BY JAMES NARANJO, Staff Reporter

The Central Washington University women’s basketball team looked like they were going to grab their first win in weeks last weekend, but a late run by Northwest Nazarene was just enough to hold off the Wildcats.

The Wildcats fell to 6-18 overall and 1-15 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play after losing 55-53 to Northwest Nazarene.

“Anytime we play NNU, it’s a competitive game,” senior guard Daisy Burke said. “We knew it was going to be battle and we were ready.”

Central started off its night looking to prove something, going on a 9-0 run in the opening four minutes. The Wildcats held off the Crusaders until the 10-minute mark, until senior Chelsie Luke sank a jumper and ignited a Northwest Nazarene scoring spree.

Central weathered the storm with two huge three-point shots by junior forward Courtney Johnson, and junior guard Erika Locker, giving the Wildcats a 24-21 lead going in to halftime.

The second half started out fast. Central started on a 7-0 run and went on top 30-21 early in the half.

But in the final 15 minutes, Northwest Nazarene’s shots started falling. The Crusaders shot 50 percent and hit 15-30 shots from the field in the second half.

“They shot the ball really well in the second half,” head coach Shawn Nelsen said. “Give them a lot of credit. We did our best to close out shooters, but they just made shots.”

The Wildcats led 45-37 after Locker hit a shot with 10:37 remaining.

Shortly after, Northwest Nazarene went on a 15-3 scoring run, putting the Crusaders on top 50-48.

The two teams battled back and forth in the final two minutes until the Crusader’s Megan Hingston hit a timely bucket with 1:13 to go.

Hingston’s bucket was the figurative dagger, and a late free throw led to a 55-53 Northwest Nazarene victory.

“It is the same story,” Nelsen said. “We need to commit fewer turnovers, and make our free throws. That was the difference in today’s game, missed free throws.”

Johnson and sophomore center Jasmine Parker led the Wildcats in scoring, with 12 and 11 points respectively. Senior guard Ally Schmitt finished the game with eight rebounds and six assists.  Johnson was busy down low as well, grabbing six boards and three steals.