ELLENSBURG, Wash.- The Central Washington University women's basketball team second half surge lifted them past the University of Alaska Fairbanks, 84-74, Thursday evening in Nicholson Pavilion. CWU improves to 15-12 overall and 11-8 in GNAC play.
 
It was a five-point game to start the third quarter, but thanks to a 9-0 run in the third quarter, CWU was able to pull away and completely control the game.
 
"This was a huge win for our kid's confidence," CWU head coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "It was nice for us to find our offensive identity again after being in a little bit of a slump. We found a little bit of rhythm against Simon Fraser, but it was a little late and we couldn't finish the game. It was nice to put 40 minutes of solid basketball together on both ends of the floor."
 
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Jasmin Edwards, who scored 23 points while adding eight assists, three rebounds, and two steals. It was a season-high for the senior guard and her 19th double-digit scoring performance of the season.
 
"I'm really happy for Jazz," Richardson-Thornley said. "We asked a lot of her tonight and she handled the pressure well. Our team really feeds off her play and it is fun to see her play well. She gave everyone great looks in the first half and was the beneficiary of that in the second because Alaska focused on our post players."
 
Sadie Mensing scored 15 points along with four rebounds and three assists. Taylor Baird added 14 points, and hauled in a team-best 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.  Taylor Shaw also came away with a well-rounded game of 11 points, two rebounds, an assist and block.
 
The first five minutes of the game featured back-and-forth play, with neither team gaining a significant advantage. Sadie Mensing scored the first basket of the game after hauling in a offensive rebound and laying it back in for two points. Trailing 8-7, the Nanooks registered a 5-2 run to claim a 12-10 lead heading into the firs media timeout. With eight seconds remaining in the quarter, Rachel Loretson shot from beyond the arch and found the bottom of the net to give the Wildcats a 24-21 advantage.
 
Taylor Baird led the Wildcats in scoring in the first quarter, scoring eight of Central's 24 points. Central Washington shot an impressive 58.8-percent from the field, including a 2-for-3 (66.7-percent) effort from three-point range.
 
Alaska took the reigns on a 6-0 run with 5:23 left in the second, gaining a 29-28 lead. The Wildcats kept their composure, however, answering UAF's second quarter rally by taking a 36-31 lead heading into halftime thanks to an eight point run by way of Shaw, Edwards, Mensing and Baird. 
 
The first half consisted of seven ties and ten lead changes. The Wildcat bench outscored the Nanooks 11-4 and Central Washington scored 24 points in the paint, compared to Alaska's 12.
 
Mensing and the Wildcats came out on fire in the third quarter. The Wildcats scored the first nine points, with six coming from Mensing. The junior guard from Snohomish, Wash. was 4-for-4 from the floor and scored a total of 11 points in the frame. Central Washington outscored Alaska Fairbanks 27-19 in the third quarter to take a 63-50 lead.
 
The Wildcats continued to punish the Alaskan defenders in the fourth quarter, scoring four more points in the paint while the CWU defense forced 12 turnovers across four quarters.
 
CWU held the advantage in points in the paint (46-32), bench points (17-7), and blocks (5-0).
 
Central Washington returns to Nicholson Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 22 for their final regular season game of the season against the University of Alaska Anchorage. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST, but the Wildcats will honor seniors Jasmin Edwards, Taylor Baird, Rachel Lorentson, Beverly Verduin and Qua'Shaya Hammon before the game.
 
-CWU-