Women's Basketball | 11/10/2016 10:37:00 AM

ELLENSBURG, Wash.- The Central Washington University women's basketball team travels to Portland, Ore. this week to face Stanislaus State (Nov. 11) and California State Monterey Bay (Nov. 12). Tipoff against Stanislaus State is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
 
"We are definitely looking forward to some competitive games this weekend," CWU Head Coach Jeff Harada said.  "We don't know much about them, but we do know they are both tough, well coached teams who will pose different challenges for us."
 
The Stanislaus State Warriors went 0-2 in their two exhibition games this preseason, falling to UC Davis (47-84) and Nevada (77-91). The Warriors are coming off the most successful season since Wayman Strickland was hired as head coach in 2012. Stanislaus State lost only two seniors from their team that finished last season 16-11. With a 12-8 conference record, the Warriors placed fourth in the CCAA, earning themselves a spot in the conference tournament for the first time since 2011. The Warriors also hosted a postseason game at Fitzpatrick Arena for the first time since 1991.
 
"Stanislaus has four returning starters and finished in 4^th place in their league last year," Harada said about the Warriors.  "They are very athletic and will put a lot of pressure on us defensively.  They also have some very good shooters and scorers who can put up a lot of points so we'll definitely have our hands full on both ends."
 
The Cal State Monterey Bay Otters enters its matchup with the Wildcats after finishing 9-18 a season ago. The Otters return senior forward McKenna Hill to lead this year's campaign. Hill was named to the All-CCAA honorable mention team for her performance in the 2015-16 season. Hill ended her third season in Monterey by averaging a team–best 12.0 points per game, good for No. 15 among conference scorers. Her 148 rebounds (5.5 rpg) and 57 assists (2.1 apg) also earned her spots on the CCAA Top 20 lists.
 
""Monterey Bay also has some players who can fill up the stat sheet and as a team don't give up a lot points," Harada said about CSUSB.  "We've had some common opponents that they beat last year so they'll be ready for us as well."
 
The Wildcats are coming off a 75-44 win in an exhibition game against Pacific Lutheran University on Nov. 4 in Ellensburg, Wash. Jasmin Edwards led the Wildcats offense with 10 points, 9 assists and 2 steals. Taylor Bird added 10 rebounds and also put up 6 points.
 
Under the direction of third-year head coach Jeff Harada, the Wildcats will look to improve on their 17-12 record from last season. Central finished their 2016 campaign tied with Northwest Nazarene for fifth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.
 
The Wildcats were picked to finish seventh in the GNAC preseason poll. Highlighting the list of returners for CWU is junior guard Jasmine Edwards. Edwards was selected to the 2016-17 Preseason All-Conference team and led the Wildcats in points (337), assists (153) and steals (46) last season.
 
Central is also excited about the addition of a pair of Division I transfers from Southern Utah. Taylor Baird, a 6-foot-2 forward, tallied 114 rebounds for the Thunderbirds, which was third on the team. Junior guard Sarah McGee played in 23 games and started one at SUU.
 
Check back to WildcatSports.com on Friday and Saturday for game recaps and statistics.