Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Jan. 24) -- Junior Jessica VanDyke (Chester, Mont./Chester-Joplin-Inverness HS) made 8 of 11 shots for a team-high 22 points, but the Central Washington University women's basketball team was unable to hold onto its lead in a 79-73 loss to fifth-ranked Western Washington University on Thursday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats saw a three-game win streak snapped, falling to 8-8 overall and 3-5 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Western Washington improved to 14-2 overall and 8-0 in the GNAC with the come-from-behind victory.

CWU started the game on a feverish pace, making its first six shot attempts and going in front 13-7 just less than 3 1/2 minutes into the contest. The Wildcats then hit a bit of a rut, making just two of their next nine shots, and WWU caught up to take the lead. The Vikings' largest margin was three (20-17), but a 7-0 spurt by the home team brought CWU back in front. Then, after the game was tied once again at 30-30, the Wildcats closed the first half on a 13-4 run, capped by a three-pointer from junior Leslie Stillar (Nine Mile Falls/Lakeside HS) with 35 seconds to go before halftime.

“We had a fast start,” CWU head coach Shawn Nelson said, “with a great crowd and a lot of energy. We came out and didn't try to do too much. Our energy was channeled in the right direction, and I thought we played a real good first half on both ends of the floor.”

Western Washington closed to within two early in the second half after starting the period on a 9-2 run, but just as the Vikings got close, CWU responded. The Wildcats scored 10 of the next 13 points for a nine-point cushion (55-46), and they weathered any WWU comeback for the next four minutes.

At the 7:24 mark remaining, WWU took a one-point lead, and the game remained within a three-point margin either way until the three-minute mark, when CWU junior Daisy Burke (Spokane/Lewis and Clark HS) scored a layup that pushed the Wildcats' lead to four at 73-69. Unfortunately for CWU, those were the final points of the night, as they attempted just three shots the rest of the way and committed three turnovers. Meanwhile, WWU was able to regain the lead with 1:06 left on a three-point play by sophomore Katie Colard, and senior Corinn Waltrip then sealed the victory with four free throws in the final 25 seconds.

“The game came down to the final two minutes (when WWU closed out on 10-0 run),” Nelson said. “We had two turnovers on our final two possessions when we're within striking range. We proved that we can compete with the top two teams in our conference (WWU and Northwest Nazarene), but need to be able to start closing out those games.

“There were two key turning points in the game for us,” Nelson continued. “We didn't do well on the defensive boards, which is crucial because of Western's size. And the whole game changed when Leslie (Stillar) got her fourth foul -- were in a nice rhythm offensively and seemed to lack the same momentum after she came out of the game.”

Stillar scored all 12 of her points in the first half but attempted just one shot in the final period while being whistled for three second-half fouls and playing 11 minutes. VanDyke, however, was a steady presence offensively for the Wildcats with 11 points in each of the two halves. Freshman Jasmine Parker (Spokane/Mead HS) finished with 13 points and three blocked shots, while Burke scored 10 points off the bench.

WWU seniors Trishi Williams and Britt Harris sparked the Vikings' second-half spurt, combining for 33 of the Vikings' 45 points in the final period. Harris finished the game with 28 points on 13 of 16 shooting, while Williams totaled 16 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds.

CWU, which finished Thursday's game shooting 46.8 percent (29 of 62) and made six three-pointers, will face another stiff test on Saturday as the Wildcats host seventh-ranked Simon Fraser University at 5:15 p.m. as part of a women's-men's doubleheader at Nicholson Pavilion.