ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Jan. 18) – A quartet of Wildcats eclipsed double digits in scoring as Central Washington University women's basketball team shot 54.7 percent from the floor in the Wildcats' 77-71 victory over Simon Fraser University.
 
The Wildcats improve to 9-8 overall and 5-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.  The Clan fall to 8-9 overall and 3-6 in conference.
 
Rachel Lorentson led the Wildcats with 14 points, alongside her shooting percent of 66.6 percent, and led Central with nine rebounds.  Alexis Pana (13), Kaelie Flores (12), and Taylor Baird (11) also scored in double digits.  Beverly Verduin and Jasmin Edwards each picked up six assists.  Overall, Central recorded 27 rebounds, 23 assists, and 10 steals.  Every Wildcat player who took at least one shot scored.  The Wildcats scored 42 points in the paint, 21 points off of turnovers, and the bench contributed 31 points.
 
"It's got a lot to do with us playing together," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said of her team's offensive effort.  "We shared the ball and allowed our offense to create shots.  I was really happy with our kids, we had 23 assists on 29 field goals.  We were shooting in rhythm and not trying to force plays and do things on their own.  We shared the ball and made reads."
 
The opening five minutes of play saw four lead changes as both teams jostled for control.  A layup from Pana gave Central an 8-7 lead, from which the Wildcats never looked back.
 
An injury midway through the second quarter to Simon Fraser shortened Bruce Langford's already short bench, forcing the Clan into a six-player rotation.
 
The Wildcats outscored Simon Fraser 14-4 in the final 4:30 of the first quarter.
 
It was more of the same in the second quarter.  Baird opened the scoring with a layup, giving Central a 22-11 advantage. From there the Wildcats netted a 10-2 run, including a pair of threes from Verduin and Lorentson.  At half, the Wildcats held a 12-point lead at 37-25.
 
A 9-1 run for the Wildcats opened the third stanza.  Lorentson scored the first five points of the run, before Flores added a layup and Verduin knocked down a pair of shots from the charity stripe.  Central's lead expanded to 20, 46-26, just two and a half minutes into the third. 
 
Midway through the period a three from Pana and a layup from Flores gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the day, 55-32.  The Wildcats' lead hovered near 20 for the entirety of the third, closing at 62-41 with just one period left to play.
 
Trailing by 23, after a layup from Central's Baird, the Clan went on a 9-0 run in the early phase of the final stanza, cutting the Wildcats' advantage to 64-50.  Simon Fraser chipped away at the deficit, dipping the Wildcats' advantage to single digits with two minutes to play.
 
The Wildcats' offense matched the Clan nearly basket for basket, keeping their advantage hovering near seven.  With just 22 seconds left a three from Simon Fraser's Tia Tsang cut the Wildcats' lead to just four, 75-71.  On the ensuing inbound, Edwards found a wide-open Pana sprinting down the court on a breakaway.  Pana's layup salted the game away for the Wildcats, 77-71.
 
 
 
The Wildcats made their last five free throws to close out the game.