ELLENSBURG — They are learning in the Kittitas Valley what everyone in the Yakima Valley has known for years, that Elyse Mengarelli can and will take over a game when circumstances dictate.

Having done so at East Valley High School and Yakima Valley Community College, Mengarelli on Thursday night treated a Nicholson Pavilion crowd to her wizardry, keying a second-half surge that led Central Washington to a 58-52 victory over Alaska Anchorage.

As exhilarating as that triumph was for the locals,
boosting Central to 2-2 in GNAC play and 12-3 overall, the men's contest was excruciating, dropping the Wildcats to 2-3 in the conference and 7-9 overall.

Both games were big — the women's providing an positive start to an evening in which new football coach Beau Baldwin and his family were introduced to a loud ovation.

And while the women host Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday night, the men must visit archrival Western Washington.

Central's women, 0-for-10 from 3-point range and down 24-23 at halftime, rode Mengarelli's scoring (12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half), ballhawking (three steals) and playmaking (two assists) to a their biggest win of the season.

The Wildcats, interestingly, would miss eight more treys before Zillah's Brandie Bounds connected with 4:00 to play. It gave Central a 49-48 lead it would never relinquish.

"That shot was huge," Mengarelli said. "The first half, it was crazy out there. We went to the basket more in the second half, got some baskets inside and got some fouls."

Though the Wildcats finished 1-for-21 from beyond the arc, they were 11 for 13 from the free throw line. Mengarelli nailed all four of her attempts.

"She's a pretty special player," coach Jeff Whitney said. "She can get to the rim almost at will, which we knew about, but she's also got a nice little pullup jumper."

Alaska Anchorage, which got 14 points and 10 rebounds from 6-2 sophomore Rebecca Kielpinski, slipped to 3-2 and 14-2.

"This," Whitney said, "was a very big win for us."