Women’s Basketball Falls in Opener to Nationally Ranked Christopher Newport

WILMINGTON, OH – Wittenberg Women's Basketball opened the 2025-26 season on the road against a tough Christopher Newport team and fell, 80-66, in the Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament hosted by Wilmington College on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.

Wittenberg put up a tough fight against Christopher Newport, ranked No. 7 in the preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches' Poll and No. 20 in the D3hoops.com preseason Top 25, hanging with the Captains in the first three quarters of the non-conference matchup.

Christopher Newport led for much of the game, but the Tigers, who had four reach double figures in scoring, kept things close until a fourth-quarter explosion put the Captains up for good.

The Captains led 20-15 after one quarter was in the books, then Wittenberg made it a two-point game at the half at 38-36, behind the hot hands of Molly Mossing (Cedarville, OH / Cedarville) and Karley Moore (Tipp City, OH / Bethel), who finished the game with 18 points apiece.

Wittenberg was able to sneak in a lead late in the third quarter, going up by one at 56-55 with 1:58 remaining on a layup by Maddie Griga (Cincinnati, OH / Mount Notre Dame). However, it was short-lived, with the Captains going up by three to end the quarter at 59-56. From there, they turned up the heat on both sides of the court, going on a big run to move ahead 70-59 while stiffening up the defense and holding the Tigers to just 10 points in the final frame. The Captains were able to maintain their lead by making free throws down the stretch.

Wittenberg falls to 0-1 while Christopher Newport goes to 1-0. Each team will continue in the Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament on Sunday, with the Tigers taking on host team, Wilmington, and Christopher Newport taking on UC Santa Cruz. Game time for the Tigers is 3 p.m.

Team Leaders

• Starters Mossing and Moore each finished with a team-high 18 points, while freshmen Maddie Griga (Cincinnati, OH / Mount Notre Dame) and Catherine Buddenberg (Elsmere, KY / Dixie Heights) added 10 apiece off the bench.
• Mossing, Moore, and Griga pulled down six rebounds to lead the team, while Hope Orders (Grove City, OH / Bishop Ready) added five.
• Cadence Boyd (Cincinnati, OH / Monroe) led the team in steals with three.
• Moore had two blocked shots.

Team Comparison

• Tiger totals for the game included going 23-of-55 from the field (41.8 percent), one-for-16 from three-point range (6.3 percent), and 19-of-33 (59.4 percent) from the free-throw line. The Tigers had 39 rebounds, 13 assists, 31 turnovers, 14 points off turnovers, and 42 points in the paint.
• The Captains were 23-of-65 from the field (35.4 percent), eight-of-24 from three-point range (33.3 percent), and 26-of-35 from the charity stripe (74.3 percent). They also had 31 rebounds, 11 assists, 17 turnovers, 39 points off turnovers, and 26 points in the paint.

Written By: Cindy Holbrook