ELLENSBURG, Wash.- After trailing by 13 points in the third quarter, the Central Washington University women's basketball team fought back to earn a 70-68 victory over Seattle Pacific University in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
"What a fun game to be a part of," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said afterward.  "Being a television game, a doubleheader with the men playing Western, us having a few connections at Seattle Pacific, both Stacey and I have ties there and we know some of the players; it's a fun game to be a part of.  Stacey did an outstanding job with the defensive scout.  We forced them out of their motion and forced them to take shots late in the shot clock.  I think a bit of their offensive rebounds came because of our kids being tired and not boxing out, that's something we need to work on.  Our kids found ways to make plays, even when we gave up offensive rebounds they didn't put their heads down and went back to defending.  Stacey had a great game plan, I'm proud of her and our kids for following the scout.  We didn't allow them to score how they normally score, we forced them to score in different ways."
 
Thursday's victory over the Falcons extends the Wildcats' winning streak to five and improves their overall record to 13-8 and conference record to 9-4.
 
Sophomore guard Alexis Pana came off the bench to be the catalyst the Wildcats needed and lead the team with a career-high 19 points, including the game winning shot in the closing seconds of the game.  
 
"Pana is a playmaker," Richardson-Thornley added.  "She's dynamic.  It's so fun to watch her develop and grow this year, especially her confidence.  I felt like they couldn't guard her.  Her confidence tonight was on another level.  In that last possession, I'm going to give her the ball and let her do what she has been doing all game.  She executed, made a play, and I'm so happy for her."
 
Senior Rachel Lorentson recorded a season-high 15 points after shooting 75-percent from beyond the arch (3-of-4). Lorentson also hauled seven rebounds. Junior Kaelie Flores tallied 15 points and led the team with eight rebounds for her 12th double-digit scoring effort of the season.
 
Sadie Mensing was perfect from the floor, making all four of her attempts for 11 points. She also added three assists and two steals to her stat line.
 
SPU won the tipoff, but was unable to take advantage of the first possession as Central Washington was the first on the board with a layup by Lorentson. The following Wildcat possession featured senior Beverly Verduin dribbling down court and dishing it to Lorentson for a spot up three-pointer. SPU battled back to take an 8-7 lead into the first media timeout, but the Wildcats regained the lead with a layup from Pana. Trailing 15-13 with :37 remaining in the opening period, Pana saw an opening and darted to the basket to even the score just before the buzzer.
 
The Wildcats opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run to go up 24-17. CWU held a seven-point lead for the majority of the frame, but the Falcons used back-to-back threes by Lindsay Lee and Courtney Hollander to close the scoring margin to just one (29-30). The Wildcats would enter the half with a one-point advantage, 32-31.
 
The Falcons scored 13 of the first 16 points out of intermission to jump to a nine-point lead (46-37). SPU would lead by as many as 13 in the quarter (50-37), but the Wildcats refused to quit. Central Washington chipped away at SPU's lead for the remainder of the period. Senior Taylor Baird found the bottom of the net with six seconds remaining, but SPU held on for a 56-51 lead.
 
The Falcons committed three turnovers in their first three possessions, allowing Central Washington to open the final quarter on 4-0 run to close the gap to just one (56-55). A three-pointer by Pana with 3:27 on the clock evened the score at 64 and a layup by Flores gave Central their first lead since the beginning of the half.
 
With time dwindling, the Wildcats seemed to clear the floor and allow Pana to go one-on-one with the SPU defender. A pair of crossovers and euro step later, she laid the ball in and found the bottom of the net to give CWU the 70-68 victory.
 
Central Washington continues its home stand on Saturday as they welcome Saint Martin's to Nicholson Pavilion. Tip-off against the Saints is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. PST.