NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Behind dominant performances from preseason All-Americans Sondra Fan and Anaya Simmons, the top-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team came from behind with a big second half effort to down UC Santa Cruz (16-5) in the C2C Classic on Sunday afternoon. The Captains improved to 22-0 after Fan matched her career-high with 27 points and Simmons poured in an impressive double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds on 10-of-12 shooting. 

Christopher Newport trailed at halftime for just the second time this season but flipped the script in the second half by outpacing the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference foe, 36-20, after intermission. A pivotal third quarter saw CNU hold Santa Cruz to just four points while turning a five-point halftime deficit into a six-point lead. 

The Banana Slugs led by as many as seven in the first half, on a jumper by Lilli Hammons with 3:39 left in the second quarter. After dropping the game to the Captains, UC Santa Cruz fell to 16-5 on the season. 

After taking a 52-46 lead after the third, the Banana Slugs responded with five straight points to open the fourth quarter, trimming the lead to 52-51. That would set up a thrilling series for Captains fans as Simmons took control down low with the friendly roll from the home rims. On a feed by Hannah Kaloi, Simmons lofted a shot toward the rim through hard contact that tip-toed around the iron and in for an and-one three-point play. One more bucket by UC Santa Cruz made it 55-53, but Simmons hauled in a huge offensive rebound and finished against the harm again on the next possession.

The second consecutive three-point play was followed by a dagger of a run by Sondra Fan to put the game away. The graduate student went on a 9-2 personal run sandwiching a pair of dramatic three-pointers with a traditional three-point play of her own. The nine points ran her game total to 27, matching her career high set against Randolph-Macon on December 7, 2019. Her last triple of the game extended the lead to a game-high 12 with just over four minutes remaining (67-55). 

In addition to the Captains' leading scorers putting the team on their backs, Christopher Newport got a monster comeback game from junior point guard Gabbi San Diego. Playing in just her second game back from an injury suffered on December 30, San Diego dished a career-high nine assists in 30 minutes of action. She added six points and four rebounds while knocking down all four of her attempts from the free-throw line. 

UC Santa Cruz was led by 20 points from Amanda Inserra while Kaylee Murphy managed a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds despite being forced to play in foul trouble for most of the game. Ashley Kowack added 12 points to round out the double-figure scoring for the Banana Slugs. UC Santa Cruz had 20 assists on 25 made baskets, led by eight assists from Aubrey Wagner.

The game featured eight lead changes and seven ties as the lead extended beyond the reach of two possessions  only once before the aforementioned Sondra Fan burst which began with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. CNU shots 43.1 percent (25-58) in the game while UC Santa Cruz knocked down 40.3 percent (25-62) in the game. The Captains defense held the Banana Slugs to juts 25 percent from the field in the second half on 8-of-32 shooting. 

Christopher Newport captured the team's 37th consecutive home victory at the Freeman Center, extending a streak that started on December 16, 2018. CNU has also won 22 straight games overall. 

With just two games left in the regular season schedule, CNU will travel to Salisbury University on Saturday, February 11 before hosting the University of Mary Washington on Wednesday, February 15. The game against the Sea Gulls will tip at 2:00 p.m.