Box Score

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Dec. 16) -- Sophomore Stacy Albrecht (Federal Way/Thomas Jefferson HS) made eight of 10 field goal attempts for a game-high 16 points, but the Central Washington University women's basketball team was unable to overcome 21 first-half turnovers in falling to Saint Mary's University, 63-52, on Thursday morning at the Great Western Shootout.

The Wildcats, who had last played on Dec. 4 at Western Oregon, suffered their third straight loss and are now 3-3 on the season. Saint Mary's, from San Antonio, Texas, and the Heartland Conference, is now 7-4 on the year.

Albrecht led all players with 10 points in the first half, keeping Central in the contest after the opening 20 minutes. She made five of six attempts in the period and had all seven of her rebounds for the game before halftime.

The Wildcats fell behind from the start, and did not lead until 4:45 remained in the first half. They earned their only lead of the game at 18-17 after freshman Amber Moser (Willamina, Ore./Sheridan HS) converted a second-chance basket, but the Rattlers countered with four straight points as part of a 14-6 run to end the first half.

In the second half, CWU got no closer than an eight-point deficit on two occasions. Saint Mary's kept the lead in double figures for most of the final stanza, and led by as many as 20 with 10:54 left, before the Wildcats closed the gap in the closing minutes with eight of the game's final 10 points over the last 2:27.

Albrecht and junior Sophie Russell (Olympia/River Ridge HS) were the only Wildcats to reach double figures in the scoring column, as Russell added 11 points on 4 of 15 shooting. Albrecht and senior Aleyse Evans (Sacramento, Calif./Mesa Verde HS), who made her CWU debut on Thursday, tied for team-leading honors with seven rebounds apiece. Senior Luv Rattler (Riverside, Calif./Kentlake HS), who had missed the previous two games due to injury, added nine points in 23 minutes off the bench, while Moser and junior Alisha Love (Chelan) aided the Wildcat reserves with six and five points, respectively. All three of those players had four rebounds, while Love led CWU with four assists and three steals.

Saint Mary's, which perennially contends for the NCAA Division II postseason and was the 2010-11 preseason favorite in the Heartland Conference, had three players in double figures. Kristen Williams led the way with 15 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while fellow starters Nicole James (13 points) and Mareta Bailey (12) also scored in double digits for the Rattlers in the first-ever women's basketball meeting between the two schools.

Central, which has lost the last four games it has played in Las Vegas and is now 3-6 all-time in Sin City, will wrap up the two-day tournament on Friday morning at 11 a.m. versus Saint Joseph's College (Ind.).