ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team saw its two-game win streak end on Saturday night in a 65-59 loss to conference foe Simon Fraser University (B.C.). The loss drops the Wildcats record to 9-7 overall and 4-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference Play.
 
Help SFU (11-7, 6-2 GNAC) escape with the road win was the help of their defense as they forced 20 CWU turnovers which they converted to 15 points.

The Clan had just nine of their own to help maintain a wire-to-wire lead the whole night. The Wildcats shots the ball well overall going 24-53 for 45.3% but went just 7-22 from deep for 31.8%.
 
"Obviously frustrated on tonight's result, but mainly frustrated for our team. We went out and gave a great defensive effort against a [Simon Fraser] team that can really put up a lot of points and knock down a lot of threes," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "I felt we executed what we wanted to defensively at a high enough rate to hold Simon Fraser to 65 points and only 5-of-21 from three."

The first quarter got off to a slow start with both teams looking to establish a rhythm on defense. Through the first five minutes of action. The Clean held a slim 9-6 edge of the Wildcats but it was clear early both teams planned to keep things close.
 
At the end of the first quarter, SFU found itself in front by just four, 17-13, but CWU never allowed their northern neighbors to open the lead up. Freshman Tori Maeda led the offense through the first 10 minutes with five points, while a handful of Wildcats had a pair of points.
 
The majority of the second period fell in favor of SFU as the visiting squad managed to lead by as much as 10 points in the frame. The Crimson and Black managed to shake off a slow start but it did not come until late in the quarter. With 3:48 to play until halftime, SFU led 27-19.
 
The Wildcats managed to break through the drought and ended the final 3:48 of the second quarter scoring five unanswered while holding the Clan scoreless to make it a three-point game at the break. Samantha Bowman found her groove in the paint scoring four of the teams five points.
 
With the SFU lead at 27-24 going into halftime, it was clear CWU was going to make it a fight until the very end. CWU managed to shoot 42.3% I the first frame, while SFU posted a 44.4 shooting percentage. Both teams were fairly even in almost every statistical category going into the locker room.
 
The early going of the third quarter saw the Wildcats get the back within two points of the Clan. The quick surge by the Wildcats cut their deficit to 35-33 with 4:51 to play in the frame. Kaelie Flores scored four points in that span to get up to six and help the Wildcats get within one possession.
 
Despite the surge early on from the Crimson and Black, SFU never let the lead slip away. The Clan went into the final quarter of play leading by four, 45-41. CWU managed to shoot 43.8% in the third, while holding SFU to just 33.3% overall.
 
The opening minutes of the fourth hurt the Wildcats as they did not manage to get a single shot off in the first two minutes, while the Clan went 2-4 in that span and led 51-41. Over the next tw minutes of play CWU mustered just three points but held SFU to two points and trailed 53-44 with 6:58 to play in regulation.
 
The Wildcats made pushes late in the fourth against SFU but each time the visiting squad had an answer and never let its wire-to-wire lead slip away. CWU managed to draw fouls late but clutch shooting made the difference to help SFU escape with a 65-59 road win.
 
Pana led the way for CWU scoring 15 points, while blocking three shots. Bowman added 12 points to go along with a pair of blocked shots and five boards. Taylor Shaw chipped in 10 points to round out the double-digit scoring. Kassidy Malcolm led all players with a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Central will begin a three-game road swing with the first game taking place next Thursday, Jan. 23 at Concordia (Ore.). Tip-off against the Cavaliers is set for 5:15 p.m. in Portland.