NAMPA, Idaho.—The Central Washington women's basketball team took down the West Texas A&M Buffalo's 79-63, closing out their trip to the NNU Classic and advancing to 3-1 this season.

"Very happy with how our team bounced back tonight and came out with a great start. We were able to set the tone from the start and our team fed off that. We shot the ball at an extremely high rate in the first half making twelve three's and shooting 66% from deep. Our team is capable of those kind of nights and it was fun to watch the ladies shoot confidently like we know they can. Our production off the bench was great and something we can build off of. Claire Heitschmidt came in gave us some big minutes." Said CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley. 
 
Kizzah Maltezo's 23 point night alongside a team shooting percentage of 60.9 from beyond the arc, and 27 points from the bench propelled them to a big win over a strong Buffalos team.

"Kizzah and Sam bot had great performances tonight. I'm proud of them for stepping up once again." 
 
Samantha Bowman opened the game for the 'Cats going back-to-back with a turnaround jumper and a three-pointer from the top of the key.
 
The Lady Buff's answered, finding a pair of jumpers themselves but it was Claire Heitschmidt who extended the 'Cats lead with a pair of back-to-back three-point jumpers herself. The 'Cats were on top 16-9.
 
Kizzah Maltezo gave the 'Cats a pair of deep three's and Valerie Huerta followed suit with one as well just before the end of the quarter. The 'Cats led 28-17 after the opening quarter.
 
Kizzah Maltezo kept the momentum flowing early in the second, dropping another pair of deep three pointers to extend the lead 34-19.
 
Kassidy Malcolm grabbed an offensive board, creating an open lane for Tori Maeda to knock down a step-back jumper and extend the lead 41-26.
 
Samantha Bowman stood strong in the post, putting up one final basket before the half and the 'Cats led it 51-35.
 
The second half opened with a bang, Kizzah Maltezo kept the deep ball coming and added on a driving layup shortly after making it 56-42 in favor of Central.
 
The 'Cats had the lady Buffs on skates, allowing Claire Heitschmidt to take advantage in the post to put up a pair of layups on steals by the 'Cats.
 
Valerie Huerta found the basket and drained the and-one to close out the quarter, 'Cats led 70-50.
 
The final quarter was a quiet one for the 'Cats. As the offense slowed down, the 'Cats picked up all nine of their fourth quarter points on free throws.
 
The lady Buffs made a strong effort to come back, but the 'Cats closed it out with breathing room, 79-63.