-for-8 shooting performance.
 
The Captains improved to 5-0 overall with the win, marking just the seventh time in program history CNU has been undefeated through the first five games. CNU is now 1-0 in conference play, and ran their all-time series winning streak over the Knights to 12 games.
 
Daguilh was unstoppable down low for the Captains, connecting on all eight of her attempts from the field. It is the first perfect shooting performance with at least eight made baskets for the Captains since Tia Moore was 9-for-9 against N.C. Wesleyan in the 1999-2000 season (Jan. 12, 2000). Not only effective as a scorer, Daguilh narrowly missed a double-double with eight rebounds while also grabbing a career-high four steals. She managed to stuff the stat sheet in just 18 minutes of action. 

She had a hand in a pivotal 10-0 run to close out the first quarter that extended the CNU lead to 14 points, 24-10. After a three-pointer from Morgan Hartvigsen went in with 3:01 left in the 1st quarter, the CNU defense held the Knights empty for nearly six minutes of game time. A layup by Jamilla Gambee ended the drought at the 7:21 mark of the second quarter, but CNU sparked another run, this time an 11-0 spurt, to take a 20-point lead, 35-15. The Knights managed just five more points and went into the break with only 20 points on the board. 

CNU was led by junior Sam Porter in the first half, scoring nine points with six rebounds and three steals. Daguilh also had a solid opening 20 minutes, with eight points and four rebounds.

The Captains shook off a poor second quarter by blitzing through the third quarter with a dominant shooting performance while outscoring the Knights, 30-12. CNU shot over 57% in the third quarter (8-14) while the defense forced 12 turnovers. Eighteen points came off of Southern Virginia giveaways in the third quarter, as CNU spread the ball around with nine different players scoring in the stanza. Daguilh and sophomore Zhara Tannor led the way with five points, while juniors Makenzie Fancher and Makeda Wright each added four. 

With a big lead in hand heading into the final ten minutes, the Captains coasted to their first conference win of the season, finishing off the Knights for an 85-46 final score. In the win, the CNU defense was on display again, holding a Southern Virginia offense that was averaging 79 points per game to a season-low 46 points. The Captains forced 43 turnovers and grabbed 21 steals in the game. CNU also owned the glass, outrebounding the Knights by a final tally of 45-33. For the fifth straight game to open the season, the Captains' opponent failed to score more than 50 points.

Three CNU players finished in double figures, led by Daguilh's 17-point performance. Porter and Tannor each had 11, while Tannor scored most of hers from the free-throw line, going 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Porter chipped in six rebounds, four assists and three steals in another sound game overall. Junior Devon Byrd also had a well-rounded performance off the bench, going 4-for-6 from the floor with nine points, eight rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. She also blocked one shot. CNU dished out 19 assists in 31 made baskets, led by a career-high five from junior Anitra Thomas. 

As a team, CNU scored as many points off of SVU turnovers as the visitors mustered all night. The Captains also outscored the Knights 2-to-1 in the paint, 52-26. 

The game was the first of three straight home games to open CAC action for the Captains, who will welcome in Frostburg State University on Saturday, December 3 for a 2:00 pm tip at the Freeman Center.