NAMPA, Idaho – The Central Washington women's basketball team defeated the California State-East Bay Pioneers Friday night in the opening game of the NNU Classic by a score of 84-63. 
 
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH RANDI RICHARDSON-THORNLEY
"Extremely proud of this group. We were challenged in the first half with not finding our rhythm offensively, turning the ball over, and East Bay's players stepping up and hitting shots. At half I just told our team that we have an opportunity to grow and step up when we are challenged. We gave them a few key things to adjust and focus on heading into the second and I couldn't be more proud of how we responded. We showed a glimpse of what we are capable of and what we want to continue to build towards."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a tale of two halves for both teams on the day. The Pioneers led following a slow first quarter by a 12-8 score that was chockfull of turnovers by both squads. CSU-EB picked up the pace in the second quarter dropping 21 points compared to the 13 scored by CWU to go into the half cruising by 12 points over CWU. 
 
Then came the Sam Bowman double-double machine coming into the second half with eight rebounds and points apiece. The Wildcats shot 84.62% from the field in the third quarter, including going three of four from three-point land. CWU chipped away at the Pioneer lead as threes by Asher Cai and Tori Maeda, as well as a jumper by Bowman brought the lead back within single digits. Following a back-and-forth affair Bowman laid the ball in and completed the play with the and one at the free throw line, which was followed by another three from Maeda, and the 'Cats found themselves down only two points with just over four minutes left in the third quarter. 
 
A pair of free throws by Cai tied the game up, and on the next crimson and black possession Huerta gave the 'Cats their first lead of the game with a pair of free throws. The Wildcats never looked back as they finished the last three minutes of the third quarter on a 10-7 run to make the score 57-52 CWU. 
 
The 'Cats outscored the Pioneers 27-11 in the fourth quarter to cruise to the victory 84-63 and to take down the reigning number one seed of the west. Bowman led the 'Cats adding another double-double to her resume with 26 points and 17 rebounds. Valerie Huerta and Cai each poured on an additional 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Maeda added on 11 points for CWU. CWU finished with a 45.6% field goal percentage, while adding on a 33.3% from the three-point line and a 77.4% from the charity stripe. 
 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will round up their participation at the NNU Classic with a showdown against the Stanislaus State Warriors (0-1). The Wildcats and Warriors are set to brawl tomorrow (Saturday Nov. 12^th) with tip off set for 1:30 p.m. pacific standard time.