ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team picked up another big home win Saturday night with a 68-52 thrashing of the Saint Martin's Saints. The win moved CWU to 2-0 in conference play, and 5-3 overall.
 
Helping the Wildcats was the all-around phenomenal play of Kaelie Flores. She finished with a double-double scoring 21 points while pulling down 12 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots. Both numbers were game high's and the Wildcats had four players total finish double figure points.

"Kaelie [Flores] had a big night with six offensive boards, 12 boards total," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "21 points from her and to have four people total in double figures just shows that we're sharing the ball and using our versatility."

It was also a sense of déjà vu in Saturday's first half like it was on Thursday night. The Wildcats and Saints (3-4, 0-2 GNAC) played a close opening frame and it showed by the time both teams entered halftime. CWU held the lead 30-28.
 
For the second straight game, the second once again belonged to the Wildcats who exploded for 38 points and held the Saints to 24, including just nine third quarter points. The fourth quarter was a backbreaker as CWU shot 60% from the floor overall and went 5-9 from beyond the arc for 55.6%.
 
Defense also became the theme in the second half yet again for CWU. They held the Saints to just 29.7% shooting (19-64) for the night and it was the second game in a row CWU held an opponent to under 30% shooting for a game.

"Saint Martin's is a scary team. They play hard, they can put up a lot of points and they rebound the ball super well," Coach Richardson-Thornley said. "We knew tonight going into this game we definitely had to try and slow the pace of the game down and keep it in the half court."
 
The first quarter saw both teams make shots early which set up an exciting first half. The Wildcats led by as much as six in first 20 minutes of action, but the Saints managed to keep the game in striking distance. After the first quarter, the game was knotted at a 14-14 tie.
 
SMU continued to make things interesting through the second quarter. The game featured seven ties and five lead changes in the first half alone. The Saints managed to lead by three on two separate occasions in the first five minutes of the second quarter.
 
The SMU lead did not last CWU managed to tie the game at 23-all with 5:35 to play in the half. The game remained close through the final stretch but the Wildcats took the two-point lead into halftime.
 
Despite just shooting 38.2% in the first half, the Crimson and Black managed to hold SMU to lower percentage at 31.4. Helping the Wildcats stay in front after the first 20 minutes of play was 18-14 scoring edge in the paint and a 7-6 advantage on second chance points.
 
Flores was a force for the Wildcat offense both in the post and around the perimeter. She entered the locker room with 15 points on 6-10 shooting for 60% and she was 3-4 from deep. Her double-double night nearly came in the first half as she had nine rebounds.
 
The Wildcats defense once again was force coming out of the halftime break. SMU managed to scored just nine points 4-9 made shots. They managed to get just one three-pointer off, which they made. The Crimson and Black offense added 16 points to establish a 45-37 lead going into the fourth.
 
CWU did not let up in the final 10 minutes of play as a barrage of three pointers opened up a sizable lead that SMU never recovered from. The Wildcats jumped out to a double-digit lead early in the fourth. SMU looked to keep pace but it was not enough to match the hot shooting of the Wildcats who ran away with the 16-point home win.
 
Joining Flores as double figure scorers for the game were Taylor Shaw, Samantha Bowman and Alexis Pana. Shaw scored 11 second-half points after having just two in the first. She finished 5-10 from the floor for 50% and was at that same mark from deep going 3-6.
 
Both Pana and Bowman finished 11 points for the game, respectively. Bowman was 5-10 from the floor and grabbed eight boards as well. Pana had just two points at half, but scored nine in the second half and finish with 11 on 5-15 shooting. She also had six rebounds and a game-high seven assists and six blocks.
 
As a unit, the Wildcats finished 28-63 from the floor overall for 44.4%. From beyond the arc, CWU was 11-27 for 40.7%. They once again won the points in the paint battle, 30-20. They also had the edge in second chance points scoring 15, while SMU had 13.

"It was night to shoot the ball well from three tonight too. 11-of-27 to shoot 40 percent, which was something we didn't quite do in the SPU game," Coach Richardson-Thornley said. "Really proud of our players though, I though we shared the ball and slowed down in the second half. We made some good adjustments to beat a good Saint Martin's team."
 
The Wildcats are back in action next Saturday, Dec. 14 for a non-conference home game. CWU will play host to in-region foe Cal State Los Angeles. Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m. inside Nicholson Pavilion.