Monday, January 17, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – All season long, Central Washington women’s basketball has gotten top-heavy contributions from their starting lineup, particularly the three-headed monster of Kizzah Maltezo, Samantha Bowman and Kassidy Malcolm. Faced with a road rivalry match-up with an undefeated and top-five nationally-ranked team in Western Washington, the Wildcats didn’t stray from their formula.

Despite only utilizing their bench for a combined 25 minutes, Central controlled the game from start to finish, never trailing in a 76-68 statement victory. For handing the Vikings their first loss of the season, CWU has been named the GNAC Team of the Week.

“I’m extremely happy for our team to be getting this recognition from the conference,” head coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. “We have grown so much from the beginning of the year and it was fun to see that growth first-hand against one of the best teams in the country.”

Maltezo led the way with 29 points in a GNAC Player of the Week-winning performance, shooting 11 of 25 from the field and making three three-pointers. The 25 field goal attempts were the most any GNAC player has attempted in a single game so far this season. Malcolm recorded 19 points and six rebounds, while Bowman had her ninth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Western Washington came into the game having won 10 in a row to start the year. The Vikings were ranked No. 5 in the WBCA Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the D2SIDA Media Poll, and they won their first two GNAC games by an average of 20 points. But the Vikings were visibly shaken when starting point guard Dani Iwami exited with a serious injury 20 seconds into the game, and the Wildcats pounced to blitz the Vikings in the opening period.

Malcolm buried a layup and a three in quick succession to open up an early 8-2 lead for Central Washington. A Claire Heitschmidt layup with 4:50 to go in the first quarter was the first time anybody other than Maltezo, Malcolm or Bowman scored for the Wildcats, but by then Central was doubling the Vikings’ total with an 18-9 advantage. The Wildcats led by 10 at the end of the first quarter and at halftime.

While the Vikings emptied their bench with 12 players seeing the floor and none playing more than 30 minutes, four of CWU’s five starters logged 35 minutes or more, but the extra mileage didn’t hurt the Wildcats. When Western Washington cut the lead to two with three minutes to play, Maltezo had four of the Wildcats’ final eight points down the stretch while the Vikings were held to two points for the remainder of the game. Central Washington shot 43 percent from the field for the game but distanced themselves at the free-throw line, making 17 of 25 attempts as a team while holding the Vikings to only 12 attempts.

Production from their stars has been the norm for Central Washington this season. Maltezo (first in the GNAC with 19.2 points per game), Bowman (third with 17.2) and Malcolm (fourth with 17.1) are among the conference’s top scorers, and Bowman’s 15.1 rebounds per game is the second-highest total in Division II.

After a few stumbles early in the season, Central Washington has won four straight and sits at 9-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play. They recently rose to No. 5 in the latest D2SIDA West Region Poll and will seek to keep the momentum rolling this week with a pair of home games against Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.

“There is still a lot of growth to be had, which is exciting,” Richardson-Thornley said. “I’m happy for our ladies this week and I feel it’s well deserved.”