NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Playing in her final regular season home game, senior guard Bailey Dufrene registered her first career double-double, including a 20-point effort, but the nationally-ranked Captains were stunned at home by York College of Pennsylvania, 87-85, on Saturday night. CNU secured the No. 2 seed in next week's Capital Athletic Conference Tournament with the setback, falling to 22-3 overall and 16-2 in league play. 

Christopher Newport was locked in a first-place tie with Marymount University at the start of the day Saturday, before the Saints defeated Mary Washington to lock up at least a share of the regular season title. With a win, the Captains would force a tie-breaking coin flip for tournament seeding, but the Spartans (17-8, 13-5) had other plans with a red-hot shooting performance in front of over 800 fans at the Freeman Center. 

The loss snapped a 14-game home winning streak for the Captains and a six-game roll against the Spartans. It is just the second loss at home in the last 27 games. 

The Captains fell behind by as many as 10 in the game before clawing all the way back to take the lead in the final minute of action. In a game reminiscent of one week prior when CNU trailed by double-digits at Penn State Harrisburg but rallied to win by three, the Captains again surged back from a big deficit late. Senior Sam Porter put the team on her back late in the game and got the call for the go-ahead bucket in the final minute. After her layup, though, York answered with a go-ahead three-pointer. In a game in which York buried over 52% of their three-point attempts, it was the 14th and final triple that put the Spartans ahead for the win, 87-85.  

After CNU opened up the action with an 8-2 run, the Spartans responded to take the lead, 12-10, with 4:35 left in the first quarter. from there, the Captains would close to within one possession of the York lead on 11 separate occasions, but could not get over the hump to tie the game. The Spartans answered time and time again with deadly three-point shooting from beyond the arc. 

In the first half, the Captains weathered a torrid shooting performance as the Spartans knocked down 57.1% from the field (16-28) including a 60% effort from long range (9-15). Despite the hot shooting, CNU trailed 48-39 at the break as Dufrene led the way with 10 points for the Captains. 

In the second half, Katie McGowan knocked down a layup with 8:29 left in the 3rd quarter to give the visitors a game-high 10-point lead, 52-42, but CNU quickly responded with an 8-0 run to close back within two again. Sam Mocniak hit a triple, but senior Makenzie Fancher hit her second of the quarter to keep the Captains close. CNU pulled within one, 62-61, as the third quarter came to a close when Zhara Tannor knocked down a pair of free-throws, but the Spartans again answered with a 7-0 run to take an 8-point lead, 69-61 just over a minute into the final quarter. 

The seniors stepped up in the final frame for the Captains as they chipped away at the lead. Devon Byrd, Sam Porter, Dufrene and Anitra Thomas combined for nine of CNU's first 11 points in the fourth frame. After Micah Maloney got a jumper to go down using the window, Thomas got loose for another three-pointer, rattling home a shot from the corner with under five minutes to go to pull CNU back within two, 79-77. A three-point play by York's Debria Hendricks extended the lead, but Porter ripped to the basket with her left and cut it back to one possession. 

Free throws down the stretch kept CNU within one when the Captains finally took the lead with 47.8 seconds showing on the clock. After trailing for over 33 minutes of game time, Porter again drove to the basket on the left side and knocked down a layup to teeter the Captains in front, 85-84. After a timeout, though, the Spartans worked the ball to Mocniak where she connected on the game-winning three-pointer to upset the Captains bid at a regular season title. 

Dufrene's first 20-point outburst of the season came on 6-of-14 shooting with an 8-of-10 effort from the free-throw line. She added 10 rebounds and 5 assists in 34 minutes of action. Five Captains finished in double figures as Porter added 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals, followed by 13 from Maloney, 12 for Thomas, and 10 for Fancher. 

CNU will be the second seed in next week's CAC Tournament and will host the winner of the #3 York (Pa.) / #6 Frostburg State first round matchup. The first round will be played on Tuesday with Christopher Newport earning some rest before Thursday's CAC Semifinal matchup, which will tip at 6:00 pm.