ELLENSBURG, Wash.- The Central Washington University women's basketball team completed its second home sweep of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season today with an 80-61 win over Saint Martin's University. CWU extended their winning streak to six and improved their record to 14-8 overall and 10-4 in league play.
 
"Happy for our kids to get the win," CWU head coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "I'm proud of how we shot the ball in the first half and shared the ball the whole game with 21 assists on 30 field goals. Kassidy (Malcolm) played great and gave us a spark off the bench with her energy and effort. We had an intensity and energy drop in the second half that we need to learn from moving forward in order to become the team we know we are capable of being."
 
Central Washington shot 44-percent from the floor (30-68) and 39-percent from three-point range, while holding the Saints to just 33-percent shooting overall. The Wildcats also held the advantage in rebounds (53-40), assists (21-7), blocks (2-1), and fast break points (10-6). The Wildcat bench also scored 36 points, compared to SMU's 14.
 
Kassidy Malcolm, who recorded a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, led CWU. Taylor Baird chipped in 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Jasmin Edwards added nine points and seven assists.
 
The Wildcats started the game with confidence on both sides of the ball, jumping out to an early 19-4 lead. Five different Wildcats converted on shots from beyond the arc in the opening frame as CWU shot over 50-percent from deep (5-for-9). Edwards scored the first and last buckets of the quarter, with the last shot coming with just two seconds left on the clock.
 
CWU headed into the second quarter with a 13-point lead, thanks in large part to their accurate shooting to start the game (9-of-18). The Wildcats made it a 16-point game early in the quarter following a layup by Taylor Baird, but the Saints managed to close the scoring margin to 11 after a basket by Saniah Simpson-Patu. A three pointer by Malcolm and a pair of jumpers by Sadie Mensing and Taylor Shaw allowed the Wildcats to head into the locker room with a 40-21 lead.
 
The Wildcat's stingy defense held the Saints to just a 27.3-percent clip (9-of-33) from the field in the first half, and capitalized on SMU's eight turnovers to score 15 points. The Wildcat bench also scored 19 points in the first half, compared to the Saint's two.
 
Frustration began to sink in for Saint Martin's in the third quarter. SMU head coach Christy Martin received two technical fouls with 5:01 remaining and was ejected from the game. Malcolm scored eight of Central's final 11 points, sending CWU into the fourth quarter up 68-42.
 
Saint Martin's opened the fourth quarter on a 4-0 run to close CWU's advantage to 68-46 with 7:40 left to play. The Saints would continue to whittle away at the CWU lead, making it an 18-point game (70-52) with 4:45 on the clock. Baird had an answer, making back-to-back layups to give CWU a 76-55 advantage. Beverly Verduin made the last basket of the game with 14 seconds remaining as CWU breezed to an 80-61 victory.  
 
The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 6 when they host Northwest Nazarene University. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
-CWU-