ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Nov. 29) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team (5-1, 0-1 GNAC) fell to No. 4 University of Alaska Anchorage (7-0, 1-0 GNAC), 74-60.
 
"Tonight was tough," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said.  "We competed well with Anchorage.  We had the attacking mentality that we wanted.  We allowed them to go on a couple runs that gave them some confidence.  That led to some turnovers and some offensive rebounds where we just weren't competing as hard as I thought we could have.  It's a great game to learn a lot from, it's early in the year, we're still learning, still growing but in order to beat a good team like Anchorage, you have to shoot better from the free-throw line." 
 
The first six minutes of the opening stanza saw momentum rattle back and forth as the Wildcats and Seawolves traded baskets.  Anchorage held a slim 15-12 lead with 3:11 to play in the first quarter, but a three from Brianna Phiakhamngon leveled the early score line at 15-15.
 
A layup from Kaelie Flores two minutes later gave the Wildcats their first lead of the contest, 17-16.  Taylor Shaw added a layup of her own in the waning seconds of the quarter, giving the Crimson and Black a 19-16 advantage at the end of the opening period.
 
The Seawolves erased the Wildcats' lead early in the second, tying the game at 19-19 with a layup and free throw from Sala Langi.
 
A see-saw battle ensued through the opening five minutes of period two.  Central and Anchorage exchanged baskets once again as both sides jostled for a chance to break away.  The Seawolves found the break first, staking out a six-point lead with 3:56 left in the second.  Anchorage edged its advantage to 10, 43-33, as the buzzer sounded for halftime.
 
"At halftime, we talked about not shying away when they make a run," Richardson-Thornley said. "We have to be able to come back and stay aggressive and make a run ourselves. It was all about getting stops and scores. We did a good job of doing that. We cut the game to five at one point, but Anchorage made another run."
 
Trailing 43-33, the Wildcats came out of the locker room and cut the deficit to just three.  Kassidy Malcolm started the scoring with a layup, before Flores knocked down a layup of her own.  Alexis Pana was next on the Wildcats' run, hitting a jumper following a layup from Anchorage's McNair.  After an Anchorage possession ended on a missed jumper, Taylor Shaw reeled in the rebound and Pana sank a trey.  Hannah Wandersee responded with a layup, but Shaw found the mark from beyond the arc, bringing the score to 48-45 in favor of the Seawolves.
 
The Crimson and Black outscored Anchorage 21-14 in the third quarter, starting the final stanza 57-54 in favor of Anchorage. 
 
Wandersee found the score sheet first in the final period, knocking down a jumper to reinstate a five-point advantage for the Seawolves at 59-54.  A free throw from Samantha Bowman and a layup from Sadie Mensing cut Anchorage's lead to 62-57, but the Seawolves were able to hang on for the victory.
 
Pana finished with 20 points, four rebounds, one assist, and two steals.  She shot 80 percent from the floor and was 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.
 
"My teammates did a great job of picking each other up and staying together as a loop," Pana said. "We did a good job of boosting each other up and relying on one another. I was being denied really hard and Sadie [Mensing] did a great job of bringing the ball up. I think we just really worked well together." 
 
The Crimson and Black scored 38 points in the paint and shot 53.2 percent from the floor.  They outshot the Seawolves from the floor, but Anchorage held the advantage at the free throw line.  The Seawolves were 14-for-20 from the charity stripe, while Central finished just 6-for-14.
 
"Good team, big game, conference game, we got to bounce back," Richardson-Thornley said. "Our girls have to recover, that's the biggest thing, and learn from tonight's game tomorrow. Watch some film, prepare and hit the floor at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday."  
 
Central Washington is back in action on Saturday (Dec. 1) as the Wildcats host Alaska Fairbanks at 7:00 p.m. in Nicholson Pavilion.