Women's Basketball | 12/31/2014 10:32:00 AM
ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Dec. 31) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team will return to Great Northwest Athletic Conference action this week as they make their yearly trip to the State of Alaska to take on Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage on Jan.1 and 3.
The Wildcats are coming off a three game non-conference stretch where they went 2-1 defeating Concordia University (Ore.) and Montana Tech, before losing to South Dakota Mines.
Central Washington enters this week tied for the GNAC lead with a 2-0 conference record, matching Alaska Anchorage who is 12-0 on the season and also 2-0 in Conference.
SCOUTING ALASKA ACHORAGE
Anchorage, who the Wildcats play on Jan. 3, is ranked third in the country and received one first place vote in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll. The Seawolves have opened their 2014-15 season in dominating fashion boasting a 12-0 record and are ranked 3rd in the USA Today Coaches poll receiving one first place vote. Alaska Anchorage has outscored its opponents by an average of 31.8 points per game with their closest contest coming against Yale, a NCAA Division I team, in a 72-63 win. The Seawolves have six players who average double-figures in points led by Jessica Madison at 13.4.
"Anchorage will be a huge challenge for us with their speed, athleticism and depth," Harada said about the Seawolves. "They have so many weapons who wear you down with the pace they play at. We have tremendous respect for them and what they have accomplished so far, but we believe in ourselves and are very confident that we can come in and compete with them."
The Seawolves are shooting 44.3 percent from the field and are outrebounding opponents by over 12 a game. Defensively they lead the nation with 203 steals, 16.9 a game. They are also holding their opponents to a 34.1 shooting percentage, 30.8 from behind the arc.
SCOUTING ALASKA
After winning their first five games to open the 2014-15 season the Nanooks have went 3-4 in their final seven and now sit with a 8-4 record on the season. After losing their first two GNAC games they defeated Pacific University (Ore.) and Texas A&M Kingsville in their last two contests. Jordan Wilson leads the Nanooks with 16.6 points per game and is second on the team with 6.2 rebounds per contests.
"Alaska is a good team who swept is last season," Harada said. "they put up a lot of points and have one o f the best scorers in the league in Jordan Wilson. It will be a good test for us to see if we can somehow slow them down offensively and not let them get into a good rhythm."
Although the Nanooks are shooting a respectable 40.4 percent from the field, their opponents are making 43.6 percent, which could work in the Wildcats favor. Alaska also ranks in the bottom three in the GNAC in rebounding margin an area that could also benefit the Wildcats.
CWU STATISTICAL LEADERSPoints Per Game Courtney Johnson -- 15.9 (6
th in GNAC)
Rebounds Per Game Courtney Johnson – 7.0 (7
th in GNAC)
Assists Per Game Jasmin Edwards – 3.6 (7
th in GNAC
Assist/Turnover Ratio Melanie Valdez – 2.6 (2
nd in GNAC)
Three Point Percentage Hannah Shine – 48.5 % (4
th in GNAC)
