ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Wellesley College basketball fell 94-54 to No. 14/RV Christopher Newport University on the opening day of the St. Pete Classic. Monday marked the first-ever meeting between the Blue (4-5) and the Captains (12-2).

Sixteen different players scored for CNU. Junior Caitlin Crump (Oak Hill, Va.) and sophomore Madison McKenzie (Gainesville, Va.) led the team in double figures. The Captains hit 10 threes as a squad and dished out 26 assists.

Junior Trinity Barrow (Evans, Ga.) nabbed six steals while supplying 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Blue. Barrow added three assists and splashed three deep balls. Sophomore Ava Shane (Plano, Texas) recorded a 17 point, 12 rebound double-double and first-year Tanvi Agarwal (Woodinville, Wash.) led all individuals with five assists. Wellesley shot 22-of-51 (43.1%) as a team.

CNU raced out to an 8-2 lead before the Blue gave an 8-2 rebuttal of its own, topped off by a layup from sophomore Proud Techarungchaikul (Bangkok, Thailand). The last five minutes of the opening quarter was all Captains, with the No. 14/RV team ending the period on a 16-4 run to go ahead 26-14.

The Captains added seven unanswered at the start of the second and led by 21 before Barrow nailed a three-pointer. Wellesley briefly cut its deficit to 12 at 33-21 but never got back within single digits. CNU ended the half firmly in control, 46-28.

By the end of the third, the scoreboard read 68-43 in favor of the Captains. CNU led by 30 at one point, though a 10-2 Blue run featuring four points from sophomore Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) gave the Blue hope.

CNU put the game out of reach early in the final frame, going up by over 30 on the way to a 94-54 victory.

Both teams play again tomorrow in the St. Pete Classic. Wellesley takes on Southern Virginia University at 11:00 AM. Christopher Newport plays No. 16/18 Washington University in St Louis at 1:00 PM.