The 20th ranked University of Mary Washington women's basketball team jumped out to an early lead, fought down to the wire, but came away with a 68-61 loss to second-ranked Christopher Newport University on Saturday afternoon in both teams' Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference opener. The Eagles slip to 13-2 overall.
The Eagles came out strong in the first, building a five-point lead. UMW scored the first two baskets of the game, on layups from sophomore Jordan Carpenter and junior Ashley Martin. After a CNU three pointer, senior Tory Martin answered with a basket and sophomore Keagan Schwab connected for a three pointer to up the Eagle lead to 9-3 with 6:52 remaining in the first.
The Captins drew to within 10-8 with 3:58 left, and the Eagles erupted for five straight with a Carpenter layup and Molly Sharman three pointer to grab a 15-8 cushion with 1:02 left.CNU connected on a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to cut the margin to 15-10 after 10 minutes.
For the next 20 minutes, the teams played straight even, as each team scored 14 points in the second quarter and 18 in the third. The Eagles led by as many as nine in the third before the lead was trimmed to 33-31 with 7:39 remaining. With a 36-35 lead with 3:19 left, sophomore Sydney Sherman scored a baskets and senior Emily Shively added another, and the lead quickly moved back to five, at 42-37. An Ashley Martin three point play at the buzzer gave the Eagles their five-point cushion moving to the fourth.
CNU opened the fourth on a 9-2 run to gain the lead, but Tory Martin answered to knot the score at 51 with 8:23 left. A Schwab basket on the next possession gave the Eagles the lead, which they held until a Captain free throw with 5:21 remaining tied the score. CNU scored four straight before Carpenter hit a pair of free throws to move to within 57-55 with 3:42 left, and Ashley Martin knotted the score at 57 with a driving basket with 3:13 left.
The teams traded points over the next possessions, and CNU went ahead with five straight points, into the final minute. Ashley Martin connected on a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left to draw UMW to within 64-61, but CNU scored the final four points of the contest from the free throw line.
Schwab led the Eagles with 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Ashley Martin scored 14 to go with four assists. Carpenter had 10 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks.
The Eagles shot 38.3% (23-60), making 2-10 three pointers and 13-18 free throws. CNU shot 36.8% (21-57), making 5-20 free throws and 21-30 free throws. CNU held a 41-37 edge in rebounding.
UMW will return to action on Wednesday when they visit Swarthmore College at 5:30 p.m.