Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Feb. 28) -- Junior Jessica VanDyke (Chester, Mont./Chester-Joplin-Inverness HS) tied a career-high with 27 points, and the Central Washington University women's basketball team did not trail for the first 37 minutes of Thursday night's contest, but the Wildcats fell to visiting Seattle Pacific University, 71-65, at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats lost their ninth game in the last 10 outings, falling to 9-16 overall and 4-13 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. CWU finishes its season on Saturday night (Mar. 2) against Montana State University Billings at 5:15 p.m. inside Nicholson Pavilion. Seattle Pacific improved to 16-9 overall and 10-7 in the conference.

VanDyke scored 16 of her points in the first half, including three three-pointers in the first 6:45 of the contest as the Wildcats built an 18-8 lead. CWU later pushed its lead to 15 points (34-19) with 4:31 to play before halftime, but saw SPU close the first half on a 9-2 run that dwindled the halftime margin to six at 38-32.

CWU fought off the Falcons for most of the second half, even as the lead was trimmed to one and then tied. The Wildcats went in front by eight at the 8:59 mark on another trey by VanDyke -- the last of her five three-pointers for the game -- but SPU began to chip away while the Wildcats' offense went cold down the stretch. CWU was just 4 of 17 from the floor after that final VanDyke three-pointer, and the junior accounted for her team's last 11 points. Meanwhile, the Falcons heated up over the final nine minutes, making 8 of 13 from the field and finishing the game on a 22-8 run.

Seattle Pacific gained its first lead of the night with 3:07 left on a three-pointer by forward Katie Benson, and then pushed the lead to six on three occasions after that point, including at the final buzzer.

VanDyke's scoring performance came on 10 of 20 shooting from the field, including 5 of 12 from three-point range. It matched a 27-point outing at Northwest Nazarene University during her sophomore season, and on Thursday, she was one of just two CWU players to score in double figures. Sophomore Courtney Johnson (Kent/Kentwood HS) scored 10 (4 of 7 shooting) while logging 28 minutes off the bench. Redshirt freshman Hannah Shine (Lynden) added nine points.

SPU saw three of its starters score in double digits, led by the 17 points of Benson. The Falcons, who shot 60 percent in the second half (15 of 25) and finished the game at an even 50 percent (28 of 56), also got a double-double performance from Rachel Murray, who totaled 15 points and 12 rebounds. Suzanna Ohlsen also scored 15 for SPU.

CWU shot 35.4 percent for the contest, but was just 1 of 14 from three-point range in the second half. The Wildcats won the turnover battle, 17-15.