ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team picked up a solid win at home Saturday night taking down the Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles 75-52. The win improves CWU's overall record to 6-3 and it is their third straight win at home.
 
Helping the Wildcats secure the win at home was the work they did cleaning up the boards. CWU out-rebounded Cal State LA (4-6) 50-31. Of the 50 rebounds, 15 come on the offensive glass which helped CWU score 19 second chance points, while the Golden Eagles had just six.
 
As team, CWU shot 44.6% from the floor on 29-65 made buckets. CWU shot just 8-22 from deep for 36.4% but they held did not give a three to Cal State LA who went 0-11 from three-point range. The Golden Eagles finished with a 34.8 field goal percentage 23-66 shooting.
 
"It felt good to get the win. It felt like we played good at times, but were inconsistent at other times," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "We were able to come together and do some nice things, especially on the defensive end."
 
The Wildcats raced out an 8-0 lead against Cal State LA before the visitors managed to get points on the board. The Golden Eagles managed to keep pace with the Wildcats after the sluggish start but never managed to grab a lead in the first 10 minutes.
 
Taylor Shaw and Samantha Bowman got the fast start going for the Crimson and Black as both scored six first quarter points. Alexis Pana was right behind the duo with four points in the first. Helping the Wildcats grab an 18-14 lead after one was 10 points in the paint and a 7-0 lead on second chance points.
 
The early going of the second quarter fell in the favor of Cal State LA who outscored the Wildcats 6-2 to tie the game at 20-all. It was the only tie from the first half as the Wildcats dominated the final seven minutes of the first half.
 
Going into the media timeout with 4:18 on the clock, CWU had a 26-20 lead thanks to a 6-0 run. The Golden Eagles tried once again to keep up with the high-octane offense of the Wildcats, but managed just six points in the final 4:18 of play. The Wildcats found their rhythm once more and scored 12 more points before the end of the first half.
 
Back-to-back triples from Shaw in the second quarter were key in the Wildcats offensive success in the second quarter. Her play helped her score 14 first half points to lead the Crimson and Black. Bowman almost had a first half double-double scoring eight points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Of her 12 boards, seven came on the offensive end.
 
The Wildcats took a 38-26 lead into halftime after shooting 40% in the first minutes (14-35). A big help in giving CWU a 12-point halftime lead was a 13-0 advantage in second chance points. They also scored 20 points in the paint and held the Golden Eagles to 12 points.
 
Coming out of the break, CWU continued to impose its will on offense. The Golden Eagles looked to keep up on offense but the late surge at the end of the first half proved to be too much of a hill to climb.
 
The Wildcats scored 18 third quarter points, while Cal State LA added 16 of its own to stay in slight reach. The strong play of Bowman down low in the paint, complimented by Shaw's scoring for outside paved the way for CWU who led 56-42 going into the final frame.
 
The fourth quarter was the best one defensively for the Crimson and Black who held the Golden Eagles to just 10 points in the final 10 minutes of action. The offense kept its pace going for CWU as they scored 19 fourth quarter points to secure the 23-point win. The Wildcats tempo was at its deadliest in the fourth as the team led by as much as 26.
 
The all-around solid play of the Wildcats showed on both sides of the court. The defense had 12 blocked shots for the game and allowed just three against them. Cal State LA's only advantage came in the turnover battle, 11-6, and bench production, 16-10.
 
"They presented some difference challenges and they have a really good player who can really put a lot of points up on the board," Coach Richardson-Thornley said. "I felt like our guards did a really good job of doing what we were asking them to do. To hold that team to 52 points, that's three games in a row where we've held teams in the 50's or under, so I'm really proud of our team in terms of that."
 
Bowman put together her third double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds. She shot 6-10 from the floor, which included going 2-3 from beyond the arc. Bowman also blocked a trio of shots.
 
Shaw was the game-high scorer with 24 points. She was 10-14 from the floor and a perfect 4-4 from three-point range. She also grabbed five boards and blocked a shot. Brianna Phiakhamngon chipped in 11 points on 5-12 shooting to round out the double figure scoring.
 
Kaelie Flores had just four points on the night but was the game leader in blocked shots with five and grabbed nine rebounds. Pana added nine points and dished out a game-high six assists to go along with two steals and two blocks.
 
The Wildcats will be back in action this upcoming Tuesday, Dec. 17 against another in-region opponent. CWU hosts Academy of Art University, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. inside Nicholson Pavilion.
 
"I'm happy with the win. It's a good win against a good in-region team and we just have to regroup, recover and get ready for Tuesday," Coach Richardson-Thornley added.