BALTIMORE, Md. – In the most dominant overall performance in Christopher Newport women's basketball postseason history, the top-ranked Captains scored a program-high 107 points and outscored Mount St. Mary (NY) by a record 55 points in a commanding second round win during the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. CNU advanced to the sectional round with a 107-52 victory over the Knights in the neutral site bout played at Goldfarb Gym on the campus of Johns Hopkins University.
 
Christopher Newport imposed itself on Mount Saint Mary from the opening tip to the final buzzer, forcing 35 turnovers on one end and shooting 52.7 percent from the field on the other. The Captains nearly hit the century mark in the first three quarters while shooting over 60 percent for the first 30 minutes of action. The 107 points is tied for the 14th most in a single game in program history and is a new NCAA Tournament record for the Captains. 
 
With the win, the Captains improved to 26-0 and will advance to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive tournament and all eight trips to the postseason tournament under head coach Bill Broderick. CNU is one of only three teams, joining Amherst and Tufts, to advance to the second weekend of the Division III Championship in each of the last six seasons; coincidentally, all three will play in the same sectional next weekend.
 
Setting a breakneck pace from the opening whistle, the Captains won the tip and raced down the court to take the lead on a bucket by Anaya Simmons off a feed from Natalie Terwilliger. The Knights answered on the other end before Christopher Newport would run off 14 straight points to take a dominant 16-2 advantage. Showcasing the team's depth, seven different players scored in the opening burst as the Captains knocked down seven of the first nine attempts from the field.
 
Five straight points by the Knights were answered quickly by the Captains and CNU took a stranglehold on the lead. CNU outscored Mount St. Mary, 16-6, the rest of the first quarter and carried a 32-13 lead into the second quarter. The teams mostly traded baskets through the second stanza, but it was a dominant third quarter for the second straight night that blew the game wide open.
 
Christopher Newport scored a season-high 38 points in the quarter, outscoring the Liberty League champions by 29 in the period. Christopher Newport led by nearly 50 at the 30-minute mark, 93-44, with an incredible showing on the offensive end mirrored by the suffocating defense. In the third quarter alone, CNU scored 17 points off turnovers and knocked down 65.2 percent (15-23) from the field.
 
Senior Sondra Fan led the way on both ends with 11 points and three steals on 5-of-6 shooting. Fellow senior Phylicia McInnis sank a pair of three-pointers for six points while Simmons was 3-for-4 with six rebounds. Senior Julia Ng notched five points and four boards with a steal and the well-rounded performance saw four more Captains also score in the period.
 
In the fourth quarter, senior Julia Hobbs took the lead on offense with five points and four rebounds including a pair on the offensive glass. She was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line as CNU knocked down seven of eight from the charity stripe in the final period.
 
Only one Captain played more than 19 minutes in the game as junior Katy Rader led the squad in game time on Saturday. Sophomore point guard Gabbi San Diego led the starting unit with 19 minutes as Sondra Fan and Anaya Simmons registered a pair of the most efficient appearances of the season. Fan scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting in just 16 minutes of action, while logging seven steals, three rebounds, and a pair of assists. Simmons, the nation's leader in field-goal percentage, was 5-of-6 with 17 points and went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. She also hauled in six rebounds, dished a pair of assists, and had two assists.
 
No other Captain finished in double figures despite the lofty team total with all 14 active players getting into the scoring column. Natalie Terwilliger chipped in nine points and six rebounds in just 13 minutes of action; McInnis and San Diego each added eight points while San Diego also dished a team-high seven assists. In the contest, senior Jessica Foster made history with her 156th career three-pointer to tie Dana Edwards for second all-time at Christopher Newport. 
 
For the second straight night, the bench production was exceptional with 44 points and 33 rebounds from the reserves. The Captains held a decisive advantage on the glass, outrebounding Mount St. Mary by a final count of 57-18. The 57 boards was a season high and one of the top performances for the Captains in NCAA Tournament history, falling just four shy of the record set in 1995 against Marymount.
 
CNU will take on the winner of the Whitman/Trinity (Texas) matchup still being played at the time of this post. Game times and location of the sectional round is yet to be determined and will be announced by the NCAA later this weekend.