On Jan. 25, 5 foot 4 inch senior Sunny Huerta broke the CWU record for All-Time women’s scorer in Basketball. Huerta entered the game just shy of the record and despite scoring less points than her average 18.4, the guard cemented herself in CWU history by scoring point 1,698 of her collegiate career, becoming the all-time CWU women’s basketball leader in career points.
Huerta entered the Physical Education Building in Monmouth, Ore. to face off against Western Oregon University on Jan. 25 as the ‘Cats looked to continue the three game winning streak that they found themselves in.
Sixteen points is all Huerta needed to break the record set by Rose Shaw in 2002. This put Huerta in the perfect spot to claim the title for her own, as she had already scored 16 or more in 12 of the 17 games played. The senior made her presence known throughout the entire game, never slowing down and keeping the Wildcats lead out of reach for the Wolves.
The record breaking shot came in the middle of the fourth quarter, as Huerta lined up to make a free throw after being fouled. Huerta was tied with Rose Shaw in career points scored at 1,696 as the ball left her hand. The next second, Huerta held the record by one. By the next minute, she held it by two.
Despite leaving the building with a lower points per game average and her lowest field goal percentage of the season, none of it mattered as the Wildcats triumphed over the Wolves and Huerta’s name would forever be in the record books at Central Washington University.
Since then, Huerta has continued her tear, scoring 17 points the following game against University of Alaska Anchorage where the Wildcats fell 56-65 and rounded out the ‘Cats trip to Alaska with a 21 point game in a 81-70 win over University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Huerta now stands at 1,736 career points entering a Thursday night matchup against rival and reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) champions Western Washington University.
The game will take place in Nicholson Pavilion on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 5:15 p.m. with massive GNAC implications as both Universities share a 8-3 conference record and the Vikings have already beaten the Wildcats earlier in the season in a 65-67 loss.
