BURNABY, B.C. – Central Washington University women's basketball picked up its 14th win of the season Thursday night with an 83-74 road win against Simon Fraser University (B.C.). The win puts the Wildcats at 9-6 now in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
Multiple factors played into the Wildcats road win but 59 first half points, with 30 coming in the second quarter helped the Wildcats lead by 22 at halftime and keep them in the driver seat the majority of the night. SFU (16-9, 11-4 GNAC) managed to outscore CWU in the second half, but the fast start was too much to overcome.
 
Central shot 57.1% from the floor overall and was 42.1&% from three-point range. Defensively, the allowed SFU to shoot 43.9% overall, but held them to just 31% from deep. Rebounding was owned by Central as they grabbed 41 and held SFU to just 18. 11 offensive rebounds helped the Wildcats scored 15 second chance points, while the Clan had just four second chance points.
 
"Super proud of this group and the improvements we showed from game one to game two," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "We executed how we wanted offensively and defensively in the first half and did enough to hold on to the win in the second half against a very good SFU team."
 
Bench production was big for the Wildcats in their win as their reserves scored 32 and held SFU's bench to just 14. Of those 32 points, 27 came from Samantha Bowman as she had a career night scoring the ball. A 46-38 edge in points in the paint also helped the Wildcats balanced attack against the Clan. The balanced attack the whole night helped five Wildcats finish with double-digit points.
 
Both teams traded shots in the early minutes of the first, but it was the three-point shooting of SFU that helped them a slim 11-10 lead as they reached the midway point. Interior play helped the Wildcats keep the game within one possession.
 
The Clan grabbed a 16-14 lead with 4:30 to play in the quarter but from that point on it was the Wildcats who owned the opening frame. Central outscored SFU 8-2 in the final 4:30 to take a 22-18 lead. Surging for the CWU offense was Bowman who scored 10 first quarter points.
 
Kassidy Malcolm and Kaelie Flores also added to the depth the Wildcats front court showcased scoring five points each. As a unit, CWU shot 57.1% in the first quarter, setting up an already high tempo game between the two squads.
 
The second quarter was owned by the Crimson and Black who outscored the Clan 30-12, including a 17-4 surge in the first six minutes of action. Bowman continued her dominance early to get up to 14 first half points. She was not the only Wildcat who made a splash in the second.
 
The largest lead for the Wildcats in the frame was as much as 17 points. The first time it jumped to that margin was thanks to a JonNae Richardson three ball thanks to the quick pass from Malcolm.
 
The 17-point advantage, 39-22, came with 4:07 to play in the half. The Clan looked to responded after the media timeout but the Wildcats strength down low combined with their outside shooting was too much to handle in the first half.
 
CWU closed out the final four minutes of the second the same way they started it, fast pace and dominance in the paint. The Clan mustered just eight points in the final four minutes, while the Wildcats poured in 11 more to own a 52-30 edge at the break. Taylor Shaw nailed a smooth wide open three-pointer in the final 20 seconds to close out CWU's solid first half play in fashion.
 
The Crimson and Black went into halftime with a 57.1 shooting percentage overall and held the Clan to 40%. Bench play was key with CWU having a 25-0 edge. 20 of those points came from Bowman alone.

The combination of inside-out shooting also showed in the first half. CWU went 6-14 from deep for 42.9%, while the Clan was at just 33.3% on 4-12 shooting. Points in the paint fell easily in the Wildcats favor at 28-16, making it nearly impossible for the Clan to keep pace.
 
Scoring wise, SFU managed to outscore the Wildcats in both quarter but it was not enough to mount a full comeback at home. The third quarter was a close once as the Clan just managed to outscore CWU 17-13.
 
The Clan got things going in the early going of the third scoring four straight forcing an early timeout call by Central. They managed to chip away at the lead in small doses during the third, but CWU found answers at opportune times to stay in front by double figures.
 
SFU managed to cut the Wildcats lead to 13 with just over 4:30 to play in the third, 57-44. It was the closest they got before an 8-2 run to close out the frame gave Central a 65-47 lead going into the final quarter of action.
 
The fourth quarter saw SFU score 27 to ultimately keep them from suffering a double figure defeat. The Wildcats scored 18 in the final 10 minutes of play to eclipse 80-plus points for the fourth game of the year.
 
A 6-2 run to start the final frame helped CWU regain its largest lead of 22 points, 71-49. Flores scored four of the team's six points to help them find a rhythm early. The Clan then responded going on a 12-2 run that brought them back within 12, 73-61.
 
The surge from SFU forced a CWU timeout with the hopes of regrouping in order to stop the bleeding. Out of the timeout, Bowman hit a contested layup and drew contact for the and-one opportunity. She completed the play and pushed Central's lead to 15.
 
A defensive stop on the next possession helped the Wildcats build some momentum as Alexis Pana then blew by her defender for an easy layup and grew the Wildcats lead to 17, 78-61, with just over four minutes to play in regulation.
 
The Clan managed to hit late three's but, in the end, they never managed to get the game within two possessions. Their deep shooting managed to bring the final deficit to nine, 83-74.
 
Bowman had a near perfect shooting night going 11-12 from the field en route to her career-high 27 points. She was a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc and 3-3 from the charity stripe. She also had five rebounds in 26 minutes of play off the bench.
 
Pana and Malcolm each scored 13 points in the win. Malcolm posted her fourth double-double of the season as she also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Pana tied the game-high in assists dishing out six to go along with a pair of steals.
 
Flores and Shaw rounded out the balanced double figure scoring for the Wildcats. Flores added 12 and was second in rebounds with six. Shaw did not miss a single shot as she chipped in 11. She was a perfect 3-3 from the floor, all of which coming from three-point range, to go along with a clean 2-2 at the free throw line.
 
"Offensively we shared the ball with five players in double digits and took great shots shooting 57%. Defensively we gave up some early three's but were able to adjust and execute what we wanted and rebound out of it," Coach Richardson-Thornley said. "Happy for our team but now have to recover and prepare for another big game on Saturday."
 
The Wildcats return state side as they get set to take on rival Western Washington this Saturday, Feb. 15. Tip-off against the Vikings is slated for 7 p.m. in Bellingham.