FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Central Washington University Women's Basketball Team wrapped up their trip to the great white north with a big victory over the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks Saturday afternoon. Sunny Huerta led the 'Cat
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
 

• Final: Central Washington (81), Alaska Fairbanks (70)
• Records: CWU (15-5, 8-3 GNAC), UAF (6-13, 1-10 GNAC)
• Location: Alaska Airlines Gymnasium, Fairbanks, Alaska.

 
QUOTING CWU HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH RANDI RICHARDSON:
 
"I'm happy to get the split on the road and come away with the win today, but we know on this trip we did not play to the standard that we expect from ourselves or execute at a level that will have sustained success in this league. The credit needs to be given to our opponents for that, but we must come back next week motivated to execute at a much higher level in order to compete."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• UAF struck first with a free-throw, but the 'Cats responded with a jumper and a three from Malia Smith paired with a layup from Sunny Huerta to put CWU up 7-1.
• The Nanooks struck again sparking a back-and-forth battle for the rest of the quarter capped by a jumper from Asher Cai to help CWU take the 18-10 lead after the first.
• The Wildcats kept the momentum going with a quick layup and free-throw by Capri Sims followed by a three from Cai to force UAF to call a timeout with the 'Cats leading 24-10 with 7:59 left in the second.
• Four straight three-pointers by the Nanooks cut the lead to two, 24-22.
• A free-throw by Cai made it a three-point lead for CWU, but a jumper and a pair of free-throws by UAF put the 'Nooks on top 26-25 with 4:34 left.
• Fairbanks took the four-point lead after another three followed by a layup to make it 31-27 with 2:04 left in the second.
• Buckets from Sims and Annalee Coronado as well as a three from Cai wrapped up the first half with CWU retaking the lead 34-31.
• UAF came out of the half and immediately tied things up with a three from Miranda Lomax, but threes by Smith and Shelby Blodgett put the 'Cats back in the lead, 40-34 with 8:33 left.
• The Nanooks managed to dwindle the lead back down to three, but a layup by Coronado sparked an 8-0 run to make it a 52-41 CWU lead with 2:54 left in the third.
• A 9-3 run by UAF cut the crimson and black lead back down to five, but a layup by Coronado to end the third made it a 57-50 CWU lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
• Back-to-back jumpers by Tristian Martin of UAF made it a 57-54 CWU lead to open the fourth quarter.
• A pair of free-throws by Aliyah Finch helped make it a seven-point lead once again to force the Nanooks to call a timeout with the 'Cats leading 63-56 with 6:22 left.
• The two teams continued to battle back-and-forth, but a 6-0 run by the 'Cats helped put CWU up firmly 73-62 with 2:40 left in the game.
• UAF wouldn't go quietly as they had a 6-0 run of their own over the next minute to cut their deficit to five only to be responded to with another three from Smith, making it a 76-68 CWU lead.
• The two teams shot free-throws the rest of the way as the 'Cats drilled five of theirs to win 81-70.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
 

• Huerta led the game with 21 points and added eight rebounds and one assist.
• Cai finished with her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds while adding two assists and two steals.
• Smith and Coronado each tallied 11 points while Smith added two rebounds and one block and Coronado added three rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
• Finch finished with seven points and one steal while Sims and Blodgett each added five points with Sims tacking on four rebounds, two assists, and one block while Blodgett added one rebound.
• Keira Marsh and Emily Shaw each tacked on three points with Marsh adding two rebounds and two assists.
• Jordy DeMott had one rebound.
• The Wildcats finished the game shooting 52.8 percent from the floor, 39.1 percent from three, and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
• UAF was held to 36.7 percent shooting from the floor, 32 percent shooting from three, and 78.3 percent at the charity stripe.
• The Wildcats won the battle of the boards 36-26.

 
SERIES HISTORY:
 

• The Wildcats now lead the all-time series 41-13.
• The 'Cats are 18-10 in Fairbanks.
• CWU owns a 15-game win-streak over the Nanooks.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• CWU will finally be back in Ellensburg as they host two more huge matchups. They first welcome rival Western Washington (12-7, 7-3 GNAC) for a Thursday evening battle at 5:15 p.m. They wrap up the weekend against Simon Fraser (11-9, 4-7 GNAC) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. with all the action happening inside Nicholson Arena.