SCRANTON, Pa. -- After a wire-to-wire victory in the first round, the second round matchup would go down to the wire as the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team survived to advance to the team's fifth consecutive Round of 16 in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. The 20th-ranked Captains (25-4) held off upset-minded Endicott College (19-11) in the second round, 74-71, and will face No. 16/14 Mary Hardin-Baylor in the next round. 

The hard-fought battle in the second round of the 2020 tournament featured 21 lead changes and 12 ties as the teams bounced back and forth all game. Neither team led by more than eight points in the game and the score was locked within one possession either way for nearly the entirety of the final 24:51 of game time. Only once, for about 25 seconds, did the Captains extend to a five-point advantage and Endicott answered immediately to get it back to within three.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game after watching them last night. If you can beat Scranton in front of 2,000 people, you are obviously a pretty good team," said head coach Bill Broderick. "I'm just really proud of this group, to be this young ... this group right here, along with the rest of them, I'm just really, really proud of them. To be going back to our fifth straight Sweet 16 is just crazy."

Christopher Newport joins Amherst College and Tufts University as the only three programs to advance to the Sectional Round of the NCAA Championship in each of the last five seasons. Under head coach Bill Broderick, the Captains have reached the "Sweet 16" in all seven of Christopher Newport's postseason appearances, coming in his first eight seasons at the helm. 

Early in the game, Endicott College jumped out to an early burst to take a 9-1 lead, the largest of the game for either team. The Gulls led by eight again at 11-3, but sophomore Natalie Terwilliger put the team on her back the rest of the first quarter. The Captains' forward scored 10 straight points for Christopher Newport, including a go-ahead triple with less than a minute to go to give the Captains a 15-13 edge at the end of the first. 

The Captains run would grow to 20-6 into the early portion of the second quarter as Christopher Newport opened up a game-high six-point lead, 25-19. Rookie Sawyer Freeland had nice plays on back-to-back possessions in the run, dumping a perfectly-placed pass into the low block for Anaya Simmons before grabbing a steal and going all the way to the basket to convert a three-point play on the other end. 

Christopher Newport continued to drive against the aggressive Gulls defense, drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line. Freeland, Fan, and Jovia Winkey all hit shots from the charity stripe as the lead ballooned for the Captains. That would be the most separation for either team the rest of the game. 

The final offensive play of the first half went to Simmons and the CAC Rookie of the Year dazzled with a fake to her left in the lane and turned back to her right hand for a shot high off the glass and the final first-half margin of 31-30 in favor of the Gulls. 

In the second half, a gritty, impressive showing from both sides was played in front of the NCAA Tournament crowd at the Long Center on the campus of the University of Scranton. Fans were entertained by a back-and-forth battle that saw each team answer hit big shots that were in turn answered by their formidable foe. 

Sophomore Jessica Foster hit a pair of three-pointers and took a hard charge on the sideline in a grizzled effort for the Captains in the third quarter. The teams matched eachother in the scoring column, 20-20, and Endicott carried the one-point edge into the fourth quarter. 

Jovia Winkey had her toes on the line for the first bucket of the final frame, knocking down a long two-point shot. Endicott hit a pair of free-throws to retake the lead in what would be a preview of the rest of the quarter. Endicott turned to Emily Pratt again and again, but the Captains answered her efforts each time. After Pratt hit another shot, Terwilliger buried another three-pointer to give the Captains a two-point edge, 60-58. The ball movement on the next possession was perfection, as the Captains completed four passes around the perimeter to find Freeland wide open in the corner. The rookie stepped into her shot and buried a pivotal triple that gave the Captains a 63-58 lead.
 
Endicott would not go away with a quick layup from Mikaela Rogers and a a three-point play to tie it up again by Pratt. With the game tied 63 all with less than four minutes to go, Christopher Newport again turned to Anaya Simmons who would earn a trip to the free-throw line. She continued her strong performance by hitting both free-throws, but another old-fashioned three-point play teetered the Gulls back in front with 2:54 remaining, 66-65. 
 
On the next Captains possession, Terwilliger got a pass on the baseline inbounds play, spun and went to her left hand for a layup that put the Captains ahead 67-66. Endicott missed both free-throws on the other end and the Captains had a one-point lead with two minutes to play in regulation. A nice feed from Hodges to Terwilliger forced the Gulls to foul the Captains forward and put her on the line to attempt to extend the lead. Her first shot rattled off the front iron and trickled in, and her second was true as well for a 69-66 edge.
 
A scoop shot from Pratt cut the lead to one and then the Gulls went back to the line with 1:24 remaining. Endicott missed both free throws again to keep the Captains in the lead.
 
Endicott double-teamed Terwilliger on the next possession which allowed Simmons to recognize an opportunity to cut through the lane. Terwilliger hit her freshman teammate in stride and Simmons knocked in a key layup to push the Captains ahead by three with a minute to play, 71-68. Rogers trimmed the lead to one with a layup after a timeout, but the Captains' forwards reversed roles the next time down for the Captains as Simmons dished to Terwilliger for what would prove to be the game-winning bucket. 

The Captains missed 3-of-4 free-throws in the final 15 seconds and Endicott had an attempt for a game-tying three at the buzzer, but it clanked off the back iron and Christopher Newport celebrated the victory. 

Terwilliger, who scored 19 in the Long Center in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, registered another dominant performance on Saturday evening with 24 points and 8 rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. Simmons finished the day 8-for-11 from the floor and poured in 18 points for the Captains while adding 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and a blocked shot. 

Christopher Newport notched the team's 17th straight victory and have now won 21 of their last 22 heading into the sectional round. It marks the fourth consecutive year the Captains have logged at least 25 wins and is the seventh 25-win campaign in program history. 

The Captains will learn the location and game times of next week's sectional round after a decision by the NCAA National Championship Committee later in the evening. Stay tuned to CNUsports.com for updates.