NAMPA, Idaho – With their offense struggling Monday, the No. 7 Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team turned to its defense to pull out a victory.

The Nighthawks used a 12-2 run late to knock off Central Washington 65-56 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

"Central just played a really good game and they were super physical," NNU's McKenna Walker said. "I thought they did a really good job, but we kind of had the maturity to finish the game out."

The Nighthawks feature six seniors and underclassmen who have gotten a lot of minutes in their careers and it showed late. There was never a sense of panic even when Central pulled within 53-51 with 4 minutes, 59 seconds left.

Marina Valles made a layup then got a steal in the backcourt and fed Walker with a nice pass in traffic for another layup and a quick 57-51 lead. Walker added a layup and after a layup by Central's Alexis Pana, Raquel Jardine made a jumper, Ellie Logan added a putback and Avery Albrecht made two free throws for a 64-53 lead with 46 seconds remaining.

"What kept us in front was our defense," Valles said. "Shots weren't falling, but we kept up our defense and at the end, our shots went in.

"We struggled a lot and we are tired, but that is not an excuse. We need to pull through and keep fighting."

The game was a makeup of a game scheduled for Feb. 12. Central Washington couldn't reach Nampa last week because of heavy snow in Washington and Oregon.

On Monday, the Nighthawks progressively wore down the Wildcats as the game went on, forcing Central to start missing shots.

"We played great defense," NNU coach Steve Steele said. "We were really solid for the most part. We didn't give them anything easy."

The Nighthawks have struggled in their last two games, winning by six at Montana State Billings last Thursday and nine Monday.

With Simon Fraser, which handed the Nighthawks their lone loss this season, looming Thursday, the Nighthawks won't have much time to try and get back to their dominating selves.

"I think just knowing we are home this week and we love shooting at home will help," Walker said.

Albrecht scored NNU's first eight points of the game as the Nighthawks opened up an 18-8 lead and appeared in for an easy night, but Central pulled within four at the end of the quarter and two at halftime.

A big part of that was the post play from the Wildcats and the dynamic play of Pana, their point guard.

"That team is really talented," Steele said. "I think Alexis Pana is easily one of the best point guards in the country."

Pana finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, but it was enough to stop the Nighthawks train from rolling on.

"It is good to have this game where you know your defense is going to keep you in the game and help you win it," Valles said.

Albrecht finished with 13 points and four rebounds, while Raquel Jardine added 10 points. Ellie Logan had eight points and four rebounds, Jordan Pinson had six points and five assists and Valles had four points, five rebounds and five assists.