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FAIRBANKS, Alaska -
Alex Dunn posted a double-double with game-highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds and Central Washington shot very well from outside en route to a 94-72 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball win against Alaska Thursday night at the Patty Center.
“Unfortunately we didn't play very good defense and they had an outstanding shooting percentage,” head coach
Cody Burgess said. “Central, to its credit was very good off the drive and very good on the three-point line that's very hard to defend.”
Dunn finished the game 10 of 14 from the floor, while dishing out a game-high seven assists for the Wildcats (6-11, 3-7 GNAC).
Courtney Johnson (19),
Jessica VanDyke (18) and
Sophie Russell (17) also scored in double figures as the trio combined for 54 points on 19 of 33 shooting. Central shot 52-percent (37-71) for the game and hit 11 triples on just 19 attempts (.579). It also dominated the boards 50-34, including 14-9 on the offensive glass. It scored 50 points in the paint and 23 on second-chance opportunities.
“Our young women are still learning,” Burgess said. “Dunn for Central has three or four years of experience. She's very quick, athletic and a great finisher.
Benissa Bulaya and
Nicole Hartzog are trying to defend her and she's a little more skilled and she's tough to defend, but I think they learned from that.”
The Nanooks (6-14, 2-8 GNAC) had one of their most balanced attacks of the season as seven players scored at least eight points. Senior
Nicole Bozek (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak) led the team with 11 points, while freshman
Kelly Logue (Fair Oaks, Calif./Bella Vista) tallied a career-best 10 points. Senior
Autumn Greene (Lewiston, Idaho/Centralia CC) also had nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
“Autumn had 10 rebounds and that was helpful,” Burgess said. “I thought our freshmen were able to drive, get to the rim and to the free throw line. When they buckle down and play team defense good things happen. We get steals, create turnovers and that gives them lay-ins in the open court.”
Alaska shot 39-percent (27-69) for the game and forced 19 CWU turnovers, made six blocks and hit 14 of 21 from the free throw line. It also had plenty of bench support as the reserves accounted for 26 points.
With the game tied at 23-23 in the first, Central scored 10 straight that sparked a 23-8 run in the final 7:42 to take a comfortable 46-31 halftime lead. The Wildcats stormed out of the locker room with 10 points in 88 seconds for a 56-31 lead and led by no less than 21 points on five separate occasions down the stretch.
The Nanooks close out a four-game homestand Saturday at 3 p.m. against Northwest Nazarene. NNU was trounced by forty points, 79-39, at 12th-ranked Alaska Anchorage earlier Thursday.
