ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team will head into the Christmas break undefeated in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

The Nighthawks defeated Central Washington 85-76 on Saturday to move into first place all alone and win their sixth consecutive game.

"We did a good job of finding the right person to shoot," NNU coach Steve Steele said. "We had 11 players score and that has been a hallmark of our team in the past few years. When you spread the ball around you get better shots and shoot a higher percentage."

The Nighthawks shot 44.8 percent (30-of-67) from the field for the game, but improved their 3-point shooting (12-of-26) and free-throw percentage (13-of-18, 72.2) to help lead the way.

Senior Avery Albrecht scored a team-high 23 points, including 18 in the first half.

"Avery was tremendous tonight. She was really aggressive and was hitting shots, especially in the first half," Steele said. "I thought she was smart in the second half when they were face guarding her. She didn't force anything. She was really unselfish and mature about that fact and created space for other kids."

NNU (8-3 overall, 3-0 GNAC) trailed only once – at 2-0 – and dominated throughout, forcing 19 turnovers.

The Nighthawks led by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter and then held off a late Wildcats charge thanks to a pair of blocks by freshman Clare Eubanks and Marina Valles hit free throws late to seal the victory.

Erin Jenkins finished with 11 points and six rebounds, Nicole Gall and Haley Hanson each had nine points and made three 3-pointers, and Valles finished with eight points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Central Washington (7-4, 2-1) was picked to win the league title in the preseason coaches poll and senior point guard Alexis Pana was named the preseason player of the year.

Pana was held to seven points on 3-of-13 shooting. Kaelie Flores had a game high 24 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

The Nighthawks play at Montana State Billings at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4. They then head to Alaska before finally returning home to host Simon Fraser at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16.