Box Score



NAMPA, Idaho — Just seconds into the action, Kate Cryderman fired up a 3-pointer that hit nothing but net.

And the Crusaders were off and running.
 

The Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team followed that hot start with a strong night on offense, and solid defense, rolling past Central Washington, 81-68, in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams Tuesday night at the Johnson Sports Center.

"Obviously being a GNAC game that was important to us," NNU head coach Steve Steele said of the league-opening victory.

"It feels good to win, but I'm really proud of the way they executed the game-plan."

NNU (3-2 overall, 1-0 GNAC) executed well on offense, shooting 52.6 percent from the field (30-of-57), shut down the Wildcats on defense, holding CWU to 41.5 percent shooting (22-of-53), forced 19 turnovers, and won the battle on the boards, 32-30.

Good enough to lead almost throughout the game, as a Lexi Tubbs 3-pointer gave NNU a 23-17 lead after one quarter, and another Cryderman triple to open the second quarter made it 26-17.

The Crusaders led by as much as 41-26 on a Carly Parker bucket before halftime, and were up 52-37 after a Danielle Jardine basket with 3 minutes gone in the second half.

The Wildcats (4-4, 0-1) made one good charge at NNU, whittling the lead down to 52-47 on a pair of Kailie Flores free throws late in the third quarter, but the Crusaders didn't panic.

After seeing a win slip away in the final two minutes on Saturday in a tournament hosted by Central Washington, NNU didn't let the Wildcats pull the same trick as Avery Albrecht had four points in a 9-2 run capped up a Cryderman 3-ball.
 

"I tried to play some older kids for sure," Steele said of answering the Wildcats late threat, adding, "and I didn't say anything, I didn't want to make them nervous.

"They were actually pretty relaxed," NNU's coach said of his team's response to CWU's charge. "We've learned a lot already from that game (Saturday)."

Back up a dozen — 61-49 — NNU continued to execute on both ends of the floor, then iced the victory hitting 8-of-8 free throws in the final minute to make sure Central Washington never got close again.

Cryderman finished with 16 points in the victory, leading a balanced NNU attack that saw Tubbs toss in 14 points and add seven rebounds. Danielle Jardine scored 13 for NNU, and grabbed six boards, and Colette Gall had 11 points for the Crusaders, who are back in action Thursday hosting Montana State Billings at the Johnson Sports Center at 5:15 p.m., tipping off a basketball doubleheader that includes the NNU men hosting Alaska at 7:30 p.m.