ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – The Johns Hopkins women's basketball team took on Christopher Newport in a rematch of the NCAA Second Round matchup from a season ago, dropping a back-and-forth contest against the Captains, 59-54. The loss is the first of the season for the Blue Jays, moving them to 2-1 while the win is CNU's fifth straight to start the 2024-25 campaign.
 
Despite what the final score might suggest, the first quarter was all Hopkins in a frame in which the Blue Jays led by as many as 18 points. Macie Feldman opened the game with six straight before the Captains finally broke their scoreless drought with a layup at the 5:46 mark. From there it was Hopkins taking over again, this time via a 14-0 run that featured triples from Feldman and Elisabeth Peebles as well as a pair of perfect visits to the charity stripe from Kendall Dunham and Greta Miller to balloon the lead to 20-2 before another CNU layup with time winding down made it 20-4 after one.
 
After scoring just four points and shooting 11% from the field in the first quarter, it was the Captains flipping the script in the second by allowing just seven Blue Jay shot attempts en route to outscoring Hopkins 26-4. Feldman and Jadyn Murray struck early to keep the lead at 16 three minutes in, but a 20-0 run by CNU turned a 16-point deficit into a four-point lead, with freebies from Miller trimming the Captains' advantage to two at 28-26 entering the half.
 
The Blue Jays came out rejuvenated in the second half, with a Peebles triple giving Hopkins back the lead at 31-30 before a seesaw affair ensued. From the seven-minute mark until there were 22 seconds left, the lead stayed within two for either side before a Michaela O'Neil layup made it a 44-41 game in favor of the Blue Jays. There at the buzzer once again, however, were the Captains, who used a three ball this time to knot things at 44 with 10 minutes to go.
 
Falling behind by four on two occasions early in the fourth, Hopkins used a pair of 5-0 bursts — the second being capped off by an O'Neil triple on a feed from Feldman — to reclaim the lead at 49-48 with 6:22 to go. The Blue Jays took the lead one final time after an and-one conversion from Peebles and an O'Neil lay made it 54-53 with 3:34 left, but that would be the final time Hopkins scored, with Hopkins getting shut out until the final whistle while a pair of CNU layups and two crunch-time free throws by Gabbi San Diego closed things out, 59-54.
 
Three Hopkins players got into double figures in the narrow loss, with Dunham, Feldman and O'Neil all scoring 11 points each, with Feldman adding a game-high 11 rebounds to secure her second double-double of the season. Feldman also shared the team-lead in assists with Miller — the duo tallied four apiece — and finished with a team-best three steals.
 
Next up for Hopkins is a trip to Virginia where they will take on Roanoke Friday, Nov. 22 on Day 1 of the RMC Tip-Off Classic. Opening tip is scheduled for 8 p.m.