ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University women's basketball got Great Northwest Athletic Conference play started Thursday night at home against the Seattle Pacific Falcons. Despite things being close at halftime, a strong second half helped lift the Wildcats over the Falcons, 65-46, inside Nicholson Pavilion.
 
CWU (4-3, 1-0 GNAC) put together a strong shooting night going 25-29 from the floor overall for 51%. They shot over 60% in both the third and fourth quarter to create separation after leading by just five at halftime. The third quarter was the difference maker as CWU held SPU (0-7, 0-1 GNAC) to just eight points to run away with the 19-point win.

"I was very proud of our defensive effort. That was something we struggled with last week and we're proud of our effort on the defensive end tonight to hold SPU to 46 points," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said.
 
The first two quarters of action were a back-and-forth affair. The Falcons had moments early on in the first period that helped them grabbed the lead early on. Despite the quick start CWU led 11-10 at the first media timeout of the first frame with 4:19 to play.
 
SPU never allowed CWU to establish a double figure, but the Crimson and Black stayed in front after the first, 17-15. JonNae Richardson paced the CWU offense with six points as the team shot 43.8% in the first on 7-16 made shots. Alexis Pana was right behind her with five first quarter points.
 
Like both squads did in the first quarter, they maintained a fast rhythm on offense to see who had more stamina. It was fairly even as the Wildcats barely held a two-point edge at 4:48 mark of the second. Out of the timeout, SPU managed to tie the game at 26-all. The Wildcats responded closing out the quarter with a quick 5-0 spurt.
 
The run helped CWU take a 31-26 lead into the break. Both Pana and Richardson put up nine points to lead the Wildcats. Through the first half, CWU shot 40% on 12-20 made buckets and held SPU 31.3% on 10-32 shooting. Both teams entered the break with seven turnovers apiece.
 
The third quarter proved to be the back breaker inside Nicholson. The Wildcats defense stymied the Falcons and allowed just eight points in the quarter. Helping the Wildcats create a gap of separation SPU never recovered from was 10-0 run to start the second half.
 
In the third, SPU made just two shots on 14 attempts for just 14.3%. The CWU offense posted 16 points on 66.7% shooting (6-9) to hold a 47-34 lead. The Wildcats also took better care of the ball in third having just one turnover, while forcing three Falcon turnovers.
 
Three players were in double figures in Pana (11), Richardson (10) and Kaelie Flores (12). Flores scored six third quarter points after having just six in the first half. The Wildcats dominance in the paint was evident as they held a 30-14 advantage.
 
The Wildcats defense continued to play well holding the Falcons to 5-17 shooting (29.4%) in the fourth quarter. The Crimson and Black offense did not relent shooting 63.6% in the fourth. They went 7-11 from the floor to secure the 19-point win.
 
Richardson had a solid game off the bench to lead CWU with a double-double performance. She scored 15 points on 5-9 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds in 20 minutes of play. She also had a pair of steals, which tied a game-high.
 
Three other Wildcats scored double-digit points in the win. Flores added 12 on 5-9 shooting to go along with eight boards. Pana and Samantha Bowman each chipped in 11 points. Both shot 50% from the floor with Pana going 4-8 from the floor, while Bowman finished 5-10. Bowman also had seven rebounds in the win.
 
Defensively, CWU did not allow one SPU player to score in double figures. The Wildcats had arguably their best defensive performance of the season as they held SPU to just 27% shooting on 17-63 made buckets. The Wildcats offense also proved to be a force down low in the paint with 42 of their 65 points coming from there.

"For the game, we held them to 27 percent from the field and eight percent from the three-point line," Coach Richardson-Thornley said. "I think they were off a little bit tonight too, which kind of helped us, but I was just very proud. We definitely need to tighten things up, I think we gave up too many offensive rebounds but we didn't allow those to turn into second chance points which was good."
 
The Wildcats are back in Nicholson Pavilion this Saturday, Dec. 7 for another GNAC showdown. CWU takes on Saint Martin's with tip-off against the Saints set for 5 p.m. PT.