SALEM, Va. -- In the nationally-ranked Captains return to play after two weeks off, the CNU women's basketball team overcame a tough night shooting from beyond the arc to hold off the University of Lynchburg (6-4), 69-60, in the first round of the Susan Dunagan Classic hosted by Roanoke College. Junior guard Jovia Winkey sparked the Captains off the bench with 11 points to join Sondra Fan (12 pts) and Anaya Simmons (16 pts) in double figures as CNU won it's 29th straight game.

The fifth-ranked Captains improved to 12-0 as the defense held it's 11th opponent in 12 games to fewer than 62 points scored. Though CNU led the match wire-to-wire, the Hornets gave the streaking Captains a lot to handle by keeping the score within ten for the majority of the contest. Lynchburg clawed back to tie the game six times, including as late as the 2:36 mark in the third quarter at 41-41. 

Seemingly every time the Hornets made a run against the Captains, it was Winkey who stepped in to salvage the CNU momentum. After a ten-point advantage early in the second half disappeared with a 10-0 Lynchburg run, Winkey grabbed a key steal and a pair of huge rebounds for the Captains. She then sank a pair of free-throws to push the lead back to five. In the fourth quarter, the Hornets pulled back within one, 57-56, but another huge steal by Winkey led to free throws by Simmons. FInally, a pivotal three-point play with 3:30 left extended Christopher Newport's five-point advantage to eight and all but sank the Lynchburg upset bid in the waning minutes. 

After the traditional three-point play for Winkey, senior Phylicia McInnis buried a three-pointer on the Captains' next trip down the floor to give the team a game-high 11-point edge with just over two minutes to play. From there, the CNU defense controlled the outcome, turning over the Hornets four times in the final 3:20 of action to hang on to the nine-point win, 69-60. 

While the three-point shot abandoned the Captains' in Wednesday's win, CNU continued it's efficient shooting from the field. Coming into the contest, Christopher Newport led the nation in field goal percentage, and in Wednesday's matchup the high-powered attack shot over 54% from inside the arc. Leading the charge was one of the nation's top-ranked players in efficiency with Anaya Simmons knocking down 7-of-10 shots for a game-high 16 points. Winkey was 4-for-4 on two-point attempts and rookie Hannah Kaloi added a 3-for-5 showing.

The Captains led by as many as eight points in the first half on four separate occasions. First, Sondra Fan grabbed an open court steal and finished on the fast break to give CNU a 25-17 lead. Kaloi put in a layup with 2:52 remaining in the first half to make it 31-23 before SImmons and Fan each traded baskets with the Hornets for the final first half margin of 35-27. 

CNU outrebounded Lynchburg, 43-33, led by seven boards by senior Natalie Terwilliger. She also had eight points and three blocked shots to help lead the way for the CNU front court. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Thursday, December 30 as they take on host Roanoke College (8-1) on day two of the Susan Dunagan Classic. The Captains will tip off against the Maroons at 5:00 pm.