NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The fourth-seeded Salisbury University women's basketball team saw its season end on Wednesday night as it fell to top-seeded Christopher Newport in the semifinal round of the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) tournament, 76-63.

THE RUNDOWN

Final Score: Christopher Newport 76, Salisbury 63

Records: Salisbury (12-14) | Christopher Newport (21-4)

Location: Freeman Center – Newport News, Va.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salisbury scored the first basket of the game when Amber Onyekwere fed a pass to Kaylee Otlowski who drained a jumper 1:18 into the game. Christopher Newport answered at the other end of the floor with a Bailey Hodges three-pointer to go up 3-2.
• The rest of the first quarter consisted of four lead changes and two ties as each team played the other close to the vest. Salisbury's biggest lead of the quarter came on an Otlowski layup with 3:50 to go to go up 13-10.
• The Captains scored nine of the final 12 points in the frame to lead 19-16 after one quarter.
• Points were hard to come by to begin the second quarter. However, Christopher Newport found opportunities to slowly extend its lead, including an Anya Simmons three-pointer with 4:20 to play to put her team ahead, 26-18.
• Lauren Fortescue answered 15 seconds later with a three at the other end of the court to kick off an 11-4 Sea Gull run to pull them back within one at 30-29 with 2:32 to play.
• The Captains rallied with a 9-1 run down the stretch to go ahead 39-31, but an Onyekwere jumper with two seconds on the clock pulled Salisbury back within six as time expired in the first half.
• Christopher Newport pulled ahead by as many as 10 points at 46-36 following a 7-3 run to open the third quarter. The maroon and gold refused to go away, however, as they rallied back once again with six of the next seven field goals to tie the game once again at 48-48 with 3:55 left in the quarter.
• Still tied at 51-51 with a minute left, the Captains scored the final six points to lead 57-51 with 10 minutes left to play.
• The first four minutes of the fourth quarter saw Christopher Newport extend its lead to 63-54. Courtney Brigham scored the next four points to pull the Sea Gulls back within five 63-58.
• The Captains controlled the game down the stretch. Still trailing 67-60 with 2:28 to go, the Sea Gulls were forced to foul and send the Captains to the line, but the Captains made the most of each opportunity as they pulled away to defeat Salisbury, 76-63.

GAME NOTES

• Lauren Fortescue and Kaylee Otlowski each scored a team-high 14 points and pulled in six rebounds in the defeat.
• Emily Dilger led the Sea Gulls with 10 rebounds while adding 9 points.
• Amber Onyekwere also reached double-digits, scoring 10 points while leading Salisbury with six assists and three steals.
• Sandra Fan was the Captains' leading scorer, dropping 20 points in the victory. Bailey Hodges (15) and Natalie Terwilliger (13) also reached double-digits in points scored.
• Christopher Newport edged Salisbury in rebounds, 38-37, while also shooting 46.8 percent from the field compared to 33.3 percent from Salisbury.
• The Sea Gulls converted 18 of its 26 free throw attempts (69.2%) while the Captains went 26-for-35 from the charity stripe (74.3%)

THE WRAP

• Salisbury finishes the 2019-20 season with a 12-14 overall record and a 4-6 record in the CAC.