NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Senior Madison Howdyshell played a career-high 32 minutes and paid off the workload with a gritty effort on both ends of the floor for the Captains Saturday evening, helping lead Christopher Newport women's basketball to a 62-42 win over Mary Washington (10-11, 4-6). The Captains (16-5, 7-3) outscored the Eagles, 40-20, in the second half in a red-hot shooting performance that saw CNU hit nearly 56% of their shots. 

After a two-hour delay to tip due to a water main break in the Freeman Center, the Capital Athletic Conference matchup got off to a slow start for both teams. The Captains, looking to avenge a loss on the road at Mary Washington earlier this season, teetered back-and-forth with the Eagles in the first half with five lead changes and six ties as neither team led by more than three points. 

As a team, the Captains shot just 21% (8-38) in the first 20 minutes and all 22 points scored came from the starting five. Mary Washington also managed just 22 points in the first half as the CNU defense held the Eagles to 32.1% (9-28) and gave up just six points in the second quarter. Howdyshell had the hot hand for CNU in the first half, knocking down a pair shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter when the game remained tight. She had six points and three rebounds at the break. 

At the start of the third quarter, the game mirrored the first half with the two defenses leading the way. After a pair of free-throws from Tory Martin, the game was tied at 31-31 with 4:37 left in the third quarter. From there, CNU took over. 

On the next possession, rookie Phylicia McInnis buried a three-pointer in the corner off an assist from senior Zhara Tannor; then, after Howdyshell took a charge on the defensive end, she came down to the other end and nailed her career-best third three-pointer of the day from the top of the key, again assisted by Tannor. As Mary Washington tried to counter, rookie Julia Hobbs blocked a second-chance opportunity by Jordan Pamlanye and CNU raced down the court for a jumper in the lane by sophomore Jasmine Norman. Then, Hobbs picked up a steal on the defensive end and Norman drained a three-pointer as CNU capped a rapid 11-0 burst to take the game's first double-digit lead, 42-31. 

The run continued well into the fourth quarter as CNU outscored Mary Washington 31-5 over the span of about 12 minutes between the third and fourth frames. CNU opened up a 26-point lead, 62-36, with two and a half minutes remaining and coasted to their seventh conference win of the year. In the fourth quarter, Tannor beat the shot clock buzzer on a pair of thrilling shots, including a long-range triple and a tough take to the basket with her right hand. She and rookie Sondra Fan led all fourth-quarter scorers with five points. 

In the game, Pamlanye tied the opponents record for rebounding in a game with 18 boards while also scoring a game-high 16 points for a double-double. Mary Washington shot just 30.2% (16-53) against the vaunted CNU defense, and turned the ball over 25 times. 

For CNU, three players finished in double figures with Fan's team-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting leading the way. Tannor had a season-high 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, while also dishing a team-high four assists. Junior Kiana Kirkland also dropped in 10 points while grabbing four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Howdyshell finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in a career-high 32 minutes for the Captains, while also doing a bevy of things off the stat sheet like taking multiple charges and tying up several loose balls.  

As a team, the Captains hit 10 three-pointers in the game with seven different players scoring from beyond the arc. A torrid shooting effort in the second half (15-27) buoyed a 35.4% overall performance from the field (23-65). 

The win sets up a battle for first place in the Captains next game on Wednesday, February 6 at home against Southern Virginia University (17-3, 8-2). The Knights hold a one-game lead on the Captains heading into the second matchup of the year against SVU, with tip scheduled for 5:30 pm.