ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team rebounded from Thursday with a resounding 64-47 victory over the visiting Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks. Capri Sims finished as the leading scorer of the Wildcats with 10 points.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
 

• Final: Central Washington (64), Alaska Fairbanks (47)
• Records: CWU (14-6, 5-3 GNAC), UAF (2-15, 0-7 GNAC)
• Location: Nicholson Arena, Ellensburg, Wash.

 
QUOTING HEAD COACH RANDI RICHARDSON-THORNLEY:
 
"I'm pleased with our effort tonight. I see and feel our team's intentions to improve in areas which is great. I'm happy that we bounced back, but now it's time to recover and refresh ourselves for another big test on the road next week."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• UAF stormed out quickly to a 4-0 lead before Riley Johnson put the crimson and black on the board with a three, making it 4-3 UAF.
• The Nanooks scored one more bucket before Sims rattled off four straight points to give CWU their first lead of the afternoon, 7-6.
• Both teams would go bucket-for-bucket before Annalee Coronado's free throw broke the 10-10 tie, starting an 8-0 run for the Wildcats to wrap up the first quarter with CWU on top 18-10.
• UAF nabbed the first two buckets of the second quarter, cutting it to 18-14 with 6:40 left in the quarter.
• Coronado broke the Wildcat scoring drought with a jumper followed by two free throws to make it 22-14 CWU.
• Buckets by Sims and Sunny Huerta and a three from Asher Cai set CWU up with a sizable 31-16 halftime lead.
• The 'Cats kept rolling to start the third quarter rattling off seven straight points thanks to buckets from Cai and Sims and a three from Tori Maeda, making it 38-16 CWU with 7:32 left in the quarter.
• The teams continued to battle bucket-for-bucket before a three from Keira Marsh and a layup from Cai tied the 'Cats largest lead of the night at 26, 49-23 with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
• A jumper from Malia Smith ended the scoring in the third quarter with CWU on top 51-28.
• UAF scored first to start the fourth quarter, but buckets from Smith and Marsh followed by a free throw from Aliyah Finch once again gave the 'Cats a 26-point lead, 56-30 with 6:41 left in the game.
• The 'Nooks used a 10-3 run to cut the lead down to 19, 59-40 before a layup by Finch pushed it back over 20, 61-40 with 4:09 left in the game.
• Five straight points by the 'Nooks was answered by Olivia Huntsinger who drilled a three-pointer for the final points of the night for CWU as the Wildcats cruised to a 64-47 victory.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
 

• Sims finished with her fifth double-double of her young career leading the Wildcats in both points and rebounds with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
• Cai and Huerta each drained nine points in the game with Cai adding 10 rebounds and three assists while Huerta added two rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Smith and Marsh each tacked on seven points with Smith also grabbing three rebounds, one assist, and one steal while Marsh added two steals.
• Coronado and Shelby Blodgett each added five points with Coronado also having three rebounds and Blodgett adding four rebounds.
• Johnson and Maeda each tallied three points with Johnson adding three rebounds, one assist, and one block and Maeda adding one rebound, one assist, and one block.
• Finch tallied three points on the night and added two rebounds and one block while Huntsinger also added three points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
• Rylee Leishman added one assist.
• The Wildcats finished the night shooting 33.8 percent from the floor, 25.9 percent on three-point attempts, and 78.6 percent at the charity stripe.
• The Wildcats held Fairbanks to 30.9 percent shooting from the floor, 23.8 percent shooting on three-point attempts, and 0-5 from the free throw line.
• The Wildcats edged out a win in the rebounding battle 49-48.

 
SERIES HISTORY:
 

• This was the 41^st battle between the two squads since 2003 with CWU holding the 31-10 advantage in the series.
• The Wildcats are 17-3 against the Nanooks inside Nicholson Arena.
• CWU is on a 12-game winning streak over UAF.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• The Wildcats will have a little extra time to rest with only one contest next week.
• CWU will travel to Northwest Nazarene (7-8, 4-4 GNAC) for a battle with the Nighthawks at 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time inside the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho.