ELLENSBURG, Wash.—Kassidy Malcolm scored 23 points as Central Washington fell to Western Washington 74-72. Saturday's loss drops the Wildcats to 16-6 overall this season, and 9-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
Falling to 9-4 in GNAC play, the Wildcats fall to fourth in conference standings trailing Montana State University Billings by one game.
 
"Today was a really competitive and physical game all night long," said Central Washington Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley. "I'm very proud of our teams efforts. However, I felt our inability to score consistently in the third quarter really hurt us. On a positive note, this was a great game for us to grow and get better in the final stretch of the regular season."
 
Samantha Bowman finished with 13 points alongside 14 rebounds, earning her 16^th double-double in 20 games this season.
 
The Wildcats struggled in the post tonight against WWU, being outscored 42-34.
 
Central held the Vikings to shooting just .385 from the floor and .272 from beyond the arc, taking the lead 35-32 at the half.
 
Turnovers were the difference maker for the Vikings, grabbing seven steals and scoring 11 points off of turnovers.
 
CWU struggled in the third quarter shooting just .222 from the floor and .250 from beyond the arc. The Vikings took advantage, outscoring the Wildcats 18-12.
 
Although outscoring WWU 25-24 in the final quarter, the Wildcats were unable to overcome the three-point deficit at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Wildcats fell to the Vikings in a close one, 74-72.
 
Emma Duff led the Vikings with a season-high 29 points alongside six rebounds, one block, and two steals.

The Wildcats hit the road to continue GNAC play at Western Oregon on February 17th, at 7:30 p.m. PST.