ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The 16th-ranked Central Washington University Women's Basketball Team fended off the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves for a huge road victory Saturday evening. 
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
 

• Final: Central Washington (77), Alaska Anchorage (65)
• Records: CWU (12-1, 3-0 GNAC), UAA (9-4, 1-3 GNAC)
• Location: Alaska Airlines Center (Anchorage, Alaska)

 
QUOTING CWU HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH RANDI RICHARDSON:
 
"Very happy to come out of this road trip with two wins. I am happy with how we came out tonight with a better intent to be us in that first half. UAA did a great job of getting back into the game and had control of a large part of the second half, but I'm really proud of our team's resilience to keep their composure and find some consistent stops and scores to pull that out. Asher and Capri stepped up big hitting some tough shots at the end."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• An and-one by Mylee Anderson of UAA started the scoring but back-to-back threes by Asher Cai and Sierra Eddie followed by a layup from Cai gave CWU the 8-3 lead and forced the Seawolves to call a timeout with 7:39 left in the first. 
• An 8-3 run by the 'Cats capped by a three from Emily Shaw saw CWU take a double-digit lead at 16-6 with 3:10 left in the first. 
• The teams exchanged a pair of buckets to end the first quarter with CWU leading 22-13. 
• The two squads picked up where they left off exchanging buckets to begin the second. 
• A 15-5 run by the crimson and black saw the Wildcat lead balloon to 43-22 with 1:46 left in the second. 
• A 7-3 run to end the second by UAA cut it to a 46-29 CWU lead heading into the half. 
• The teams exchanged a pair of baskets, but a three by Kimberly Carrada sparked a 21-4 run by the Seawolves to cut it to a two-point CWU lead at 54-52 with 39 seconds left in the third. 
• A layup by Capri Sims and a pair of free-throws by Cai concluded the third quarter and made it a 58-52 CWU lead. 
• Once again the two teams exchanged a pair of buckets but a three by Faith Mersburgh and a jumper and a three from Mahalia Harrison tied the game at 62 apiece with five minutes left in the game. 
• A three by Rylee Leishman and a layup by Sims began a 15-3 run by the 'Cats to end the game and secure the 77-65 victory and weekend sweep in Alaska. 

 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
 

• Cai led the way with 27 points, adding nine rebounds, and four assists. 
• Sims and Fiona Snashall finished with double-doubles. Sims finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks while Snashall added 10 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and two steals. 
• Leishman added six points, three rebounds, and three assists while Sierra Eddie tabulated six points, one rebound, two assists, and one block off the bench. 
• Shaw finished with five points while Kayla Thornton added four points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal. 
• Annalee Coronado added a rebound and three assists while Jordy DeMott grabbed a rebound.
• CWU finished the game shooting 39.7 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from three, and 71.4 percent at the free-throw line. 
• Anderson led UAA with 16 points while Carrada wasn't far behind with 15. Harrison also finished in double-figures at 11 points while adding seven rebounds. 
• The Seawolves finished the game shooting 44.6 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from three, and 69.2 percent at the free-throw line. 
• CWU demolished the game of the boards by a 45-27 margin. 

 
SERIES HISTORY:
 

• The 'Cats are 18-39 against UAA all-time. 
• CWU is 8-19 in Anchorage against the Seawolves. 
• The crimson and black is 17-35 against Alaska Anchorage in GNAC contests. 

 
UP NEXT:
 

• The Wildcats will head back to Ellensburg for their first home GNAC contests. 
• CWU will first welcome the Simon Fraser Red Leafs (7-8, 2-2 GNAC) on Thursday, January 8 at 5:15 p.m. 
• The 'Cats will then welcome the Western Washington Vikings (12-3, 4-0 GNAC) on Saturday, January 10 at 5:00 p.m. with all the action coming from inside Nicholson Arena.