Big Fourth Quarter Lifts #3 Captains Past Maryville 84-60
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – Maryville returns to campus with a 1-1 record after its opening weekend of play in the Jean Edge Classic, hosted by North Carolina Wesleyan.
The Scots lost Sunday to No. 3-ranked Christopher Newport 84-60. The Captains are the defending NCAA runner-up, and Maryville played them to a nine-point ballgame with 12 minutes remaining before running out of steam.
And that was without injured scoring leader Courtney Carruthers seeing the court in either game.
"I'm very excited about the steps we took this weekend," Scots head coach Darrin Travillian said. "Our squad faced veteran teams and teams with conference and national aspirations. Despite being young and shuffling our lineup, we made winning plays and showed a toughness and grit that was inspiring.
Ella Haney showed no signs of rust after missing the last half of last season with an injury. The Murfreesboro sophomore led all scorers with 18 points thanks to a 3-of-7 showing from 3-point range. The rest of the Scots were 0-of-10 outside the arc.
Emma Huskey scored a dozen points to complete a solid weekend, and Ella Tharpe scored 10 for her first foray into double figures. Maryville was outrebounded 43-27, with Huskey and Haney grabbing four apiece to lead the Scots. Ella Tharpe had four assists and Sophie Tharpe three steals to lead in those categories.
Christopher Newport, meanwhile, made 14 of its 29 3-point tries for 48.3 percent. That's better than the Captains shot from 2-point distance, which was 16-of-34 for 47.1 percent.
After a big opening quarter, CNU posted its largest lead of the first half at 34-19 on Mia Wilson's free throw with 5:54 showing. Maryville pulled within 38-24 at intermission. The Captains led 48-34 with 4:12 left in the third when the Scots went on a 7-2 run capped by Haney's 3-ball that made it 50-41 at the 3:13 mark.
CNU Now 60-2
Huskey swished a pair of free throws with 2:08 remaining in the third to make it 52-43, but that was as close as the Scots could pull. The Captains scored the last five of the quarter and then put 27 on the board over the final 10 minutes to win going away.
Christopher Newport, now 3-0, has won 60 of its last 62 games.
"I've told many coaches that this team will grow and improve because they work hard and want to be coached all week long at practice," Travillian said. "There's a tremendous amount of fight and spirit about them. It's going to be a fun journey."
Maryville plays again next weekend at the Emory Classic in Atlanta. The Scots take on Berry (1-2) on Saturday at 3 p.m. and then battle Swarthmore – which begins its season Wednesday at Widener – on Sunday at noon.