BURNABY, B.C. (Feb. 17) – Taylor Baird scored 20 points, but the Central Washington University women's basketball team fell in overtime, 85-73, to Simon Fraser University.
The Wildcats are now 14-12 overall and 10-8 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Clan improve to 12-14, with a 7-11 record in GNAC play.
Baird finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and one block. She finished 9-for-16 from the field.
Sadie Mensing shot 50 percent from the field and finished with 14 points.
Jasmin Edwards rounded out the Wildcats' 10-plus scorers, she tallied 10 points, four assists, and two steals. The Wildcats collected 42 rebounds, 14 assists, six blocks, and six steals. They also finished with 42 points in the paint, 14 points off of turnovers, 11 second chance points, and 17 points from the bench. Central finished with a shooting percentage of 42.4 percent.
The Wildcats were outscored in each of the first two periods of play. A 19-17 score in favor of Simon Fraser after the first quarter erupted to a 42-29 advantage for the Clan at half time. The Wildcats shot 42.3 percent from the field in the first half and converted on four of their six three-point attempts. They also went 3-for-3 from the charity stripe in the first half.
The Clan, however, shot 51.6 percent, also made three threes, and went 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the first half.
It was indeed a tale of two halves for the Wildcats. After being outscored 42-29 in the first, the Wildcats bounced back to outscore Simon Fraser 37-24 in the second half of regulation.
After seeing the deficit inch to 16 in the opening moments of the third quarter, the Wildcats began mounting their comeback. Throughout the third period the Wildcats chipped away at the Clan's lead, cutting it to five on a jumper from Mensing with 38 seconds left. A three from Tia Tsang increased the Clan's lead back to eight, but the Wildcats outscored the Clan 21-16 in the third.
Beverly Verduin opened the fourth quarter with a three, cutting Simon Fraser's lead back to five. After a Simon Fraser free throw, Verduin hit another three and brought the Wildcats' deficit to just one possession.
A missed layup by Sophie Swant gave way to a bucket from
Taylor Shaw, bringing the score to 59-58 in favor of SFU.
The two sides exchanged baskets until a missed layup from Tayler Drynan gave Mensing an opportunity to give the Wildcats their first lead since the first quarter. Mensing didn't disappoint, the junior guard drove the lane and picked up the bucket for a 64-63 advantage with just 59 seconds remaining in regulation.
On the ensuing possession for the Clan, Kendal Sands knocked down three free throws, staking out a 66-64 advantage. A timeout from
Randi Richardson-Thornley gave Central an opportunity to both strategize and advance the ball over center court.
With just 29 seconds remaining, the Wildcats went to Baird for the tying basket. The senior post converted, levelling the score at 66-66.
Both teams had an opportunity to seal the victory in regulation, but Drynan missed a layup for Simon Fraser with just under three seconds to play. Richardson-Thornley again called a timeout and advanced the ball.
The Wildcats again went to Baird with 2.2 seconds on the clock. The inbound found Baird, but staunch defense from the Clan gave Baird a tough look at the basket and forced overtime.
Simon Fraser found the momentum from the first half in extra time. The outscored CWU 19-7 in the extra period.
The Wildcats are back in Ellensburg for their final regular season games next Thursday (Feb. 22) and Saturday (Feb. 24). They take on Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday at 7 p.m., before taking on Alaska Anchorage for Senior Night on Saturday at 7 p.m.
