MARSHALL, Texas — The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women’s basketball team heads out of state for an early-season test this weekend, traveling to the ETBU Tip-Off Classic for a pair of contests. The Captains (1-0) will first take on the host East Texas Baptist Tigers on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. EST) before facing LeTourneau in a Noon (1:00 p.m. EST) tip on Saturday.
The tip-off tournament will feature the first matchups ever between the programs as Christopher Newport will be making its first ever trip to the Lone Star State. CNU has played only twice against teams from the state of Texas in the first 49 years of the program, defeating McMurry in 2010-11 in Hawaii during the Hoop ‘N Surf Classic and falling to Trinity (Texas) in Massachusetts during the 2022 NCAA Tournament. This weekend, they will double that number with matchups against the American Southwest Conference representatives.
Both games will be played at East Texas Baptist in Ornelas Gymnasium. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for fans unable to make the trip along with the Captains. Links to both can be found on the women’s basketball schedule at CNUsports.com.
The Captains, ranked No. 4 in the WBCA Top 25 and No. 6 in the D3hoops.com national rankings, opened the season with a commanding 92-39 victory at home against Averett University. Leading the way in that contest was a career-best performance from junior Alivia Giles, who poured in 22 points on a perfect 10-for-10 shooting night at the Freeman Center. She became the first player in program history to score at least ten field goals and not miss a single shot in the game.
CNU also got double-figure scoring performances from senior Anaya Simmons, with 13, senior Katy Rader, with 10, and sophomore Hannah Orloff, with 10. The balanced performance for CNU included nine points for Sondra Fan and eight for Camille Malagar.
The Friday night contest against the host Tigers will pit the Captains against a team that has won 20 or more games in five straight seasons and reached the NCAA national quarterfinals in 2017-18. During the 2020-21 season with no postseason tournament sponsored by the NCAA, the Tigers registered a program-best 25-1 overall record in their first year under head coach Blake Arbogast. Last season, the growing power reached the second round…
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