LAIE, Hawaii (Nov. 18) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season to BYU-Hawaii, 41-44.  The Wildcats are now 3-1 on the season, while the Seasiders improve to 1-1.
 
A 6-0 run with baskets from Rachel Lorentson, Sadie Mensing, and Taylor Baird gave the Wildcats an early 6-2 in the first quarter, before Marian Sheikh put a stop to Central's run.
 
The Wildcats pushed forward and extended their lead to 11-4 with four minutes remaining the first quarter.
 
A layup by Jasmin Edwards and a pair of free throws from JonNae Richardson gave Central a 15-7 lead with just under three minutes to play in the first.
 
The Seasiders cut the Wildcats' lead to just three, 15-12, but a free throw by Kortney Grattic gave CWU a 16-12 lead at the conclusion of the first 10 minutes of play.
 
BYU-Hawaii held the Wildcats to just five points in the second quarter, going on a 17-point run, and taking a 29-21 lead into the locker room at half.
 
Midway through the third quarter, the Seasiders extended their advantage to 15 with a three from Safia Sheikh.
 
A 6-0 run for the Wildcats helped cut the deficit back to single digits with less than a minute to play in the third, but a late bucket by Kristin Baldwin put BYU-Hawaii back into a double-digit advantage at 40-29.
 
Grattic opened the scoring in the final stanza with a trey, starting a 7-0 run for the Wildcats.  After a jumper by Tyvette White, Grattic responded with another three and cut the Seasiders' lead to 42-39.
 
With just 1:02 on the clock, Grattic was fouled on a three-point effort and converted two shots from the charity stripe, closing the score line down to 42-41 in favor of the Seasiders.
 
The Wildcats tried to force the Seasiders hand late, but BYU-Hawaii converted a pair of free throws for a 44-41 victory.
 
Grattic finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.  Mensing totaled 10 points, three rebounds, and five steals.  Baird recorded 13 rebounds, one block, one steal, and four points.  Edwards picked up five points, nine assists, and two steals.  The Wildcats finished with 36 rebounds and 11 steals.
 
The Wildcats take on the University of Hawaii at Hilo at 5 p.m. PST on Sunday (Nov. 19).