ELLENSBURG, Wash.— Central Washington women's basketball defeated Simon Fraser (8-11, 4-6 GNAC) Thursday evening 92-69. The win lifts the Wildcats to 16-5 overall with a 9-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference mark.
Tonight's win elevates the Wildcats into second place in the GNAC standings.
"Great team win tonight with five people in double digits," said Central Washington Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley. "We got great contribution off of the bench on both sides of the ball. I felt like Jenna Troy made a big difference defensively allowing us to adjust against their size. I'm proud of the team and their ability to withstand SFU's wrinkles that they threw at us and for our group to stick to our identities."
Kassidy Malcolm continued her offensive dominance in tonight's game scoring 27 points and picking up five rebounds. Malcolm is averaging 27.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists over her last four games alongside shooting 25-26 at the charity stripe.
Samantha Bowman continued to remain unmatched in the post, scoring 12 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Bowman's efforts off of the glass tonight marks her 15th double-double. Prior to tonight's games, Bowman was tied for fourth in all of DII for double-doubles this season.
Central's bench had an impact tonight outscoring SFU's bench 20 points to 15. On last week's three-game trip to Alaska, the Wildcats bench scored just a combined 15 points over all three games.
The Crimson and Black had a perfect night from the free throw line shooting 24-24 as a team.
Shooting was a struggle for SFU in the first half as the Wildcats held them to just 36.77 percent from the floor and 18.75 percent from beyond the arc. The Wildcats shot 44.36 percent from the floor rand 41.66 percent from beyond the arc to lead SFU at halftime, 43-32.
The Wildcats had a dominating fourth quarter scoring 32 points and holding Simon Fraser to 18.
Unable to overcome the Wildcats 26-point lead, Central Washington defeated Simon Fraser 92-69.
The Wildcats return to GNAC competition on Saturday, February 12th. CWU will host long-standing rival and number eight ranked Western Washington. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
