Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Jan. 13) -- Junior Nneka Payne (Auburn) connected on 4 of 7 three-pointers, but the Central Washington University women's basketball team was outrebounded by a nearly two-to-one margin in falling to 22nd-ranked Seattle Pacific University, 77-52, on Thursday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The loss was the fifth straight for the Wildcats, who fell to 5-8 overall and are 0-6 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Three of their last four defeats (over an 11-day span) have come against teams ranked nationally in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II Top 25. The visiting Falcons improved to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the GNAC with their 16th win in the last 17 series meetings against CWU.

All 12 of Payne's team-leading points came from three-point range, where the Wildcats made six in 18 attempts (33.3 percent) on the night. Payne was 0 of 5 inside the arc.

Central Washington scored the game's first points on a layup by redshirt freshman Kelsi Jacobson (Spokane/University HS) on the team's second possession, but Seattle Pacific countered with a three-pointer by Jordan Harazin -- one of 11 Falcon treys on the night -- and SPU did not trail the rest of the way. CWU kept the game close the rest of the first half, making it a nine-point score at halftime after a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Payne.

In the second half, Seattle Pacific used a 24-8 run over a six-minute span to turn a seven-point lead into an insurmountable 23-point edge with 8:49 remaining. The margin remained at 20 points or more for the duration of the contest.

Central Washington improved significantly in the turnover department, committing its second-lowest miscue total of the season with 14 -- just five days after committing 36 turnovers in their loss at 12th-ranked Alaska Anchorage last Saturday. However, in Thursday's defeat, the Wildcats were outrebounded 52-27 by Seattle Pacific and made just 6 of 13 free throws.

Payne was Central's lone double-digit scorer, with first-time starter Alisha Love (Chelan) and true freshman reserve Annie Martinez (Moxee/East Valley HS) adding six points apiece. Senior Luv Rattler (Riverside, Calif./Kentlake HS), junior Sophie Russell (Olympia/River Ridge HS), and freshman Deaira Gordon (Ellensburg) scored five each.

Seattle Pacific was led by the 21 points of reserve Katie Benson, who made 8 of 10 shot attempts including 3 of 4 three-pointers. Starters Harazin and Caitlyn Rohrbach added 11 apiece, while guard Nyesha Sims had eight points and led the Falcons' rebounding barrage with a game-high 13 caroms.

Central Washington will continue its three-game home stand on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 15) at 2 p.m. versus Montana State University Billings.