Box Score
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Feb. 13) -- Junior
Brittany Duerr (Bellevue/Newport HS) made 5 of 7 three-pointers and scored 16 points, while teammate
Sophie Russell (Olympia/River Ridge HS) added 15 points in Central Washington University's 76-52 women's basketball loss to 17th-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Saturday evening at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Wildcats suffered their fourth straight loss to fall to 6-15 overall and 3-8 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Alaska Anchorage improved to 18-3 overall and 8-2 in the GNAC.
Duerr, who was 5 of 10 from the field overall, was involved in 11 of the Wildcats' 18 made field goals, adding a game- and career-high six assists. Russell had 10 of her 15 points in the second half, and was the only Central player to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor in the final period, making 3 of 5.
The Wildcats scored the game's first five points in the opening 2:46, and kept the Seawolves off the scoreboard for another two minutes after that. However, UAA scored on four of its next five trips down the floor. Central led as late as 13-11 with 9:01 remaining in the first half, but a 13-0 run by Alaska Anchorage over the next three minutes made it an 11-point CWU deficit. The visitors were no closer than seven points down the rest of the way.
After a 35-25 halftime deficit, Central made the opening basket of the second period but that was the final time the margin was down to single digits. Alaska Anchorage used a 12-0 run early in the half to push the lead to 22.
Both teams had nearly identical shooting numbers, with Central making 38.3 percent of its attempts (18 of 47) and Alaska Anchorage hitting on 39.3 percent (24 of 61). The Wildcats outshot the Seawolves from three-point range in terms of percentage, but CWU was outscored by 10 points at the free throw line, where UAA made 18 of 19 attempts, and the Wildcats committed 25 turnovers.
Aside from Duerr and Russell, no other Central player scored more than five points in Saturday's loss. All seven Wildcats to play in the game scored at least three points.
Alaska Anchorage, which utilized 14 players in the game, was led by the game-high 21 points of Tamar Gruwell while three other Seawolves also scored in double figures.
Central Washington returns home to Nicholson Pavilion next Thursday (Feb. 18) for its next game against Northwest Nazarene University. The game, which will start at 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, will be part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Pink Zone event in honor of breast cancer. Donations will be collected to support breast cancer research, and Central Washington players will wear pink uniforms. Fans wearing pink will be admitted to the game free.
