FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist women's basketball hung with second-ranked Christopher Newport for much of the first half before ultimately falling 70-55 on Tuesday evening at the March F. Riddle Center.
 
The 55 points scored by MU (0-3) marked both a season-high for the Monarchs, as well as just the second time this season that CNU (4-0) had surrendered as many as 50 in a game.
 
Christian Sanders led MU with 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting, while Kayla Goldsmith added 12 points and seven rebounds. Kodi Centry had eight points and nine boards.
 
Zhara Tannor led the Captains with 14 points, while Erin Carroll added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
 
A sluggish first quarter saw MU hold a 13-9 lead after 10 minutes of play. Methodist limited the second-ranked Captains to 1 for 18 shooting in the first quarter with seven turnovers. CNU's lone basket came on a triple by Bailey Dufrene with 2:06 left in the period. Despite the stifling defense, MU was unable to distance themselves from the Captains as the Monarchs shot 4 of 14 with eight turnovers in the first.
 
Christopher Newport began to pull away in the second quarter, outscoring the Monarchs 25-10 for a 34-23 lead at the break. The third quarter was much of the same as the Captains used a 16-2 spurt to turn a 34-27 lead at the 8:42 mark into a 50-29 advantage by the 5:10 mark.
 
After CNU took its largest lead of the contest at 26 points with 5:03 to play, the Monarchs closed out the contest on a 13-2 run. Goldsmith and Sanders each contributed a pair of buckets during the run.
 
As a team, MU shot 40.0 percent (20-50) to just 29.9 percent (23-77) for the Captains. CNU got to the line 30 times, making 19 tries, while MU was 10 of 17 from the stripe. The Captains forced 38 MU turnovers and held a 50-41 edge on the glass.
 
Methodist will travel to Hollins next Tuesday for a 6 pm contest.