ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team picked up its fourth straight home win Tuesday night with another blowout victory inside Nicholson Pavilion. CWU took down Academy of Art University 84-63 to improve to 7-3 on the season.
 
The Wildcats scored 20-plus points in three of the four quarters and never allowed the Urban Knights (2-3) to outscore them in any quarter. A strong start to the game coupled with a solid finish in the fourth helped CWU push its home win streak to four.
 
CWU shot 49.1% for the game, putting up 57 total shots and nailing 28 of them. They were just 9-23 from three-point range for 39.1% but went 19-21 from the free throw line. Defensively, CWU held the Urban Knights to 37.1% shooting for the game on 26-70 made shots.
 
"Once again, I'm happy with the win and happy to finish out our non-conference play with two wins against two in-region opponents," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said.
 
The first quarter got off to a slow start as the Wildcats committed five turnovers in first five minutes of play. The Wildcats held a 10-4 lead against the Urban Knights despite the turnovers, but the pace soon picked up and it paved the way for a strong first half performance for the offense.
 
CWU closed out the final five minutes of the first frame scoring 13 unanswered points and held Academy of Art to just six points in that span. The trio of Alexis Pana, Kaelie Flores, and Samantha Bowman combined for 15 points in the first quarter to lead the Crimson and Black.
 
Pana had six points, followed by Flores and Bowman with five and four points, respectively. The Wildcats shot 56.3% in the first quarter and had some help from beyond the arc going 4-8 in the first 10 minutes of play. The surge helped CWU take a 23-10 lead into the second quarter.
 
The second quarter saw the Urban Knights find some rhythm on offense, while the Wildcats continued its offensive flow. Academy of Art scored 12 in the second, while CWU added 15 to take a 38-22 lead into halftime. Neither team shot the ball well in the second, but the fast start from the Wildcats in the first gave them the 16-point edge at the break.
 
The Wildcats did have nine first half turnovers but were able to force 13 on the Urban Knights which transitioned 10 points. JonNae Richardson was a spark for the Wildcats in the second quarter scoring six of the team's 15 points to have eight points at the half.
 
Going into the locker room, the Crimson and Black squad held a 46.9 shooting percentage from the floor on 15-32 made buckets. They were 5-14 from deep for 35.7% and went a clean 3-3 in free throws. Defensively, CWU held Academy of Art to a 31.3% shooting percentage on 5-14 made shots. They allowed just two triples on eight attempts for 25%.
 
"Offensively, we were inconsistent at times and struggled with their pressure a little bit, but we were able to find a rhythm and get back to what we do," Coach Richardson-Thornley said.
 
The third quarter was evenly matched between the two squads as both teams scored 21 in the frame. The Crimson and Black shot 53.3% from the floor on 8-15 made shots, while the Urban Knights shot 58.8% from the floor on 10-17 made buckets.
 
Although both teams managed to keep a pace of high offensive rhythm coming out of the halftime break, CWU never allowed Academy of Art to get back within single figures. The two squads went into the fourth with the score at 59-43 in favor of the Wildcats.
 
CWU and Academy of Art combined for 45 fourth quarter points. The Urban Knights never got into single figures but came close near the midway point of the quarter. With 6:55 to play in the fourth, Academy of Art cut the CWU lead to 59-48.
 
Despite nearly forcing a close game down the stretch, Academy of Art fell victim to a 9-0 CWU run that pushed the deficit back to 20 points, 68-48. The Wildcats never allowed the Urban Knights to spark anything in the final five minutes and walked away with the 21-point win.
 
Richardson's spark off the bench in the first half paved the way in the second half as she scored 11 points in that span to finish with 19. She was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine and tied a game-high in blocks with two.
 
Bowman was the leading scorer with 20 points on 8-10 shooting and had six boards in the win. Flores added 17 points on 4-9 shooting, including 3-4 from deep and a perfect 6-6 at the charity stripe. Pana chipped in 10 points to round out the double-digit scoring. She also had five assists and two blocks.
 
"Very happy with how we shared the ball tonight. We had 20 assists on 28 field goals made, which the reason why we shot 50% from the field," Coach Richardson-Thornley added. "Defensively, I thought we had a really great first half and taking them out of what they wanted to do. They're really good at attacking the paint, getting to the rim and those types of things. I felt like we kind of took a step back in the second half and got a little ill-disciplined. But we were able to find ways to manufacture stops and get back to what we were doing.
 
CWU will close out its five-game homestand this Saturday, Dec. 21 for its final game of the calendar year. The Wildcats host conference foe Northwest Nazarene with tip-off set for 6 p.m. inside Nicholson Pavilion.