WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Christopher Newport's women's basketball team saw its season come to an end on Friday night as the Captains fell 87-70 to host Whitman in the NCAA Sweet 16. 

Making its third Sweet 16 appearance in the last four years years, Christopher Newport concludes the year at 24-6, while Whitman improves to 29-1 and will face Thomas More Saturday with a Final Four berth on the line. 

Junior Camry Green led the Captains with 21 points, while sophomore Brandi Holland posted one of her best performances of the season with 17 points. Seniors Tia Perry and Nicole Mitchell added 13 and 11, respectively. 

Despite CNU's best efforts, though, the Captains were unable to overcome a torrid start to the game by the home team. The Missionaries set fire to the basket from the opening tip, knocking down 13 of their first 14 attempts from the field. After Tiffani Traver missed the first shot of the game for Whitman, junior conference Player of the Year Heather Johns took the game over. As the team made their next 13 shots, Johns led the way, going 8-for-8 from the field.

Senior Sarah Anderegg was also scalding, knocking down her first five attempts as the two leading scorers for Whitman combined to go 13-for-13 within the first 17:26 of gametime. The hot start saw the Missionaries build a 19-point lead with seven and a half minutes to go in the first half, 33-14, on a three-pointer by Tiffani Traver. 

Though the shooting would cool slightly, Whitman still managed to build the lead to 26 heading into halftime, at 47-31, before the Captains closed on a 6-0 run to make the score at the break 47-27. 

Whitman was shooting 55.9% from the field on 19-34 shooting, and held a commanding advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Captains 30-12 in the first 20 minutes. CNU was just 33% from the field and had a pair of post players in foul trouble, including Green, who scored just four points in 10 minutes of action. 

Johns poured in 21 first-half points, going 9-for-11 from the field. Anderegg added 13 points on a perfect 5-for-5 effort, while Meghan White led all rebounders with 12 boards. 

The second half saw Christopher Newport come out with a higher intensity and more disciplined offensive gameplan. The Captains would outscore the 7th-ranked Missionaries in the second half, but could not slow the potent offense enough to cut into the lead. The CNU defense did a better job forcing turnovers, getting 21 in the game, and held Johns and Anderegg to just 11 combined points in the second half, but the talented team showcased depth as they held off the Captains. 

Green had a sensational second half, and Perry took over the contest for a stretch after intermission. Playing on a broken foot, Perry managed to gut out 29 minutes of play, scoring 13 points and, in her typical fashion, added several stunning defensive plays including an assertive block of an attempted three-pointer by Johns. 

The Captains shot 50% in the second frame, knocking down 17 shots in 34 attempts. A late burst got the score down to 17 for the final, at 87-70. Johns finished with 30 points, and Anderegg 15, while Traver also added 12 for a double-figure scoring game.