NAMPA, Idaho - The Central Washington University women's basketball team completed its stay at the Fairfield Inn Tournament in Nampa, Idaho with a game against Colorado Christian University on Saturday afternoon. Things were close in the beginning but CWU eventually cruised to a blowout win to end the weekend on a high note.
 
After a slow start, the Wildcats found their rhythm in the second quarter and never looked back, The handled the Cougars 72-45 on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Wildcats (2-2) couldn't miss when they took on the Cougars (0-4) on Saturday. The team shot 50% (28-56) from the field, while holding the Cougars to a 31.7 field goal percentage. The Wildcats were monsters on the glass, pulling down 43 rebounds to the Cougars' 30.
 
Those extra rebounds led to 17 second chance points for the Wildcats in Saturday's contest. The Wildcats scored 38 points in the paint, 24 more than their opponents.

"I'm very happy with how our team responded today," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "We improved in the necessary areas defensively from last game and found different ways to score with our shot not falling as far as beyond the arch."
 
The Wildcats found themselves down for much of the opening frame trailing by as much as five points. Despite what looked like a sluggish start for CWU, the Cougars never managed to lead by more than two possessions. Going into the second frame it was a 17-14 lead for CCU.
 
The second quarter belonged to the Wildcats as they outscored the Cougars 23-4. The dominance of CWU's offensive barrage started with a 7-0 run to open the quarter and CWU led 21-19. CCU answered with a jumper before CWU went on a 6-0 run.
 
The combined 13-2 run made it a 27-21 lead with 4:42 to play in the half. The rest of the quarter completely belonged to the Crimson and Black who finished out the frame with 10 unanswered points. The offensive rhythm helped CWU go into halftime with a 37-21 lead.
 
The flow of the offense continued for the Wildcats who added 17 in the third quarter. The Cougars looked to keep within striking distance scoring 15 but the sluggish play of the second was the back breaker.
 
The fourth was once again one that belonged to the Crimson and Black. CWU held CCU to just single figure points in nine. The Wildcats doubled up the Cougars and scored 18 to walk away with the decisive 72-45 win.
 
Four Wildcats finished the game in double-figures. Kaelie Flores was excellent for the Wildcats on Saturday. Flores filled it up with 18 points on 8-9 shooting. She added eight rebounds and two assists for a stellar performance.
 
Taylor Shaw had a strong offensive performance as well. Shaw added 15 points while going 6-10 from the field. She splashed home two 3-pointers on the afternoon.
 
Alexis Pana had a fabulous day for the Wildcats. Pana had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a well-rounded performance. Samantha Bowman was a rebound away from a double-double. Bowman scored 10 points and had nine rebounds.
 
The Wildcat bench outscored the Cougar bench 9-2. Symone Brown led the Wildcat reserves with four points and had eight strong rebounds.
 
"We had balanced scoring from our starters which makes us a difficult team to defend when we can do that," Coach Richardson-Thornley stated. "Happy with our effort from our younger players who I felt contributed positively to today's win." 
 
The next time the Wildcats hit the court, it'll be in exhibition game against Seattle University. The game takes place on Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. in Seattle.