Women's Basketball | 1/6/2016 11:08:00 AM

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Jan. 6) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team heads on the road for a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference games against Simon Fraser and Western Washington.
 
The Wildcats are coming off a tough week, as they dropped both of their games against Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's University.
 
"It's the small things that determined the outcome of the games; I hope we learned that," CWU Head Coach Jeff Harada acknowledged.  "It's going to take doing the little things right to win the big games."
 
The Clan enters the week with a 4-5 record, following their 88-66 win over Concordia (Ore.).  Simon Fraser fell to Western Oregon on New Years' Eve, 57-58. 
 
Elisa Homer leads the Clan in scoring, averaging 15 points per game.  Meg Wilson is averaging 16.5 points per game, but has only played in a pair of contests for SFU.  Rachel Fradgley has brought in 9.1 rebounds per game, nearly averaging a double-double with her 10.8 points per game.  Records indicate the Wildcats are 6-25 against SFU all-time.  CWU is 2-2 in the last four meetings between the two sides.
 
The Vikings have posted a strong start in the opening of the 2015-16 campaign.  They are 8-4 overall and 4-0 in GNAC play and are coming off a 61-59 victory against Western Oregon.  Western plays Northwest Nazarene on Thursday (Jan. 7) prior to making the journey to Ellensburg.
 
Taylor Peacocke leads a Vikings offense that averages 68.5 points per game.  Peacocke is averaging 14.9 points per game, while shooting just 36.8 percent from beyond the arc. Kayla Bernsen sits behind Peacocke, averaging 11.6 points per game.  Bernsen leads the Vikings rebounding efforts, pulling in 7.3 boards per game.
 
Against Western Washington, the Wildcats have gone 5-54.  The Wildcats have dropped the last 15 meetings.  Their last win came on January 5, 2008.  Central is 1-24 in the past 25 meetings dating back to 2004.
 
Central Washington enters the week with an 8-4 record with a 1-3 mark in the GNAC.  The Wildcats are the 14th scoring defense in the NCAA Division II, averaging 54.5 points per game.  Despite dropping both games last week, the Wildcats remain in the top 15 programs in Division II.  Central is also tied 18th in total blocks (60) and 14th in blocked shots per game (5.0).
 
Sophomore guard Jasmin Edwards is involved in 39% of the Wildcats' offensive production, 16% higher than any leading GNAC scorer.  Edwards has compiled 70 assists, 19th in NCAA Division II and is 13th overall in assists per game. Edwards is also second on CWU in scoring, averaging 11.0 points per game.
 
Coach Harada is utilizing a defense first mindset that is paying off.  The Wildcats are among the top 20 teams defensively in the country.  The Wildcats' bench has been a strong contributor this season with the likes of Mandy Steward, Rachel Lorentson, and company off the bench in recent games.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on both Thursday and Saturday night.