Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Feb. 12) -- Seven players scored in double figures, including a career-high 23 points from sophomore Kelsi Jacobson (Spokane/University HS), as the Central Washington University women's basketball team set single-game school records for points and scoring margin in a 115-34 rout of visiting Walla Walla University on Sunday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The 81-point win was the second in as many nights for the Wildcats, who secured their first winning streak of the 2011-12 season while improving to 8-14 overall. Walla Walla fell to 3-22.

The Wildcats' 115 points were four more than the previous school record of 111, set on Dec. 12, 1977 against Whitworth. Their previous record for scoring margin had been 73 in a 91-18 home win over Northwest (Wash.) on Dec. 5, 1987.

Central Washington's blowout victory was only in doubt for the first two minutes of the game, as CWU started slow out of the gates. However, a 17-0 run turned a 3-2 lead into a 20-2 cushion, and the Wildcats held Walla Walla to single digits until the 7:44 mark of the opening half. Central's largest lead of the opening period was the 52-20 score it took into the halftime locker room.

The Wildcats opened the second half right where they left off at the intermission, scoring the first 25 points of the period as part of an overall 29-0 scoring spurt. Walla Walla didn't score its first tallies of the second half until 13:09 remained, at which time Central Washington held a 77-20 lead. The margin reached 80 points with just under five minutes left.

While the Wildcats' offensive prowess stood out on the scoreboard, it was the team's ability to take care of the basketball that particularly impressed first-year head coach Shawn Nelson.

"To only have five turnovers in a game like this is remarkable," Nelson explained. "We wanted to run our offense for 40 minutes and not turn the ball over, regardless of how the game was being played. Once we got a big lead, the tendency is to not execute or to be solid on offense, but we were able to maintain that level of execution."

Central Washington finished the game with a season-low five turnovers while dishing out 25 assists. The Wildcats also forced a Walla Walla into 34 turnovers, thanks in part to 20 steals.

Offensively, all 12 active players on the CWU roster played at least seven minutes, and all scored at least two points. Nelson had the opportunity to rest his starters for most of the second half, letting the reserves shine, as the Wildcat bench tallied 67 points on the night.

"I wanted to get everybody in the game, because they have all bought into what we're doing, especially over the past month," Nelson said. "(Our reserves) get chances to play in our conference games, just not as extensively, so it was good to see them out there playing and executing well like they did tonight."

Leading the Wildcats' charge off the bench was Jacobson, whose previous career-high had been a 15-point outing against BYU-Hawaii on Dec. 9. Jacobson made 9 of 15 shot attempts, including 4 of 8 from three-point range, while leading all players with 24 minutes played.

Also scoring in double figures for CWU were three of the team's starters -- senior Sophie Russell (Olympia/River Ridge HS), junior Stacy Albrecht (Federal Way/Thomas Jefferson HS), and junior Alex Dunn (West Valley City, Utah/Hunter HS). Russell and Albrecht scored 13 points apiece in 18 and 16 minutes, respectively, while Dunn added 10 points, five assists, and four steals in 12 minutes of action. Albrecht led all players with eight rebounds, and Russell (1,067 career points) moved ahead of Meggen Kautzky for fourth place on Central Washington's all-time scoring list.

Off the bench, freshman Tayler Fettig (Olympia) had career-highs of 11 points and seven rebounds, while sophomores Daisy Burke (Spokane/Lewis and Clark HS), Amber Moser (Willamina, Ore./Sheridan HS), and Annie Martinez (Moxee/East Valley HS) all reached or tied season-highs in scoring with 10, 10, and seven, respectively. Burke added five assists, matching Dunn and sophomore Jessica VanDyke (Chester, Mont./Chester-Joplin-Inverness HS) for game-high honors in the assist department.

Walla Walla had two players score in double figures, as Karly Joseph and Dani Carlman had 10 points each. The Wolves shot just 23.3 percent from the field on 10 of 43.

Central Washington, which surpassed its victory total from each of the past three seasons with Sunday's win, will return to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play for its final four games of the 2011-12 campaign. The Wildcats visit Simon Fraser University on Thursday (Feb. 16) and Western Washington University on Saturday (Feb. 18) before returning home Feb. 23 to face Saint Martin's University.