Box Score

BELLINGHAM (Feb. 23) -- Three Central Washington University women's basketball players scored 12 points apiece, but the Wildcats were unable to sustain an early lead in their 81-56 loss to eighth-ranked Western Washington University on Saturday night at Carver Gym.

The loss was the eighth in the past nine games for CWU, which fell to 9-15 overall and 4-12 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Western Washington clinched at least a share of the GNAC regular-season title with the win, improving to 21-3 overall and 15-1 in the conference.

Juniors Daisy Burke (Spokane/Lewis and Clark HS) and Ally Schmitt (Snohomish), as well as sophomore Courtney Johnson (Kent/Kentwood HS) all finished with an even dozen points for CWU, with Burke and Johnson doing so in a reserve role. Schmitt, meanwhile, returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 12 and logged a team-high 28 minutes.

CWU used a 6-0 run early in the game to take a 12-6 lead at the 15:27 mark, but Western Washington scored the next seven points to take a one-point advantage. The Wildcats converted on a pair of Johnson free throws just under halfway through the first half for a 14-13 lead, but the host Vikings closed the period on a 29-13 spurt to lead by 15 points at the break. That run included an 18-4 differential over the final six minutes before halftime.

The margin was in the twenties for most of the second half, although CWU did get to within 18 after a pair of Johnson free throws with 2:17 remaining. However, those were the final points the Wildcats would score on the night.

CWU shot just 34.4 percent from the field (21 of 61) and made just 4 of 22 three-pointers (18.2 percent). Burke (5 of 9), Johnson (3 of 4), and junior AMBER MOSER (Willamina, Ore./Sheridan HS; 2 of 2) were the lone Wildcats to shoot above 50 percent in the game. CWU also struggled at the free throw line, where they were just 10 of 22.

In team categories, the Wildcats were outrebounded by a 49-41 count while committing 17 turnovers to Western Washington's 13.

Three WWU starters scored in double figures, led by sophomore Katie Colard with 15 points. Britt Harris (13 points) and Trishi Williams (12) also scored more than 10 for the Vikings, while their other two starters totaled nine and eight points.

CWU closes the 2012-13 season next weekend with a pair of home games at Nicholson Pavilion. The Wildcats face Seattle Pacific University on Thursday (Feb. 28) and Montana State University Billings on Saturday (Mar. 2), with both games slated to start at 5:15 p.m. as the opening game of women's-men's doubleheaders.