Women's Basketball Upends No. 22 Lake Forest (IL), 65-62

HONOLULU, HI - Christopher Newport's women's basketball team concluded the Hoop N Surf Classic on a positive note by knocking off 22nd-ranked Lake Forest (IL) 65-62 Monday afternoon.

The Lady Captains scored the first bucket of the game on Dee Luck's lay-up just 19 seconds into the contest. CNU went scoreless for the next four minutes until Candace Bryant knotted the game at 4-4 with 15:57 to play in the opening stanza.

The Foresters would lead by three, 9-6, with 13:35 left in the first on a free throw by Claire Schmidt. From there, CNU would close the half on a 32-9 run to lead 38-18 at the break.

Christopher Newport shot 14-of-33 (42%) from the field in the first half. The Lady Captains pressure defense in the opening stanza held Lake Forest to just 5-of-20 (25%) shooting from the floor and 0-of-3 from behind the arc.

In the second half, the Foresters outscored CNU 44-31. Lake Forest was 15-of-37 (41%) from the field, 4-of-9 (44%) from long range and 10-of-18 (56%) from the stripe. LFC began the half on a 19-6 run to cut the Lady Captains lead to three, 40-37 with 13:47 left in the game. CNU countered with a 12-6 run to increase their lead back up to nine, 52-43, with 11:07 remaining.

Lake Forest would get as close as three several more times down the stretch, including the final margin. It was the Lady Captains defense that stepped up in the final minutes to thwart any comeback by the Foresters.

The Lady Captains went cold in the second half, but relied on their full court press as they forced 26 turnovers for the game which led to 28 CNU points. Christopher Newport was 11-of-32 (34%) from the field in the second half.

For the game, Lake Forest shot 20-of-57 (35%) from the field, 4-of-12 (33%) from lond range, and just 18-of-34 (53%) from the free throw line. CNU finished 25-of-65 (39%) from the floor, 2-of-9 (22%) from behind the arc, and 13-of-22 (59%) from the stripe.

Lake Forest was led by Andrea Durante with 14 points and six rebounds. Nicole Baich finished with 12 points and five boards.

The Lady Captains were led by Samantha Davis' 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Candace Bryant contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds while Nikki Rowland, fresh off Sunday's game where she scored her 1,000th career point, added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Lake Forest falls to 6-2 on the year while the Lady Captains improve to 5-3 on the year. CNU will take the next couple of weeks off for the holidays and will return to action on January 2 when they host St. Mary's (MD) at 6 pm.

Box Score