Box Score
ELLENSBURG (Feb. 4) -- Central Washington University held a 13-10 first-half lead, but a 31-8 run spoiled the Wildcat women's basketball team's upset bid of 19th-ranked Seattle Pacific University in a 60-43 loss to the Falcons on Thursday evening at Nicholson Pavilion.
The loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Wildcats, who fell to 6-12 overall and 3-5 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Seattle Pacific improved to 16-3 overall and 7-1 in the GNAC.
Junior
Jenn Jacobs (Bremerton) led the Wildcats with 12 points, but Central matched its season-low by shooting just 28.8 percent in the loss.
Neither team shot the ball especially well in the first ten minutes of the game, as the score was just 8-6 at the 10-minute mark. The two teams had four ties before Central went ahead 11-10 and then 13-10 at the 5:33 mark with a 5-0 run. The Wildcats scored just two more points before halftime, however, as Seattle Pacific closed the period on a 12-2 run for a 22-15 halftime lead.
Central got to within six points early in the second half, but a 17-3 SPU run over a six and a half minute span pushed the lead to 20 points and put the game out of reach. The margin reached 26 points and one juncture before the Wildcats scored 10 of the contest's final 12 points to make it a more respectable 17-point final margin.
Regular scoring leaders
Sophie Russell (Olympia/River Ridge HS) and
Sara Bergner (Bellingham) added eight points apiece for the Wildcats, but combined to make just 5 of 20 field-goal attempts. Bergner had a team-high six rebounds, while Russell,
Shaina Afoa (Anchorage, Alaska/A.J. Dimond HS) and
Stacy Albrecht (Federal Way/Thomas Jefferson HS) pulled down five boards apiece.
Seattle Pacific was led by Daesha Henderson with game-highs of 17 points, seven rebounds, and five steals. Megan Hoisington added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Falcons.
Central Washington returns to the road for three consecutive games beginning with a Saturday afternoon (Feb. 6) visit to Western Oregon. The Wildcats also play a pair of games in Alaska next week before returning home to Nicholson Pavilion for a Feb. 18 date with Northwest Nazarene.
