[VIEW RESULTS]
LAS VEGAS --- A poor day of shooting by the Otters, combined with a nearly perfect performance by one of Central Washington University's bench players, led to a 71-58 loss for the women Wednesday in Las Vegas at the Great Western Shootout held at Centennial Hills Center.
As a team, the Otters shot just 27.1 percent from the field and just 20.7 percent in the first half when they fell as far back as 13 before trimming the deficit to 34-24 at the break. But in the second half the Wildcats quickly built on that lead, pulling ahead 59-37 with 11:25 left. From that point, CSUMB was unable to make a run large enough to get back into the game.
Hanna Hull led Central Washington in scoring with 20 points on 8-17 shooting, 4-9 from the three-point line. But the most impressive line came from off the bench; Jenn Jacobs scored 18 on 8-10 shooting, 2-3 from the three-point line. She also managed to grab seven rebounds in her 24 minutes of play. Shaina Ofoa led the Wildcats in rebounding with nine.
Just as in the first game at the shootout, an 87-72 loss to Western Washington University on Tuesday, rebounding was a problem for the Otters. Against Central Washington, CSUMB lost the battle of the boards 45-36, despite Ja'Nae Westmoreland pulling down 13 in her 26 minutes of playing time.
“She did a very good job on the boards and they had a pretty good size advantage on us,” said CSUMB head coach Amber Magner.
Four other Otters had four rebounds for second highest on the day. Four Otters also scored 12 points: Dana Andrews (2-16), Westmoreland (4-8), Britnea Moore (3-7), Alma Lopez (4-10). Lopez hit 3-4 from the three-point line, but Andrews was 0-7.
“We shot poorly today, but we had opportunities,” said Magner. “If we shot better, things might have been different.”
After the two losses in Las Vegas, the Otters next play at home on Dec. 28 against Fort Lewis College from Durango, Colorado. The game begins at 6 p.m. at the Otter Athletic Center on the CSUMB campus in Seaside. The Eagles are 7-1 this season and will be another tough opponent for the Otters. Magner said her team should benefit from facing such tough competition in Las Vegas, which she said was a good bonding experience for her team.
“These were two very good quality teams and we were there with in both games but just had some mental breakdowns,” said Magner. “We learned that if we can play against them, we can play against anybody in our conference.
