MEDFORD, Mass. — Advancing to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Quarterfinals for the fourth time in program history and the first since 2017, the top-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team pulled away from No. 24 Wartburg College (23-7) early and held the Knights at bay for a 60-51 win on Friday evening.
Playing in Cousens Gymnasium on the campus of Tufts University, the Captains improved to 29-0 with the win and will take on the host and 21st-ranked Tufts Jumbos (24-6) at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night.
"We knew watching film that any team that can beat the defending champs by 20 at their place, it's gonna be a battle," said head coach Bill Broderick. "I think we just really tried to come out and set the tone in the first quarter and we were able to do that a little bit."
Defense was pivotal in the Captains win as usual, but this time it was the post defense led by Hannah Orloff that headlined the team effort. Led by a career-high eight rejections by Orloff, the Captains registered 12 team blocks -- the most in a game by CNU since swatting 15 against Methodist on February 16, 2007. In addition to Orloff's dominant performance, Katy Rader matched her career high with three blocks of her own while Hannah Kaloi turned one shot away.
While the rim was being denied close to the basket, the Captains also did a remarkable job against one of the nation's elite three-point shooting units. Coming into Friday's matchup, Wartburg was ranked third nationally in three-pointers made per game and in the top-15 nationally in three-point shooting percentage. The stifling CNU defense forced the Knights to open the game 0-for-9 from long range and just 3-of-14 in the first half. For the game, Wartburg shot 33.3 percent from deep with just eight made triples, including three late.
In the first quarter, the Captains came out firing while leaning on their fifth-year senior leader, Sondra Fan. The Poquoson, Va. native scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the opening period including a beautiful pull-up jumper in the paint on the game's opening possession. Her three-pointer at the buzzer of the first quarter gave the Captains a 21-9 lead that would grow to as many as 20 in the first half.
The Captains' rotation played a big role as the reserves came in and keyed a big spurt by the Captains. Orloff highlighted the run with a steal, block, and offensive board stick-back that made it 10-2. Senior forward Katy Rader also caught fire in the defensive transition game, picking up back-to-back steals in the first half that lifted the energy for the top-ranked team in the nation. Following a triple team trap near the sideline from the Captains Chaos defense, Rader wound up on the floor scrambling for a loose ball to pick up the first steal. In transition, Hannah Kaloi buried a long triple to make it 28-11, and on the other end, Rader sprinted back to intercept a long pass and pick up another theft.
CNU shot 43 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes while building a 14-point lead at the break, 36-22. In the second half, Wartburg closed the gap to the final margin of nine as Christopher Newport worked to slow the game down and seal the victory. In the third quarter, the Knights trimmed the lead to nine, 40-31, before a blazing fast burst from Camille Malagar and Gabbi San Diego kicked the lead back up to 14. Malagar picked the pocket of her counterpart and ran out the fast-break layup with 5:07 left and, just nine seconds later, San Diego snagged a steal on the inbounds and finished through contact for a chance at a three-point play.
In the fourth quarter, the Captains held onto the double-digit lead until the final minute of play, including a 15-point lead with 1:45 showing on a free-throw converted by San Diego. A pair of three-pointers in the final minute cut into the advantage, but Christopher Newport clinched the win by finishing 3-of-4 after that.
Malagar, who celebrated her birthday on Friday, matched her career-high with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting. The junior guard added eight rebounds to narrowly miss a double-double while leading the way for CNU. Orloff hauled in a team-high 12 rebounds to pair with her eight blocks and six points off the bench while finishing 3-of-4 from the floor.
With the win, Christopher Newport improves to 29-0 and will advance to the NCAA National Quarterfinals on Saturday night. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
"It's really about getting some rest and getting some water, and then trusting that what we've done to be 29-0 is good enough," said Broderick. "Play with confidence and have fun. They were having fun out there today."
CNU and Tufts have only played once in the all-time series with the Jumbos taking a come-from-behind 70-65 win at the end of December, 2019. Tufts was ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time and Sondra Fan scored 13 points with three triples in the game. Since that loss, the Captains have run off a record of 72-1.
