ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Dec. 12) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team rolled to a 77-34 victory over Northwest University on Saturday. The Wildcats are now 5-2, while Northwest falls to 6-7.
"I thought we had nice balance tonight and it was a good team win for us," CWU Head Coach
Jeff Harada said. "We had a size advantage down low and did a good job of getting it inside which helped open up the perimeter for us in the 2
nd half."
Central's defense held the Eagles to just five points in the first quarter. The Wildcats outscored the Eagles 20-5.
"Coaches went over how they have some big posts and how it was going to be a big night four our posts," forward
Jasmine Parker said afterward. "We limited their inside shots and forced them to take a lot of long jump shots."
A 14-14 second quarter brought Northwest closer, 34-19, but they could not find a way to slow the Wildcats down.
"I felt like we were kind of going through the motions in the first half and I was proud of how we responded after halftime," Harada added afterward.
At the end of the first half Parker and
Alexis Berrysmith each had eight points. Parker added six rebounds in the first half.
Mandy Steward finished the first 20 minutes with seven points.
The Wildcats did not look back in the second half. Central's defense allowed only 15 points in the second half, by keeping the Eagles under double digits in both quarters.
Berrysmith added nine points, finishing the evening with 17 points.
Parker finished the night with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.
Defensively, the Wildcats recorded seven blocks, 11 steals, and 48 rebounds.
"Defensively we were solid and we actually did the things that we've worked on in practice all week so I was happy with that," Harada noted. "We did a good job of pressuring the ball and making them take contested shots."
Steward,
Rachel Lorentson, and
India Matheson each tallied nine points. Matheson added six boards.
Central shot 13-for-21 (61.9%) in the second half, finishing 26-for-52 (50%) on the night.
"We always look to get the best shots," Parker added. "We can do that by breaking down their defense with good passes. That led to a lot of great shots for our player's tonight."
The Wildcats held the Eagles to a shooting percentage of 23.1%, including a 1-for-17 effort from beyond arc.
"It was nice to get contributions from everyone and give our younger players some game experience," Harada said. "They're working hard in practice and I was happy for them that they were able to come in and impact the game in a positive way."
