ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team earned a hard-fought victory over the visiting Simon Fraser Red Leafs Thursday evening. Asher Cai led the way with a double-double of 29 points and 12 rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
 

• Final: Central Washington (70), Simon Fraser (65)
• Records: CWU (15-9, 6-6 GNAC), SFU (13-12, 5-7 GNAC)
• Location: Nicholson Arena, Ellensburg, Wash.

 
QUOTING HEAD COACH RANDI RICHARDSON-THORNLEY:
 
"We are very pleased to get the win tonight. SFU challenged us on the glass and made us work hard offensively for our looks in the second half. I'm pleased with our team's resilience to bounce back from mistakes and find ways to make plays as well as getting enough stops to get the win. Now it's onto the recovery battle for another big test on Saturday."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• The Red Leafs got things started by drilling a three-pointer just 25 seconds into the game, but the Wildcats immediately responded with a three from Riley Johnson.
• Sunny Huerta would give the 'Cats their first lead of the night on the next possession with a jumper to make it 5-3 Central with 8:46 left in the first quarter.
• The teams would go back and forth before a jumper and an and one by Cai followed by a three from Malia Smith put CWU up 16-9 with 5:54 left in the first quarter.
• A pair of free-throws by Shelby Blodgett followed by a jumper and a three-pointer by Cai saw the Wildcat lead grow to 10, 23-13 with 2:52 left in the first quarter.
• A jumper from Smith ended the first quarter with CWU leading 27-17.
• Simon Fraser opened the second quarter with four quick points to cut it to 27-21 CWU forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout.
• Following the timeout, a layup by Huerta started a 7-0 run by CWU with an assist from a three from Smith and a layup from Blodgett to put CWU up 34-21 with 7:07 left in the second quarter.
• A layup by the Red Leafs cut the Wildcat lead down to eight before a three from Johnson followed by a pair of layups by Cai ballooned the Wildcat lead back up to 15, 44-29 with 4:17 left in the quarter.
• The Red Leafs finished the first half on a 10-2 run to make it a 46-39 Central lead heading into halftime.
• Simon Fraser took advantage of an almost four and a half minute scoring drought by the Wildcats to open the third quarter making it 46-44 CWU before the 'Cats got on the board at the 5:32 mark thanks to a jumper by Cai.
• A 9-1 run by the Wildcats to end the third quarter saw the crimson and black lead go back to double-digits, 59-49 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
• Both teams exchanged a pair of buckets to open the fourth quarter before a 6-0 run by SFU saw the Wildcat lead back down to four, 63-59 with 5:46 left in the game.
• Both teams continued to battle bucket-for-bucket with the Wildcats maintaining a 68-65 lead heading down the stretch before a layup by Cai with 29 seconds left would seal the deal for the 70-65 Wildcat victory.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
 

• Cai posted her seventh double-double of the season with 29 points and 12 rebounds while adding one assist and one block.
• Huerta added 12 points while finishing with three boards, a team-high four assists, and two steals.
• Smith tacked on 11 points off the bench while grabbing one rebound and one steal.
• Johnson and Capri Sims each added six points with Sims adding four rebounds and one assists and Johnson adding three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Blodgett finished with four points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
• Keira Marsh added two points and four rebounds while Annalee Coronado added four rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

 
SERIES HISTORY:
 

• The series is almost deadlocked as Simon Fraser currently leads 16-15 since 2011.
• The Wildcats are now 4-9 against the Red Leafs inside Nicholson Arena.
• CWU increased their win-streak to four straight over SFU.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• The Wildcats will be back in action on Saturday for their battle against arch-rival the 19^th-ranked Western Washington Vikings (18-4, 10-2 GNAC) for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off from inside Nicholson Arena.
• Saturday's double-header with the men's basketball game against Alaska Anchorage is a blackout game, so make sure to wear black!
• If you don't have black no problem! Shirtworks is giving away FREE T-shirts to the first 1,000 fans in attendance!