Women's Basketball | 2/19/2015 11:12:00 AM

ELLENSBURG, Wash (Feb. 19) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team is gearing up for the home stretch as the team prepares for the final home conference game of the 2014-15 season as well as saying farewell to its seniors this Saturday when Northwest Nazarene University travels to Nicholson Pavilion.
 
The game versus NNU is the first of a double-header that is set to tip at 5:15 p.m.
 
"With it being Senior night as well as our Pink night, this is a really big game in so many ways," Head coach Jeff Harada explained. "We've been talking all week about what this game means to us as a team and what kind of legacy this team and the three seniors want to leave.  Being the first team in the history of the program to get to the conference tournament is something nobody can ever take away from them."
 
The Wildcats currently sit in fifth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The top six teams are rewarded with a playoff berth and CWU has never made the postseason since its inception in 2011.
 
Senior Courtney Johnson will look to get the Wildcats out of their four-game losing streak. Last week versus Seattle Pacific University, the forward scored her 1,000-point in a double-overtime loss. She currently leads the Wildcats in scoring (13.1 ppg) and is second on the team in rebounding (5.6).
 
Junior Jasmine Parker has been on a tear of late. In her past five games, Parker is averaging 13.4 points per game while snatching 10 rebounds per game and shooting a stellar 46.5 percent from the floor. Last game, Parker tied the CWU all-time blocks leader Laura White at 149 blocks. With one more block she will own the all-time blocks record with her final season remaining.
 
Junior guard Taylor Simmons leads the Crusader attack. She averages 13.8 points per game, which is good enough for ninth in the conference. Simmons ranks fifth in the GNAC in assists dishing out 4.1 assists per game. Her running mate, freshman forward Ellie Logan is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game.
 
"Simmons has been solid all year long and Logan is really playing well of late so it'll be a tough, competitive game and we are definitely looking forward to the challenge," Harada said.
 
 The last time these two teams met the Crusaders turned the Wildcats over 31 times. The NNU defense is second in the GNAC averaging 10 steals a game.
 
 "We know what is at stake and I believe we are motivated and excited to play against a tough NNU team," Harada added. "We were missing a couple of players the last time we played them so having them back healthy hopefully gives us a lift on Saturday."