ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Feb. 21) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team (16-8, 11-6) defeated rival Western Washington University (14-11, 9-8) 77-66 Thursday evening in Nicholson Pavilion. With the victory, the women's team swept the Vikings this season for the first time in program history.
 
Kaelie Flores led the Crimson and Black with 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting, including three from beyond the arc. Taylor Shaw contributed 17 points and Sadie Mensing pitched in 10 of her own. Central assisted on 17 of their 26 made shots and forced the visitors into 17 turnovers.
 
"Western has been such a great program for so long, I have so much respect for them, especially being a Washington native and seeing that program and great players go through it," Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "It means a lot for our players, especially players who've been here for four years and have been a part of the transition and the rebuild."
 
Flores paced the home team early on with four points, but neither team was able to separate early in the contest with the score knotted at seven halfway through the first period. The closing minutes of the period remained close as the home team put 10 of the final 18 points behind two three-pointers from Flores.
 
"She had 23 and I felt like she didn't force much at all," Richardson-Thornley said. "It was really fun to watch Kaelie play tonight. It thought she was aggressive."
 
The teams continued to trade baskets for the opening minutes of the second quarter before the Crimson and Black pull away nailing three straight from beyond the arc to take a 36-29 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
 
The Wildcats forced the Vikings into two turnovers as the rivals cooled off to close the period. Flores led the Wildcats with 14 first half points, Kassidy Malcolm pitched in 12 points of her own and the home team took a 38-31 advantage into the locker room.
 
The Wildcats exploded out of the break with two-straight from beyond the arc to expand their lead to 13 in the opening two minutes. The visitors recovered with five straight points of the own to reduce their deficit to eight with just over seven minutes remaining in the third.
 
"We went on runs at good times, we didn't stress. Western played well, they defended us really well," Richardson-Thornley said. "I'm really proud of our girls for not going inward and freaking out and just trusting the process and making plays."
 
The teams traded baskets for the following several minutes before Western cut the Wildcat's lead to just two points with just a few minutes remaining in the period. From that point, the Crimson and Black closed the quarter on an 11-to-6 run, including eight straight points. Central shot 4-for-7 from the field during the run, including two from beyond the arc and took a 61-50 lead into the final period.
 
The Wildcats kept the visitors at bay for most of the final period. The Vikings would cut the deficit to just six with about 30 seconds remaining in the contest, but couldn't connect on key possessions down the stretch to complete their comeback bid.
 
Central Washington returns to the court Saturday, Feb. 23 against Simon Fraser University in their final home game of the season. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. with Senior Night ceremonies prior to the start of the contest.