TURLOCK — The Cal State Stanislaus women's basketball team opened the 2008-09 campaign flying high, jumping out to early leads and held on to beat Central Washington, 76-75, Saturday night at Warrior Arena.

The game was the feature match-up of the Eva Schicke Memorial Classic presented by Stanislaus Farm Supply. Cal State Dominguez Hills defeated Northwest Nazarene 72-64 in the opener earlier in the evening.

Against Central Washington (1-3), the Warriors (1-0) jumped out to a nine-point lead at 11-2 and led by as many as 14 points in the second half but had to hold on for the win. CWU's Stephanie Wenke had a chance to win the game for the Wildcats with seconds remaining. Coming out of a timeout with six ticks left to play, Wenke drove the length of the court and had an open lane for a lay-up but her attempt fell short.

"I almost had a few heart attacks tonight. I definitely got a few more grey hairs," Stanislaus head coach Sharon Turner-Dean said. "We got up and changed our game and let them back in the game. Give (CWU) credit for comeback. We knew they were capable of doing that like they did against Pomona."

Two-time All-CCAA pick Gwendolyn Page was back to her old-scoring form, knocking down 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting to lead Cal State Stanislaus. She had 14 of her points in the second half when it mattered the most as CWU mounded the comeback.

Sophomore Katie Busi had 13 points and eight rebounds plus two assists, two blocks and a steal for a sold all-around game. Freshman Samantha Bertomen, a Turlock High standout, made her debut a splash finishing with 12 points. Bertomen scored 11 of her points in the first half, 5-for-6 from the field. Christin Gowan had nine points.

Wenke and Shaina Afoa each had 16 points to lead Central Washington.

Cal State Stanislaus scored the game's first six points and had an 11-2 lead three and a half minutes into the contest. The Warriors connected on their first four shots and Bertomen came off the bench to hit her first two attempts for five quick points to give Stanislaus a 11-2 lead at 16:34.

After CWU pulled within one halfway through the first half, Stanislaus used a 12-2 run that include three more Bertomen baskets for a 26-15 lead at 4:52.

The Warriors would lead by 14 halfway through the second half only to see the Wildcats tie it at 68-68 with 3:20 to play. Page gave CSUS a four-point, 76-72 lead with a three-point play at 1:30 remaining, but CWU's Afoa scored three unanswer points to pull the visitors within one — and set up the game's final play.

Central Washington shot 55.6 percent from the field and outscored the Warriors 50-42 in the second half to make its comeback run.

The tournament continues tomorrow with a single game at 1:30 p.m. between Central Washington and Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Warriors will play Northwest Nazarene on Monday at 1:30 p.m.

Cal State Dominguez Hills 72, Northwest Nazarene 64
Ennisha Kyles had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead the Toros over the Crusaders. NNU led by 10 at the break but was held to 20 points (and just 33.3 percent shooting) in the second half. Brittney Roggenkamp had 21 points to lead NNU.

Brittney Blankenship had 16 points and Neka Mixo added 15 for the Toros.

Box Score (CSUS vs. CWU)
Box Score (CSUDH vs. NNU)