Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Dec. 12) -- Sophomore Sophie Russell (Olympia/River Ridge HS) scored a career-high 21 points, and two Central Washington reserves also scored in double figures as the Wildcat women's basketball team defeated visiting Cal State East Bay, 77-62, on Saturday afternoon at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats improved to 2-5 on the season with their second win in three home games. Cal State East Bay remained winless, falling to 0-4 on the year.

Russell jumpstarted the Wildcat offense with 15 points in the first half as Central built a 39-26 halftime lead. She made 6 of 14 field-goal attempts in the opening period and finished the game 9 for 22 from the floor while adding a team-high nine rebounds.

The Wildcats used a 14-2 run midway through the first half to turn a four-point deficit -- their largest of the game -- into an eight-point lead with 10:22 remaining. Overall, Central held Cal State East Bay without a field goal for a span of six and a half minutes including that run, and the Pioneers were never closer than five the rest of the half. The Wildcats closed the first half on a 14-6 run over the final 9:18 to take a 13-point margin into the intermission.

Central kept its lead in double figures for the first eight and a half minutes of the second half before CSU East Bay chipped into the lead with a 6-0 run that cut the Wildcat margin to six with 11 minutes remaining. CWU then responded with seven straight tallies to go back up by 13, and its lead was as great as 19 points in the final two minutes.

Russell, who made 3 of 5 three-pointers to help lead Central to a 42.1 percent efficiency from long distance, was joined by reserves Jenn Jacobs (Bremerton) and Stacy Albrecht (Federal Way/Thomas Jefferson HS) in double figures. Jacobs scored 18, added seven rebounds, and made 7 of 9 free throws, while Albrecht, a freshman, matched her season-highs with 10 points and eight rebounds while playing 24 minutes. Junior Colleen Betteridge (Seattle/Chief Sealth HS) joined Russell in making 3 of 5 from three-point range as part of a nine-point, five-rebound effort.

Cal State East Bay, in its first year as a member of the NCAA Division II and the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), was led by the all-around effort of Claudia Nelson, who had 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, and six steals. Other Pioneers in double figures for scoring were Natalie Montes with 12 (and a team-high nine rebounds) and Andrea Rodriguez with 11 points. CSU East Bay shot just 32.3 percent from the field, including 25.9 percent in the first half, but made 17 of 20 at the free throw line for the game.

Central Washington will play just two more games before the end of the 2009 calendar year. The Wildcats will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the third straight year to compete in the Great Western Shootout. CWU takes on Colorado State University-Pueblo on Wednesday (Dec. 16) and 11th-ranked Washburn (Kan.) on Thursday (Dec. 17), with both games starting at 11 a.m. Central's next home game is Jan. 2, 2010, versus Division II newcomer Dominican University of California at 2 p.m. at Nicholson Pavilion.