FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- The top-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team made quick work of the fourth-seeded Finlandia Lions (12-11) on Friday evening in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Semifinals, picking up a 96-61 win to advance to Saturday's championship game. The Captains improved to 25-0 after racing out to a dominating 25-3 run off the opening tip and never looking back for the team's seventh straight win in the conference tournament. 

Taking on Conference Player and Defensive Player of the Year Natalie Bartle and the Lions, the Captains set a program scoring record for conference tournament play by notching 96 points in the semifinal round. CNU knocked down a record 40 field goals while shooting 50 percent from the field and out-rebounding the Lions, 50-37. 

CNU advances to the team's sixth straight conference title game and will play against either #2-seed UC Santa Cruz or #3-seed Mary Washington in Saturday night's finale. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Anderson Center in Fredericksburg, Va. 

In Friday's semifinal, the Captains never trailed courtesy of the game-opening roll, which was started by a layup from Anaya Simmons and a three-pointer by Sondra Fan. Simmons added another lay-in that was followed by a mid-range jumper by Katy Rader as Christopher Newport jumped out to a 9-0 lead through just 3:06 of game time. The Lions finally got on the board with a jump shot by Bartle, but Simmons picked up her third straight made field goal to respond on the next possession. 

The CNU defense forced seven turnovers in the big opening burst, which would continue through the first 7:24 of game time. Hannah Orloff caught fire, scoring eight of the next ten points for CNU. She added another layup minutes later to cap a 10-point first quarter while giving the Captains a 25-3 advantage. The Lions would temporarily right the ship before the Captains turned to Hannah Kaloi for a three-pointer in the final minute of the first quarter to take a 22-point lead into the second stanza, 32-10. 

The lead would build to as many as 35 points in the second quarter, which is where the top-seeded Captains would leave it headed into the intermission, 56-21. CNU shot over 63 percent (24-38) for the first 20 minutes while holding Finlandia to a paltry 27.3 percent (9-33) from the field, including just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc. 

Orloff and Fan each had 10 first-half points, combining to knock down 9-of-12 shots for the Captains. Anaya Simmons was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field with nine points while Kaloi chipped in six points. 

In the second half, the Captains rested their starters and extended the bench to feature a overall balanced scoresheet by the final horn. Alexia Lindsey led the second half ledger with seven points while Makenna Zimmerman and Ashley Steadman each chipped in five points. By the end of the game in the record-setting performance, the Captains saw 16 different players get into the scoring column with the only player not in the book being starting point guard Gabbi San Diego, who dished a team-high four assists. 

No CNU player logged more than 15 minutes of action in the game. Orloff and Simmons scored a game-high 12 points while Fan finished with 10 points in the contest. Alivia Giles added six points and a team-high eight rebounds for CNU. 

Bartle scored 31 on 10-of-22 shooting with eight rebounds for the Lions and Bethany Baldwin also finished in double figures with 14 points for Finlandia. 

Christopher Newport will play at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday looking to capture the team's fourth straight conference title. Opponent and game information including live stats link will be posted to the CNUsports.com schedule when they become available.