ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team heads to Belmont, California to face Notre Dame de Namur and the Academy of Art University over the weekend.
Notre Dame de Namur is 0-3 on the season after falling in its first three games to Chico State (45-56), Sonoma State (53-65), and San Francisco State (63-67).
The Argonauts are outrebounding opponents, on average, 37-31, but are being out scored 53-62 on the season.
"The Argonauts have a new coach in Sheila Adams and I think the system will be pretty similar as she was an assistant under former head coach Angela Kristensen," CWU Head Coach
Jeff Harada said. "It is a true road game for us, playing in their gym, and it will be a big tough for us. We need to go in focus and do what we do, stay disciplined defensively."
Kirsten Liana leads the Argos with 9.3 points per game, followed closely by Aaliyah Monroe who averages nine points per game. Liana is NDNU's leading rebounder with 7.3 rebounds per game and leads in assists with 12.
The Wildcats are 1-1 historically against NDNU. The two teams last played each other in 2010, where the Argonauts took home a 67-55 victory.
The Academy of Art University is 2-3 on the season. The Urban Knights' two wins have come against Simon Fraser University (71-66) and Montana State Billings (69-67), a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference Schools.
Central Washington is 0-1 all-time against ARTU. The two teams faced off in November 2012 in Nampa, Idaho. The Urban Knights pulled out a 64-73 victory.
Jasmin Guinn leads ARTU with 19.6 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game. Guinn was named the PacWest Player of the Week on Monday (Nov. 16) after averaging 28 points, and shooting 64 percent from the field, in two games against Simon Fraser and Montana State Billings.
"She is an explosive scorer," Harada said regarding ARTU's leading scorer Guinn. "She puts up a lot of points, and is a volume shooter. They are a high scoring team and it will be a challenge for us to step up. Obviously Guinn is a tough player, but they have a lot of players that can hurt you. They are a battle-hardened team with seven seniors. It will be a tough test for us to see where we are defensively."
Zoie Sheng and Regina Camera follow behind Guinn in scoring, with 16.2 and 15.2 points per game respectively. Sheng also averages 4.6 rebounds per game.
The Urban Knights have a rebounding margin of -10 thus far in 2015. Defensively, ARTU is averaging 7.6 steals per game. The Urban Knights are being outscored, on average, 77-72 on the season.
Central Washington opened its season 2-0 with victories over San Francisco State and Hawaii Pacific University.
The Wildcats allowed just 39 points against SFSU, the third time under Harada the Wildcats have allowed less than 40 points.
In the victory, CWU held the Gators to a 4-for-33 effort from the field in the first half. Central came away with 54 rebounds, exceeding last season's single-game high of 52 boards against Alaska. It was the ninth highest single-game total in CWU history.
The Wildcats also dropped Hawaii Pacific, 51-49, outscoring the Sharks 6-5 in the final quarter.
"I was pleased with how we find a way to win down the stretch against Hawaii Pacific," Harada said of the Wildcats' victory over his old team. "We were able to win the fourth quarter. It's our mantra to win the fourth quarter and we found ways to dig deep and make stops late in the game. It is something that I hope will benefit us down the stretch."
Jasmine Parker leads the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game. She also leads Central's rebounding effort, pulling down nine boards per game.
Alexis Berrysmith continues to excel for the Wildcats. She is averaging 7.5 points per game and is registering 5.5 rebounds per game. Berrysmith currently leads CWU with six blocks.
Jasmin Edwards has dished out 18 assists, averaging nine per game.
"I talked to her [Edwards] the other day and told her I was not worried about her shooting percentage, Harada added. "She is taking some tough shots and I know it will improve. Right now she has found other ways to impact the game." Rachel Lorentson has been the Wildcats' most prolific three-point shooter. She is 3-for-7 from beyond the arc and 5-for-10 overall.
"It is always important to win region games, especially against good teams," Harada acknowledged. "Anytime you can go in and get regional wins it is only going to help you. We need to pick up these wins. Late in the season, these wins are going to get you an at-large bid."
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday against Notre Dame de Namur and 1 p.m. on Saturday against Academy of Art.
