The Centralia College women’s basketball team earned its third consecutive win on Wednesday, as the Trailblazers pulled away in the second half of a 66-46 win over Highline.
Centralia trailed by one after one, but a Madison Gore 3-pointer capped a strong second quarter and the Trailblazers (9-9, 3-0 NWAC) took an eight-point lead into the locker room.
Highline came out firing and got back to within one midway through the third, but a 13-3 Centralia run pushed the lead back into double-digits entering the fourth, and the Trailblazers never looked back.
Madison Gore and Foai Pula combined for 45 of Centralia’s 66 points, shooting a combined 15 for 27 from the floor. Kate Carpenter was a force on the boards, hauling in a team-high 14 rebounds.
Maya Barnett grabbed nine rebounds while also scoring seven points and dishing out four assists.
The Trailblazers are back on the road on Saturday, when they’ll head north to take on winless Tacoma Community College.
Slow start dooms Trailblazer men
The Highline men’s team came out of the gate firing, scoring 16 of the game’s first 19 points en route to an 83-70 win over Centralia.
The Trailblazers (6-11, 2-1 NWAC) struggled to keep pace with the T-Birds, who connected on nine 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, including six from Nick Robertson. Robertson went on to finish with a game-high 25 points.
Centralia found its footing in the second half, connecting on seven threes themselves while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor, but the 17-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome.
Orion Dybdahl led the Trailblazers with 23 points, six rebounds, and four blocks, while Ahren Bee-Richards added 10 points off the bench. Reilly McIlraith and Jovany Guzman also provided some offense off the bench, combining for 17 points.
The men will also head to Tacoma on Saturday, and they’ll play the second game of the doubleheader.
