Box Score
NAMPA, Idaho (Nov. 23) -- The Central Washington University women's basketball team shot just 28.1 percent from the field but converted on 27 of 37 free throws in its 76-67 loss to 24th-ranked Metropolitan State University of Denver on Friday afternoon at the Fairfield Inn Classic at Johnson Sports Center on the campus of Northwest Nazarene University.
The Wildcats suffered their first loss of the 2012-13 season, falling to 3-1 overall. Metro State evened its record at 2-2 overall with the victory.
CWU trailed by just six points at halftime despite making just 7 of 34 field-goal attempts (20.6 percent) prior to the break. The Wildcats scored the game's first points -- from the free throw line -- and led by two on three occasions before the Roadrunners went on a 17-6 run to take a nine-point lead. CWU tied the game at 25 apiece with 3:16 remaining in the first half, but Metro State, the pre-season favorite in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, closed the half on a 9-3 run to take a 34-28 lead.
That spurt carried over into the second half, when Metro State scored 23 of the first 26 points to make it a 26-point differential at the 13:39 mark. The lead stayed in the twenties for the next seven minutes before CWU began to chip away at its deficit. The final nine-point margin was the closest the Wildcats got over the final 18 1/2 minutes.
Juniors
Ally Schmitt (Snohomish) and
Jessica VanDyke (Chester, Mont./Chester-Joplin-Inverness HS) each scored a team-high eight points in the first half, and Schmitt finished with a game-high 17 points making just 4 of 13 from the floor. However, the Montana State University transfer connected on 9 of 11 free throws as the Wildcats converted on 73.0 percent and outscored the Roadrunners by 19 points at the stripe. Schmitt and VanDyke had eight rebounds apiece. VanDyke scored 15 points in the game.
Junior guards
Daisy Burke (Spokane/Lewis and Clark HS) and
Leslie Stillar (Nine Mile Falls/Lakeside HS) helped spark the CWU offense in the second half, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively, after the break to account for all of their game scoring. That duo combined to make 5 of 7 three-pointers in the second half as the Wildcats were 6 for 11 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes.
Three Metro State players scored in double figures, led by Cassie Lambrecht's 17 points. Amy Nelson had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Roadrunners.
CWU will face Academy of Art University on Saturday at 4 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (3 p.m. Pacific) to conclude its stay at the Fairfield Inn Classic. The Wildcats will then open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play next weekend on the road before their next home game on Dec. 11 versus The Evergreen State College.
