Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Nov. 17) -- Redshirt freshman Hannah Shine (Lynden) had career-highs of 14 points and eight rebounds and the Central Washington University women's basketball team built a 35-point halftime lead in its 89-52 victory over visiting Northwest University on Saturday afternoon at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats improved to 3-0 on the season with the 37-point win. Northwest, which competes as a member of the NAIA, counted the game as an exhibition.

Shine, a 5-foot-11 guard, finished as the game's leading scorer and rebounder. She helped spark CWU in the opening half as they built their sizeable lead, scoring 12 of her tallies prior to halftime as she made four of her first six shot attempts. Junior guard Leslie Stillar (Nine Mile Falls/Lakeside HS) was also 4 of 6 from the field in the first half as she scored all 10 of her points in the opening 20 minutes.

Northwest scored the game's first basket just less than two minutes in, and CWU started out making just one of its first seven field-goal attempts. However, the Wildcats quickly turned their shooting misfortunes around, connecting on 21 of their next 30 to shoot nearly 60 percent (59.5) in the first half. Neither team shot especially well in the second half of play, as CWU cooled to 33.3 percent after the break and 47.1 percent for the game, while Northwest made 32.1 percent in the second period and just 31.4 percent overall.

All 15 CWU players in uniform appeared in the contest, with 14 of them scoring at least one point. Shine, Stillar, and senior Shayla Ball (Hillsboro, Ore.) all reached double figures, with Ball adding 11 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

The Wildcats finished with a dominant edge in rebounding, outrebounding the Eagles by a 53-28 count. Fourteen CWU players had at least one rebound, and eleven of those finished with three or more caroms. The hosts also scored 19 second-chance points and converted 18 Northwest turnovers into 32 points.

Alyssa Dario scored a team-high 13 points for Northwest in a reserve role. Jordan Asher added eight off the bench for the Eagles.

CWU will return to the road for its next four contests, beginning with a visit to the NNU Hampton Inn Classic next weekend (Nov. 23-24). The Wildcats face Metropolitan State University of Denver (Metro State) and Academy of Art University at the tournament in Nampa, Idaho, before opening Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Nov. 29 at Montana State University Billings.