ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team fell at home to the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves Thursday evening. Asher Cai was the leading scorer in the game with 21 points.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

• Final: Central Washington (62), Alaska Anchorage (68)
• Records: CWU (13-6, 4-3 GNAC), UAA (10-5, 4-2 GNAC)
• Location: Nicholson Arena, Ellensburg, Wash.

QUOTING HEAD COACH RANDI RICHARDSON-THORNLEY:
 
"Give UAA a lot of credit. They had more urgency to make plays to win the game. We had very costly missed free throws, turnovers, and missed layups that didn't help any momentum we tried to spark. I hope this loss motivates our sense of urgency and intensity in the process to prepare ourselves to beat great teams like that. We have to grow from this."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Seawolves got out to a quick 4-0 start before Capri Sims put the 'Cats on the board with a bucket and on the next Wildcat possession tying the game with a pair of free throws.
• UAA built up another four-point lead before Riley Johnson converted a fastbreak layup.
• A three-pointer by the Seawolves made it an eight-point lead for UAA before a jumper and a three-pointer by Cai made it 14-11 UAA with 2:42 left in the first quarter.
• The Seawolves finished the first quarter on a 10-4 run to give them the 24-15 lead heading into the second quarter.
• CWU came out blazing to open the second quarter with a jumper by Cai followed by threes from Sunny Huerta and Malia Smith to make it a one-point game, 24-23 in favor of UAA.
• UAA swung the momentum back in their favor with nine straight points before Shelby Blodgett stopped the run with a layup making it 34-25 UAA with 5:20 left in the second quarter.
• Two more buckets by Blodgett, a jumper by Huerta, and a pair of free throws by Cai made it a one-point lead once again for UAA, but the Seawolves used a 6-1 run to end the second quarter ahead 40-34.
• An 8-2 run to open the third quarter saw CWU fall behind 48-36.
• A 9-2 run by UAA opened the Seawolf lead up to 16 before Cai finished the third quarter off with a jumper and a free throw to make it a 60-47 Seawolf lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
• Cai drained a three to open the fourth quarter, followed by a free throw by Huerta to make it 60-51 in favor of UAA.
• A 5-0 response by the Seawolves ballooned the lead back up to 14 for UAA, 65-51 with 5:46 left in the game.
• Back-to-back three's by Cai and Annalee Coronado made it an eight-point game, 65-57 with 3:52 left in the game.
• The Wildcats finished the game with five-straight points thanks to a jumper from Huerta and a three from Cai, but it wouldn't be enough as UAA escaped with a 68-62 victory.

STATS FROM THE GAME:

• Cai finished with her sixth double-double of the season with 21 points and 14 rebounds, adding three assists, two blocks, and three steals.
• Huerta kept up her hot streak flaming 18 points and adding five rebounds and four assists.
• Blodgett matched her season-high with eight points while adding four rebounds and a steal.
• Capri Sims tacked on six points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out two assists.
• Coronado added four points, three rebounds, four assists, and one steal while Malia Smith tacked on three points.
• Johnson tacked on two points, four assists, and a steal while Keira Marsh added one rebound.
• The Wildcats finished the night shooting 40 percent from the floor, 30 percent on three-point attempts, and 45 percent at the free throw line.
• UAA finished the night shooting 37.8 percent from the floor, 38.5 percent on three-point attempts, and 87.5 percent at the free-throw line.
• The Seawolves won the rebounding battle 45-40.

SERIES HISTORY:

• This was the 44^th meeting between the two squads since 2003 with UAA holding the 33-11 advantage.
• The Seawolf win snaps CWU's win streak of three games.
• The Wildcats are 6-15 in Nicholson against the Seawolves.

UP NEXT:

• The Wildcats will welcome the other team from the last frontier, the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks (2-14, 0-6 GNAC) for a Saturday showdown inside Nicholson Arena with a tip-off time set for 4:00 p.m.