Well that settles that. If there was any question as to whether Central Washington is the strongest DI women’s college in the Pacific Northwest, then it was answered last weekend. Washington State, the reigning Pacific Mountain North champion, traveled to Ellensburg for the teams’ first official meeting and returned to Pullman with a 41-5 loss.

The scoring began eight minutes in, when Britt Zier dotted down the first of her two tries. Asinate Serevi, the team’s leading try-scorer, grounded her 11^th five-pointer of the season, while Mele Halahuni scored her seventh (stats exclude WSU pre-season game and include Oregon 7s qualifier).

Jennifer Johnson added two tries in the second half, while wing Ashley Rolsma – hero of the Quinnipiac come-from-behind game – touched down her eighth try of the season. Kat Long, who shares kicking duties with Cassidy Meyers, knocked over three conversions – 13 on the season – for the 41-5 win.

“We were happy with our performance last weekend and are looking forward to continuously improve,” Central Washington coach Mel Denham said. “Washington State is a well coached team with a lot of athleticism, and were relentless in their pressure for the entire 80 minutes. They have some great runners, who, led by Anne Petersen, were an attacking threat to our defensive line.”

The Wildcats are 3-0 in league, outscoring opponents 197-5. CWU’s final test of the fall comes against Oregon this Saturday, but expect the team to enter winter break atop the standings. The PMC North plays a home-and-away schedule – half in the fall, half in the spring, generally – so Central Washington still has four more games to go before it can start thinking post-season.

“With the hard work that the team has put in and the commitment they have demonstrated, I am not surprised that we have seen early success,” Denham said. “Our focus has been on development and growth. This winter we will continue to build and improve during the second half of our league season.  I am looking forward to see where that will take us come spring.”