BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Feb. 15) – Kaelie Flores, Jasmin Edwards, and Beverly Verduin each posted double digit points, but the Central Washington University women's basketball team fell to Western Washington 67-59.
 
The Wildcats fall to 14-11 overall and 10-7 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.  The Vikings improve to 12-13 overall, with a conference record of 8-9.
 
Central has just three games remaining in the regular season, including Saturday's contest at Simon Fraser.
 
"Western had the first punch tonight and we couldn't quite recover," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said.  "I thought we had moments defensively where we played well enough to make it a game, but unfortunately we couldn't match that rhythm on the offensive end and consistently put a stretch together.  We will regroup and get read for Saturday."
 
Flores finished the night shooting 50 percent (5-for-10) from the field, tying for the game's best shooting percentage.  Taylor Baird (4-for-8) and Western's Hannah Stipanovich (7-for-14) matched her.  Flores also led the Wildcats in rebounding, hauling in nine.  She added four blocks to her season total.
 
Verduin finished with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals.  Edwards added 11 points, two assists, and three rebounds.  The Wildcats finished with a shooting percentage of 34.5, shooting 46.15 percent in the second half.  Central scored 26 points in the paint, 25 points off turnovers, and the bench chipped in 18 points.
 
The Vikings opened the first quarter with a 12-2 run, claiming an early 10-point advantage. The Wildcats battled throughout the opening stanza, closing the gap to just six on a Taylor Shaw three with under 90 seconds to play in the quarter.
 
The second quarter was closer, but Western still held its edge through the end of the second quarter.
 
Under two minutes into the third quarter, the Vikings extended their advantage to 15.  The Wildcats responded by outscoring the Vikings 10-3 in the next two minutes, closing the score to 40-34.  Much like the second five minutes of play in the second quarter, the Vikings' lead floated from six to 10 throughout the period, closing at 50-40 for the final period.
 
Chipping away at the Vikings' lead in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats knocked their deficit down to five with 3:43 to play in regulation.  Western pushed its advantage back to 10 with 1:38 to play.  Buckets from Edwards and Baird, as well as a few free throws, helped the Wildcats climb back to a five-point spread with 15 seconds remaining.  The Vikings were able to stave off the Wildcat offense and cling to victory.
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday (Feb. 17).  They take on Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C. and tip-off is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.