Box Score Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Jan. 3) -- The Central Washington University women's basketball team built a 13-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game, but the Wildcats were unable to hold on against nationally-ranked Western Washington University, falling 76-67 to the Vikings on Monday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats, who played their first home game since Nov. 20, fell to 5-5 overall and 0-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with the loss. Western improved to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the GNAC.

Senior Luv Rattler (Riverside, Calif./Kentlake HS) led all Wildcat scorers with 18 points and eight rebounds, but committed a school-record 15 turnovers as CWU had 28 miscues in the contest.

The Wildcats opened the game with 13 straight points, keeping the Vikings off the scoreboard until the 15:27 mark, as Western missed its first six shot attempts and two free throws before getting on the board. Central, meanwhile, made five of its first six shots during the 13-0 run while adding a pair of free throws.

CWU led for the entire first half, although WWU cut the deficit to three on three occasions in the final 7:07 before halftime. The Wildcats capped the first period with a three-pointer by Rattler, and led 40-33 at the intermission after shooting 57.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

The Wildcats had a balanced scoring effort in the first half, led by Rattler with 10 points and nine apiece from senior Aleyse Evans (Sacramento, Calif./Mesa Verde HS) and junior Nneka Payne (Auburn). Sophomore Stacy Albrecht (Federal Way/Thomas Jefferson HS) added all six of her points for the game in the first period.

The second half was a different story for Central Washington, which eventually made just 10 of 34 attempts from the floor in the period (29.4 percent) and finished the game at 41.7 percent (25 of 60). The Wildcats were held scoreless for better than 7 1/2 minutes to open the half, enabling the Vikings to score 14 straight counters and take a seven-point lead. After falling behind, CWU closed to within four at the 12:19 mark and within six in the final minute.

Western Washington's second-half charge, in which they shot 51.5 percent from the floor and outscored the Wildcats 43-27, was led by senior Lauren Hefflin who had 17 points and nine rebounds after halftime. She made eight of nine shot attempts in the second period, while fellow senior Amanda Dunbar had 10 points and seven assists without a turnover in the second half. The Vikings also had five blocked shots.

Rattler finished with team-leading honors in the scoring column, compiling the total on just 7 of 19 shooting and 2 of 8 from three-point range. Her eight rebounds were a career-high while she dished out five assists. Evans had her first double-double in five games as a Wildcat, totaling 13 points and 10 rebounds, helping CWU hold a 46-33 rebounding edge. Payne also scored in double figures with 11, while freshman Amber Moser (Willamina, Ore./Sheridan HS) came off the bench to add eight including 4 of 5 at the free throw line.

Western was led by the game-high totals of 25 points and 12 rebounds from Hefflin, who made 12 of 16 shots. Dunbar (15 points) and Corinn Waltrip (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Vikings, who earned their sixth straight win in the head-to-head series.

Central Washington will return to the road this week for a pair of games in Alaska. The Wildcats visit Alaska (Fairbanks) on Thursday (Jan. 6) and nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Saturday (Jan. 8), with both games slated for 5:15 p.m. Alaskan Standard Time (6:15 p.m. Pacific Standard Time) starts. CWU returns home next Thursday (Jan. 13) to face Seattle Pacific.