Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Nov. 15) -- Junior Nneka Payne (Auburn) scored 19 points in her Central Washington University debut, and the Wildcat women's basketball team led for the final 13 1/2 minutes in a 65-59 victory over the University of Hawai'i at Hilo on Monday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The game was the season opener for the Wildcats, while UH Hilo fell to 0-3 on the young campaign.

Payne, a transfer from Sacramento State, made 7 of 13 field goal attempts and 2 of 4 three-pointers en route to game-high scoring honors. She also had five rebounds and four steals, helping the Wildcats force 27 Vulcan turnovers which they converted into 29 points.

The first 26 1/2 minutes of the game were back and forth, with neither team seizing control. Central jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first 2:46, but UH Hilo closed the gap and the largest margin of the first half was a five-point spread. After the Wildcats' final five-point lead in the first half at 26-21, the Vulcans scored six straight to go ahead by one, but freshman Daisy Burke (Spokane/Lewis and Clark HS) made two of three free throws with 0.4 seconds left in the first half to give CWU a 28-27 halftime edge.

UH Hilo regained the lead on its first possession of the second half, and led again with 15:50 remaining, but most of the second half belonged to the host Wildcats. A jumper by sophomore Stacy Albrecht (Federal Way/Thomas Jefferson HS) gave CWU a 34-33 lead, and they did not trail again. Central later pushed the lead to 11 points on two occasions over the final six minutes before holding on for a six-point win.

The Wildcats forced 18 turnovers in the first half to overcome a stanza in which they made just 11 of 39 field goal attempts (28.2 percent) including just 1 of 15 from three-point range. They rebounded nicely in the second half in the shooting department, hitting on 44.8 percent from the floor and 5 of 11 threes, while matching the Vulcans in rebounding over the final 20 minutes at 20 boards apiece. However, the taller CWU squad finished the game with a 14-rebound disadvantage, as UH Hilo corralled 53 rebounds.

Joining Payne as double-figure scorers for the Wildcats were Albrecht and junior Sophie Russell (Olympia/River Ridge HS) with 14 and 11 points, respectively, and Russell was Central's top rebounder with six. Senior Luv Rattler (Riverside, Calif./Kentlake HS) scored eight points with four rebounds, six assists, and four steals. A total of eight Wildcat players made their CWU debuts on Monday night, including five true freshmen in reserve action.

UH Hilo, which began its season-opening trip with consecutive losses at Saint Martin's on Friday and Saturday, was led by the 11 points of Natalie Mata. Kayce Kirihara and Phylicia Schultz scored 10 each, while Sheena Pio led the Vulcans' rebounding attack with 11 caroms.

Central Washington will host the Wildcat Classic this weekend in Nicholson Pavilion, facing Chaminade on Friday (Nov. 19) at 7 p.m. and Dominican (Calif.) on Saturday (Nov. 20) at 4 p.m. Also in the four-team tournament is Northwest Nazarene University, which will debut the classic tournament against Dominican on Friday at 5 p.m.