Christopher Newport Bows Out in NCAA Sweet 16 to Scranton, 82-46
NCAA Women's Basketball Bracket
No. 21 Christopher Newport saw its season come to a close on Friday night as the Captains fell to unbeaten and third-ranked Scranton, 82-46, in the NCAA Sweet 16. The Captains close out their season with a record of 24-5 following the loss.
The Lady Royals improve to 30-0 with the victory and will face Tufts (26-3) in Saturday's Elite Eight.
CNU's Sweet 16 appearance marked the third straight season and fourth time in the last five years that a CAC women's basketball team has advanced to the NCAA round of 16. It was CNU's third time in the final 16 in the last four season.
CNU was led by Sam Porter, with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Devon Byrd added 11 points and nine rebounds. Rookie guard Zhara Tannor finished out the game with nine points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.
An early 16-0 run helped build a first half lead for the Lady Royals. After the two teams traded baskets to start the game, CNU led 4-3 just two minutes in. From there, Scranton scored 16 straight points including six from Roman and back-to-back three-pointers by Jaclyn Gantz. The burst took a mere four minutes of game time, but forced Christopher Newport into an uphill battle late in the first quarter.
The Captains held the Lady Royals scoreless for the final 3:27 of the first quarter, and closed on a 6-0 run to get the lead down to single digits, 19-10. Byrd started the small roll with a pair of free-throws, followed by a nice put-back by Tannor with 1:55 left on the clock. The last made basket of the day came when CNU strung together a nice series of passes as Thomas found Byrd on the baseline, who sent an extra pass backdoor to Porter for the lay-in.
Scranton outscored CNU in the second quarter, 18-13, extending their halftime lead to 14 at 37-23. CNU looked more comfortable in the offense in the second, but the Lady Royals answered each Captains basket with one of their own.
With 6:20 left in the 2nd quarter, Thomas picked up her second nice assist of the game, dishing to Porter on a cut to the basket to cut the lead to eight, 24-16. On the ensuing possession, the CNU defense looked to lock up Scranton, but one player got loose to break the press and got the lead back to double digits, where it would stay the rest of the half.
The Captains struggled from long range all night, going just 1-for-17 from beyond the arc. In the game, CNU shot 26.3% from the field and scored 46 points against one of the nation's toughest defenses.
It was the first time in CNU Basketball history that both the men's and women's programs reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in the same season. It was the sixth all-time appearance in the Sectional Round, and third under Coach Broderick. CNU is now 7-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament under the fourth-year head coach.