ARLINGTON, Va. — The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women’s basketball team improved to 15-1 on the season with a 66-49 win on the road Wednesday night as the Captains defeated Marymount University (3-10) at the Converse Family Fieldhouse. Three-time defending C2C Player of the Week Hannah Orloff stuffed the stat sheet in helping lift CNU to the team’s eighth straight win as she finished with 8 points, 12 rebounds, 5 steals, and 5 blocked shots.
The Captains put together another stalwart defensive performance against Marymount, holding the home team to single digits in each of the middle two quarters. CNU pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 20 on the road before securing the 17-point win. Rookie Emma O’Connor led all scorers with a career-high 16 points in the game.
In Wednesday’s win, the Captains jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Elizabeth Creed started things off with a stick-back layup and Alexia Lindsey buried a three-pointer the next time down the floor. Camille Malagar then followed with a runner to cap the early spurt. The Saints would respond with a 10-2 run of their own to take the lead, 10-9, and force a timeout by the Captains. Out of the break, O’Connor scored on a feed by Sydney Sherman and then Marymount followed to teeter back in front, 12-11. On the next possession, CNU got a three-point play from McKenna Snively and would never relinquish the lead again.
Snively’s second-chance layup for a hoop-and-harm three-point play gave CNU a 14-12 advantage and kickstarted an 18-4 run that would roll deep into the second quarter as the Captains took control. Orloff added an offensive rebound and layup and then turned in a pair of rejections to close out the opening quarter ahead, 18-15.
In the second quarter, Christopher Newport held Marymount empty on their first 13 attempts from the field through almost six full minutes of scoreless basketball. In that stretch, O’Connor scored six points on a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays and added a pair of assists by setting up Orloff for two and Mia Wilson for a three-pointer. The burst built the CNU lead to 14 at 29-15, but Marymount retaliated with another run of their own, scoring the last nine points of the half and, at the intermission, the Captains held a slim 29-24 advantage
After a back-and-forth start to the third quarter, the CNU defense clamped down again, holding the Saints to just two points in the final seven minutes of the period. Marymount was just 1-for-7 in that timeframe, while the Captains got back to work on the offensive end and turned a five-point lead into an 18-point advantage with two minutes to go. CNU continued to spread the ball around with six different Captains getting into the scoring column in the third quarter being led by junior guard Hailey Kellogg with five points.
With a substantial lead back in hand, the Captains kept the Saints at arm’s length the rest of the game and held onto a double-digit lead for the remainder. Caitlin Crump dropped in a three-pointer off a feed from rookie Aliyah Elliott in the fourth and added a second triple a couple minutes later when freshman Katerina Dakos found her for the shot. Closing out the win, Gabbi San Diego sank a short jumper and added a steal on the defensive end. Madison McKenzie added a pair of free throws before Sarah Pritz and Jessica Dornak connected in the final minute for the Captains.
O’Connor was perfect at the free-throw line in six trips (6-6) as part of the 16-point outburst. She added four rebounds, two blocks, and a pair of assists. She was the only CNU player in double figures in the win as the Captains’ balance included eight points by Orloff, seven from Malagar, and six apiece by Wilson and Crump.
CNU forced 27 turnovers and held Marymount to just 31.7 percent shooting (20-63). The Captains improved to 144-3 since the start of the 2016-17 season when holding their opponent to 60 points or less.
The next four games will come at the Freeman Center for Christopher Newport as the homestand starts on Sunday, January 12 against Warren Wilson. Tip against the Owls is set for 2:00 p.m.
