NEWPORT NEWS, VA (WTKR)- Christopher Newport's women's basketball team has one more win to pick up in order to claim the program's first national championship. The Captains have just had to wait awhile.
Bill Broderick's team won its Final Four contest back on March 18, a 56-51 triumph over Rhode Island College, but has endured what will be a two week gap between the national semifinal and championship games. It's a long layoff, but the Captains see it as a positive.
"With all of our injuries and having a lot of people having to play extra minutes and then also having to fit people into different roles, it's actually been beneficial for us," Broderick noted. "We've actually been able to use the time, so I think for us it's actually been a help this time."
"I think it was kind of good for us to recharge a little bit and kind of get our mindsets just to cycle over again, just get back into that mindset that we're heading into a national championship," added junior forward Alivia Giles.
CNU enters the national title contest with a 31-0 record and will tangle with fellow unbeaten Transylvania on Saturday, a Pioneers team that has won all 32 of its contests this season. The Captains have won 73 of their last 74 games and now look to become the fourth Christopher Newport team to win a national championship within the last 16 months. That includes the CNU men's hoops squad, which won a crown of its own back on March 18, the same day of their female counterparts' Final Four victory.
"It's been absolutely special," said fifth-year guard Sondra Fan. "I came back for a fifth year, took the COVID eligibility year, and now playing in a national championship game, so it couldn't be more special."
"Even being there and getting the opportunity to do it and to have two more weeks with this great group of young ladies, to go down there and be celebrated and celebrate on the biggest stage during the 50th anniversary of Title IX, it's just something we'll never forget, really, win or lose," Broderick said.
That Title IX celebration will feature a festival of the best college basketball in the nation. Division I, II and III will all hold their national championship games at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, shining a spotlight on all three levels. The chance to play in an NBA arena makes a big moment feel that much bigger.
"I think it definitely feels bigger, just the whole stage and spectacle around everything I think is a lot larger," Broderick pointed out. "It'll definitely feel bigger I think at first, but once the ball gets tipped and you start playing, I think the game's the game."
Saturday offers the chance for this group of Captains to raise the bar a bit higher than it has already to this point. Win or lose, the 2022-2023 team has accomplished more than any squad to come before it, but a victory would be the storybook ending.
"It would be amazing," Broderick said, noting the team's battle with injuries and other adversity throughout the campaign. "It's just been a long season and a tough season and to come out, it would just be great. I think it would be the pinnacle."
"Absolutely everything," Fan said of what a national crown would mean. "We've been working for it all season and we just can't wait to get out there and compete."
"It would mean everything," added Giles. "Especially after the men's team won it, it would be nice to have both teams come back with a win for the national championship and it just shows we've put in all that work since day one and it would really mean a lot."
Christopher Newport and Transylvania tip off at noon on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
