LACEY, Wash. – The Central Washington University Women's Basketball Team fought tooth and nail on the road and came out with a gritty victory at Saint Martin's Thursday evening. Asher Cai and Sunny Huerta went back-and-forth finishing with 26 and 25 points, respectively.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
 

• Final: Central Washington (77), Saint Martin's (72)
• Records: CWU (13-4, 6-2 GNAC), SMU (10-7, 3-5 GNAC)
• Marcus Pavilion, Lacey, Wash.

 
QUOTING CWU HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH RANDI RICHARDSON:

"I'm pleased to get the win. That was a gritty game where at times we struggled to take care of the ball and fouled too much defensively. However, I was pleased with our teams composure to figure out a way to grind out enough stops and scores to pull out a win. Malia kept us in the game in the first half hitting some critical buckets to give us a lift when we struggled. Ash and Sun came up big for us in the second half to help us pull that one out."

HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• The Wildcats came out with a hot start seeing a pair of buckets from Shelby Blodgett and Cai followed by a three from Malia Smith put the 'Cats up 7-2 just a minute and a half into the game.
• A pair of free-throws by Huerta and a three by Coronado made it a 12-4 CWU lead, starting a back-and-forth the next few minutes.
• A three by Blodgett was answered by a three and a layup by Sarah Lamet of SMU to cut the crimson and black lead to 19-15, but a layup by Cai with 45 seconds sent the teams to the second quarter with the 'Cats up 21-15.
• SMU scored the first four points of the second, but Smith put CWU on the board with a three, but back-to-back-to-back threes by Smith made it a 30-21 CWU lead with 6:27 left.
• A layup by Jada Travis of the Saints proved to be the start of a five-minute scoring drought for both teams as Travis earned the final bucket of the first half to make it a 30-25 Wildcat lead.
• The two teams fought back-and-forth for the opening few minutes of the third quarter until a jumper from Madelyn Brown followed by a tip-in and a pair of free-throws by Kiana Rios of SMU put the Saints out in front 35-34 with 7:03 left.
• Huerta responded to give the 'Cats the lead back, but the two teams continued to battle back-and-forth.
• Cai responded to a jumper from Avery Oaster of SMU with the and-one opportunity and backed it up with a three to make it 49-43 in favor of the crimson and black with 1:52 left in the third.
• A layup and a free-throw by SMU ended the third and cut it to a three-point game once again, 51-48 in favor of the 'Cats.
• A pair of free-throws by Rios of SMU started the fourth quarter, but Huerta and Cai responded with a pair of layups to make it 55-50 CWU.
• For the next few minutes, the Saints would earn a bucket, but the 'Cats would respond to maintain a five-point lead.
• A three by Keeli Jade Smith of the Saints made it a 60-58 CWU lead with five minutes left, but layups by Cai and Huerta and another three from Coronado put CWU back up by seven, 67-60 with 3:21 left.
• Huerta drilled a pair of free-throws, but an and-one by Oaster and another free-throw by Brown of SMU cut the 'Cats lead back down to two, 69-67 with 2:05 left.
• Layups by Cai and Huerta forced the Saints to call a timeout with 42 seconds remaining and CWU leading 73-69.
• The Saints would get an and-one, but four made free-throws by Cai and Huerta sealed the Wildcat victory 77-72.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
 

• Cai earned her first double-double of the season leading the game with 26 points and 10 rebounds while leading CWU with five assists and three steals while adding a block.
• Huerta wasn't far behind with 25 points, and added three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Smith dropped 15 points and one assist.
• Coronado finished with six points, four rebounds, and two assists.
• Blodgett had five points, two rebounds, and led CWU with two blocks.
• Capri Sims had four rebounds, two assists, and one steal while Aliyah Finch had two rebounds and one assist.
• CWU finished the game shooting 57.4 percent from the floor, 56.3 percent from three, and 87.5 percent at the free-throw line.
• The Saints were held to 42.9 percent from the floor, 30.8 percent from three, and 83.9 percent from the charity stripe.
• The Wildcats won the rebound battle 26-23.

 
SERIES HISTORY:
 

• The Wildcats now lead the series 41-35 since 1987.
• The 'Cats have a 19-20 record inside Marcus Pavilion.
• CWU remains 9-1 in the last 10 meetings against the Saints.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• The Wildcats will head south to Monmouth, Ore. where they'll take on the Western Oregon Wolves on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off from inside the New PE Building.