NEWPORT NEWS, VA (WTKR)- When you think of the top teams in NCAA Division III women's basketball, you have to think of Christopher Newport. The Captains have raised the standard and become a postseason mainstay for the last decade.
CNU is out to an 18-1 start with a four point setback to New Paltz serving as the only blemish on its record. The Captains are 92-3 throughout the last three campaigns, have advanced to seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments, won five straight Coast-to-Coast Conference titles and finished national runner-up in 2023, the best postseason showing ever for the program.
"Our culture I think is the biggest thing and the biggest reason," head coach Bill Broderick said regarding the consistent success of the program. "They know we've been successful before you got here, we'll be successful while you're here and we'll be successful when you leave."
Broderick credits the current players with setting the tone and letting the new players know what the expectations are in the program. The message is getting through as Christopher Newport is ranked No. 5 in the latest NCAA Division III national rankings. Broderick himself has won at a rate of 86 percent (273-44) since arriving as the team's head coach in 2012, putting him among the greatest in the women's college basketball, such as Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley and Pat Summit.
"I've been able to have a lot of great players play for me, I've had a lot of great assistant coaches that have worked for me," he pointed out. "Those wins might be under my name, but it's really about the success of the program and all the people that have come before them to do that."
"We're forever appreciative of how hard he coaches us every game," added senior guard Camille Malagar. "He puts a lot of pressure on us, but that's only because he expects so much from us and holds us to high standard."
Those that are returning fell one win short of a national championship last season. Broderick is quick to point out that this is a new team with new players and facing new adversity, but knows the returners probably have that title game loss in the back of their minds.
"I think it helps because we know what it takes to get there," the head coach noted. "I think we use that as a valuable tool, but we do talk a lot that this is just a totally different team and so whatever the journey is for this team is what it is."
"I think we definitely use our losses as motivation," said Malagar. "After last year, it was a super tough one, and just considering Katy Rader and Alivia Giles, this is their last year so we just want to do it for them."
CNU returns to the court Saturday afternoon when the Captains host Warren Wilson at the Freeman Center. Tipoff is set for 2:00 PM.
