NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After winning the team's 30th straight game, the Christopher Newport women's basketball team shot up to No. 2 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25, matching the finest national ranking in program history. The Captains are 13-0 this season with an unprecedented pace offensively averaging 93.3 points per game. Additionally, CNU moved up to No. 3 in the WBCA Division III Coaches Poll.
Moving up to the No. 2 for the first time since the first time the Captains were ranked as high in the D3hoops.com poll, Christopher Newport matches the 2017-18 version of the program that started the year ranked No. 2. That season, CNU held onto the No. 2 ranking for five straight polls through December 18. The January 3 release of the poll marks the latest in the season Christopher Newport has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation.
Hope College (11-0) is the only team ranked ahead of CNU and the only team with a longer active win streak. The Captains matched a program-record 30-straight wins on Thursday with a 101-70 victory over Roanoke College. Hope has won 56 straight and earned all 25 first-place votes in the poll for 625 points while Christopher Newport garnered 570 points to edge out No. 3 Amherst with 563.
The Captains have impressed on both ends of the floor against their competition, ranking third nationally in scoring offense and first in steals and turnover margin. CNU is excelling in all phases, ranking second in assists, third in blocked shots, and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Captains have been dangerous offensively, ranking second nationally in field-goal percentage, free-throws made, and ninth in three-pointers made.
Playing well as a team, no player is averaging even 21 minutes per game this season as the rotation has allowed for eight players to average 6.5 points per game or better and another three over 5.0 points per game. Senior guard
Sondra Fan leads the way, averaging 16.8 points per game while shooting 57.3% from the field and 50.7% from beyond the arc. The Poquoson, Va. native also leads the team in steals, with 38, and ranks second in assists, with 30.
In the front court, junior
Anaya Simmons and senior
Natalie Terwilliger have provided a formidable matchup for opposing lineups. Simmons is knocking down 64.9% of her shots, ranking third nationally, and averaging 12.8 points per game. Terwilliger has 21 blocked shots to lead the team and also leads the team in rebounding with 5.6 rebounds per game.
Christopher Newport returns to action this weekend as they travel to Brooklyn to face a pair of teams in New York City. The Captains first take on St. Joseph's - Brooklyn on Saturday, January 8 at 1:00 pm before taking on Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference foe Pratt Institute for the first time on Sunday, January 9 at 1:00 pm.
D3hoops.com women's Top 25, Week 4
Through games of Jan. 2, 2022:
Dropped out: No. 19 Gettysburg, No. 22 Bates, No. 24 Wheaton (Ill.)
Others receiving votes: Gettysburg 60; Wheaton (Ill.) 55; Smith 52; Messiah 45; Catholic 29; Mary Hardin-Baylor 29; Trinity (Texas) 29; Roger Williams 20; Bates 18; Scranton 16; UC Santa Cruz 11; Roanoke 6; St. Lawrence 6; Augsburg 5; Puget Sound 2; Drew 1
The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.
2021-22 WBCA NCAA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll — 1/4/22
The WBCA NCAA Division III Top 25 Women's Basketball Coaches Poll, with teams RECORD THROUGH SUNDAY'S GAMES in parentheses, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, and first-place votes received.
Printable version (PDF)
|
Rank
|
School (Record)
|
Total
Points
|
First-
Place
Votes
|
Last
week's
rank
|
|
1
|
Hope (11-0)
|
225
|
9
|
1
|
|
2
|
Amherst (7-0)
|
211
|
0
|
3
|
|
3
|
Christopher Newport (13-0)
|
208
|
0
|
5
|
|
4
|
Transylvania (11-0)
|
196
|
0
|
6
|
|
5
|
NYU (9-0)
|
181
|
0
|
7
|
|
6
|
Whitman (10-1)
|
175
|
0
|
2
|
|
7
|
Simpson (11-1)
|
174
|
0
|
8
|
|
8
|
UW-Whitewater (11-1)
|
170
|
0
|
4
|
|
9
|
Trine (10-2)
|
150
|
0
|
11
|
|
10
|
Tufts (8-1)
|
144
|
0
|
11
|
|
11
|
John Carroll (8-2)
|
116
|
0
|
13
|
|
12
|
DePauw (11-2)
|
109
|
0
|
10
|
|
13
|
Bowdoin (10-2)
|
106
|
0
|
9
|
|
14t
|
Springfield (12-0)
|
92
|
0
|
17
|
|
14t
|
Wisconsin Lutheran (8-0)
|
92
|
0
|
16
|
|
16
|
UW-Eau Claire (11-2)
|
86
|
0
|
15
|
|
17
|
East Texas Baptist (9-2)
|
79
|
0
|
18
|
|
18
|
Wheaton, IL (10-2)
|
69
|
0
|
19
|
|
19
|
St. John Fisher (8-0)
|
62
|
0
|
21
|
|
20
|
Wartburg (8-2)
|
61
|
0
|
14
|
|
21
|
Puget Sound (9-1)
|
58
|
0
|
20
|
|
22
|
Hardin-Simmons (9-2)
|
45
|
0
|
22
|
|
23
|
Messiah (9-2)
|
38
|
0
|
23
|
|
24
|
Catholic (9-1)
|
18
|
0
|
NR
|
|
25
|
Roger Williams (8-0)
|
13
|
0
|
NR
|
Dropped out: No. 24 Baldwin-Wallace (7-2); No. 25t Gettysburg (7-2); No. 25t UT Dallas (6-3).
Others receiving votes: UW-Oshkosh (11-2) 12; Baldwin-Wallace (7-2) 11; St. Lawrence (9-0) 6; Smith (9-1) 5; Mary Washington (12-1); UT Dallas (6-3) 4; Drew (10-0) 2; Trinity, TX (8-2) 2; Redlands (6-2) 1.
The WBCA NCAA Division III Coaches Poll Committee is composed of one head coach from each of the 10 NCAA Division III regions. The committee for the 2021-22 season: Casey Kushiyama, Puget Sound; Alex Lang, Brooklyn; Jen McCormick, Illinois College; Bobbi Morgan, Ursinus; Alex Richey, Oglethorpe; Sacha Santimano, Bowdoin; Mia Smith, Illinois Wesleyan; Daphne Thompson, SUNY Oneonta; Kelly Thompson, Roger Williams; Suzy Venet, Mount Union.
