NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The 7th-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a dominating first round victory in the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship, cruising by the College of Staten Island, 98-56. The Captains, led by a sensational performance from the bench with 78 points, set program records for NCAA Tournament scoring and margin of victory with the win, which improves the Captains to 26-2 on the season. 

CNU scored 98 points in the opening round matchup, marking the most since scoring 96 in a losing effort at Marymount in the 1993 first round.  CNU also downed the Dolphins by a final margin of +42, which is by far the largest margin of victory in program history for a tournament game, besting the previous mark of +29 set in 2011 against York (Pa.) in 2011. In addition, CNU also set the school's NCAA Tournament record for assists in a game, dishing out 24 dimes on 40 made baskets. 

"I think we did a really good job of coming out and setting the tone," said head coach Bill Broderick. "I'm really proud of the girls. I think they did a great job; any time you can get all 15 in, to have freshman get that experience in the NCAA, it's just great. I'm really happy for them -- they all worked so hard."

Staten Island closed their season with a 22-7 overall record. The Dolphins had no seniors on this year's squad, which won the 2017 CUNYAC Championship. 

A rush of scoring in the first quarter led to a double-digit lead with 3:04 remaining, 17-6. The Captains leaned on junior Sam Porter in the early going, scoring eight points in the first seven minutes of action. The last bucket of the early hot streak came on a nice open-court play when Makenzie Fancher stole the ball, spun, and found Porter, streaking to the basket for two.

After Victoria Crea hit a layup for the Dolphins on the next possession, junior Anitra Thomas hit a triple for the Captains and the lead never plummeted to single digits again. The advantage was 16 at the end of the first, 26-10, after CNU shot 58.8% (10-17) in the first 10 minutes. By halftime, the lead grew to 24, with 46-22 showing on the scoreboard.  

Christopher Newport denied any chance of a second-half comeback with a smoldering third quarter, as the Captains shot 68.4% (13-19) for one of the best offensive quarters of the season. Rookie Stephanie Seaman scored a team-high seven points in the stanza, while fellow freshman added six points and three rebounds.  

Junior Raven Lott finished with one of the finest  nights of her career with seven points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. She helped control both sides of the ball while the Captains were able to rest the starting unit, of which no player saw more than 14 minutes of action.  The reserves led the way, with the front court posing a significant matchup problem inside for the Dolphins. Both of CNU's rookie forwards off the bench finished just shy of double-doubles, as Beran poured in nine points with nine boards and Micah Maloney added a team-high 14 points with nine rebounds.  

As a team, the Captains edge on the glass was evident, outrebounding Staten Island, 51-29, including 21 offensive rebounds. The CNU defense also frustrated the Dolphins all night, forcing 26 turnovers with 16 steals recorded. Three Captains finished in double-figures, led by Maloney's 14. Porter added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while junior Jasmine Bonivel stayed hot from the floor, knocking down all five shots she took for 10 points. Bonivel added six rebounds to finish with 10 and six in just 11 minutes of action.

Staten Island was led by junior Christina Pasaturo, who finished with a game-high 18 points, and Angelique Price, adding 12 points for the Dolphins.

The Captains, who advanced to the Sweet 16 last season, has won six straight games and improved to 15-1 at home this year.  CNU will advance to play Lynchburg College (23-6) in Saturday night's second round, scheduled to tip off at 7:00 pm in the Freeman Center. The Hornets advanced with a 69-64 win over Catholic University in the first game on Friday night.