BUENA VISTA, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team remained unbeaten on Wednesday night with a 77-66 victory on the road, downing Southern Virginia University (7-9). The Captains improved to 17-0 behind the third 20+ point performance of the season from senior Anaya Simmons. 

Simmons matched her career-high with 10 made field goals while taking a career-high 15 shots. She recorded 23 points in just 21 minutes of action while adding five rebounds against the Knights. 

Lauren Fortescue added 12 points with a perfect 10-for-10 performance at the free-throw line to tie the Captains record. She is the first CNU player to post a perfect run at the charity stripe with at least 10 made since Sam Porter notched the same line against Amherst in the NCAA Tournament on March 17, 2017. Fortescue's dominance at the free-throw line marked just the 12th time in CNU women's basketball history that a player was 10-for-10 or better in a single game. 

Rounding out the double-figure scoring for Christopher Newport was a 15-point night for guard Sondra Fan. The fifth-year star played a team-high 29 minutes and finished with six rebounds, two assists, and one steal in the contest, helping lead the Captains to a big win. 

As a team, Christopher Newport shot 43.5 percent (27-62) from the field including a 52 percent run (13-25) in the second half. The Captains defense forced 22 turnovers with ten steals, highlighted by four from senior Katy Rader. Sophomore forward Hannah Orloff added three off the bench, while also chipping in three points, three rebounds, and one blocked shot. 

The host Knights scored the first four points in the game but Christopher Newport responded with a 9-0 run to take a 5-0 lead. Fan opened the scoring with a contested three-pointer from the wing before delivering a highlight-reel assist to Alivia Giles the next time down the floor. Simmons slipped in back-to-back layups for the Captains as they took a 9-4 lead and never trailed in the game again. 

After giving up the first basket of the second quarter, CNU put together another big run to take control of the contest. An 18-3 roll over a span of half the quarter allowed Christopher Newport to extend the lead to a game-high 19 (36-17). Simmons and Rader did the bulk of the scoring in the spurt, combining for 12 of the 18 points. The Captains took a 15-point lead into the halftime intermission, 42-27, as Fortescue finished the half with a jumper assisted by Camille Malagar. 

The home team chipped away at the Captains' lead throughout the third quarter, cutting it down to six with 1:22 remaining, 54-48, when Maria Savvun buried a three-pointer from the wing. The Captains quickly responded with a nice pass from Malagar to Hannah Kaloi and back-to-back free throws by Fortescue to close the third quarter. In the fourth, the visiting Captains extended the lead back to double figures with six more points from Simmons. CNU held off the comeback bid and pulled away for the 11-point win, 77-66. 

Three Southern Virginia players finished in double figures led by 13 by Presley Heggie, who added seven rebounds. 

Christopher Newport will return ot action next Wednesday, January 25 as they travel to Marymount University. The Captains take on the Saints at 6:00 p.m.