ELLENSBURG, WA (Feb. 24) – The Central Washington University Men's and Women's basketball teams will kick off two double headers this weekend, starting on Thursday night at 5:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. In support of CWU Women's Basketball and the survivors of breast cancer, please come to the "Pink Zone" game wearing the color pink. A raffle will also be held, and all of the funds raised will be going to support breast cancer treatment though the Kittitas Valley Hospital Foundation.  For the men's game that follows, the Palace Café and Shirtworks will be giving out 500 Blackout t-shirts to the crowd. In support of the men's game, please also come to the "Black Out" game wearing the color black.
 
Saturday night will bring more competition for Wildcat basketball, starting with the women's team going up against Saint Martin's at 5:15 p.m. The men's team will follow, taking on Montana State Billings at 7:30 p.m.
 
Coming off of a fourth-straight loss, the CWU men's team will need to win both the Seattle Pacific game, as well as the Montana State Billings contest on Saturday for a chance to compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament. The Wildcat men will now shift their focus to the SPU and MSUB games and try to fix some mistakes that happened this past weekend.
 
"We have had a tough stretch of games where, at times, we looked fantastic and at other times we forgot our game plan and allowed our opposition the chance to beat us." Men's head coach Greg Sparling said. "We have put ourselves in a position were we have to win, and get some additional help to ensure our season continues beyond this weekend."


 
The women's team is looking forward to their competition this weekend and knows they need to improve on just a few things to bring home that win.
 
"It's been awhile since we have played these two teams, we played them before Christmas and I know that both of them have changed," Head Coach Shawn Nelson said. "Saint Martin's is right in the hunt for that last spot and I think they pretty much have that wrapped up and Western Oregon has been playing everyone pretty tough. I think that in order for us to win, we have to continue to improve on our defense, which I think our defense has been pretty good the past couple of games, and then we have to find a way to manufacture points and score points. We have been pretty inconsistent offensively, and with Jessica out, our leading scorer, we need to try and find people to step up."


 
 
McLaughlin Still On Top
 
Senior MARK MCLAUGHLIN will enter the SPU game as the NCAA Division II leading scorer at 27.1 points per game. McLaughlin has consistently scored 25 or more points per game on 14 different occasions and has eclipsed the 40-point plateau three times, still above the previous school record.
 
In two years, McLaughlin has made an impact on the CWU and GNAC record books.  He was the fastest player in school and conference history to reach 1,000 total points and ranks first in CWU history with a career scoring average of 24.7 points.  Earlier this season he became just the second GNAC player to record back-to-back 40-point games as he dropped 43 against Western Washington followed by a 40-point performance against Simon Fraser.  
 
KEVIN DAVIS Surpasses the Record
 
KEVIN DAVIS is now the all-time leader in blocked shots with 138 in the CWU record books. Davis is now averaging 2.3 blocks per game, which is the best average in Central's history.
 
He has recorded at least one block in all but two games this season, and has had three or more blocks nine times.
 
JESSICA VANDYKE Ends a Record Breaking Career
 
JESSICA VANDYKE has ended her basketball career at CWU this week, after injuring her knee in a game against Seattle Pacific University just two weeks ago. VanDyke will leave behind quite the legacy at Central, breaking the school record for 3-pointers made (174). She has also been recognized for her scholastic excellence during her time as a Wildcat, receiving Academic All-Honors in 2013 and keeping up a 3.95 GPA throughout.
 
Saturday night will also be an emotional night for the seniors on the women's basketball team, as they say goodbye to fellow teammates; DAISY BURKE, AMBER MOSER, ALLY SCHMITT, and VanDyke. Burke and Moser have put in four years as Wildcats, Schmitt for two years. All of these women will be honored during Saturday night's game, at 5:15 p.m.
 
 
Men's Game against Western Washington University
 
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Feb. 22) -- The Central Washington University men's basketball team tied its game with Western Washington University up at 91-91 with 2.6 seconds left on a shot by JB Pillard (Juanita HS), but WWU guard Richard Woodworth would end the Wildcats hopes of an upset as he sank a half court shot as the buzzer sounded to defeat CWU 94-91 Saturday night in Bellingham.
 
The heartbreaking loss dropped the Wildcats to 11-13 on the season and 7-9 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
Pillard had arguably his best game as a Wildcat scoring 27 points, making 12 of his 16 shots while hauling down seven rebounds and blocking four shots.  MARK MCLAUGHLIN (Inglemoor HS) also left his mark on the contest scoring 32 points with seven rebounds.
 
Hidden in all the drama of this game was the fact that KEVIN DAVIS (Todd Beamer HS) became the official leader in all-time career blocks in CWU history as he recorded two swats to up his total to 138.
 
In a fast paced first half, the Wildcats held their own matching the Vikings point for point for the majority of the stanza.  At the 7:26 mark the Vikings went on a run that ended with the home team earning a nine-point advantage.  CWU battled back, and sharp free throw shooting was the answer.  The Wildcats were 13-of-14 from the charity stripe, and also shot the ball decently well making 44.1 percent of their shots.
 
The Vikings were able to take a 48-43 halftime advantage as they shot 58.8 percent from the field and connected on five three-pointers, while the Wildcats had no treys in the period.
 
Central Washington came out sharp in the second half and took a 53-52 lead on free throw by KEVIN DAVIS.  The teams traded leads on a number of occasions in the second half, but the Vikings went on a 6-0 run and led 74-70 with 7:13 left in the contest.
 
Central led 89-88 with 16 seconds remaining and WWU guard Richard Woodworth would make a layup and got fouled on the play.  He made the free throw to take a 91-89 lead over Central.
 
CWU answered by tying the game up on a layup by Pillard to tie the game up with just 2.6 seconds left.  WWU guard took the inbound pass and raced to half court, and with a hand in his face he launched a mid-court shot that hit the bottom of the cup with no time remaining to give the Vikings a 94-91 win.
 
Western was led by Austin Bragg who scored 32 points on 14 of 18 shooting, and Woodworth who cored 20 points, most notably the half court heave to win the game.
 
The Wildcats will their final two regular season games of the season next week as they host Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings next Thursday and Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the women's team.
 
 
Women's Game against Northwest Nazarene
 
NAMPA, Idaho (Feb. 22) -- The Central Washington University women's basketball team help a manageable lead for the majority of the second-half, but a late rally by Norhwest Nazarene was enough to upend the Wildcats 55-53 Saturday night.
 
Central Washington started off their night against Northwest Nazarene with a bang, going on a 9-0 run for the first four minutes of the game. The Wildcats kept the Crusaders down for the first 10 minutes until a jumper by Chelsie Luke kicked off a scoring streak for NNU. CWU managed to stop that streak with two great 3-point shots by COURTNEY JOHNSON and ERIKA LOCKER with one-minute left to go in the half. By half-time the score was 21-24, with Central still in the lead.
 
The second half was touch and go for the Wildcats, with NNU slowing creeping up about five minutes in and eventually tying the Wildcats at 37-37 with 12:00 left. HANNAH SHINE came in and saved the day draining two 3-point shots within 25 seconds of each other. Luke gave them a run for their money again in the second-half, making several shots to tie the game up again. The last two minutes of the game were an agonizing dual between the two teams, keeping the game as close as two points from one another. NNU was able to come out ahead however, making a final two points to put them ahead, 55-53.
 
Johnson and JASMINE PARKER lead the 'Cats in scoring on the night, putting up 12 and 11 points respectively. ALLY SCHMITT finished the game with a total of eight rebound and six assists. Not far behind her was Johnson with 6 rebounds and 3 steals and Parker with 9 rebounds total. The Wildcats went 20 of 55 in the field tonight, improving from last weekend's game ( 21 of 72).
 
The Wildcats will play the first game of a men's and women's double header on Thursday night against Western Oregon University at 5:15 p.m. in Nicholson Pavilion.