Women's Basketball | 2/2/2017 10:36:00 AM

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Feb. 2) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team travels to Western Washington and Simon Fraser in a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchups.
 
 "Couple of really big games for us this week," CWU Head Coach Jeff Harada said.  "Two teams that can really put up a lot of points so we'll need to really step up our defensive effort.  I feel like our defense has gotten better the last few games which has allowed us to stay competitive."
 
In their last three games, the Wildcats have not allowed opponents to score 60 points.
 
Western Washington sits at 17-3 overall on the season and 11-1 in GNAC play.  The Vikings are riding an 11-game winning streak, the longest in program history since a 12-game streak in 2013 that ended with an Elite 8 appearance. 
 
Taylor Peacocke leads all of NCAA Division II with an average of 23.2 points per game.  She scored a career-high 41 points at Simon Fraser on Jan. 17.
 
"Slowing down Peacocke will be a priority," Harada noted. "Which I thought we did pretty well for three quarters the last time.  She got loose in the fourth quarter and kind of took over the game for them so we'll have to have a better effort for a full 40 minutes this time around.  We can't forget about Tia Briggs and Kiana Gandy either and can't allow all three of them to get their scoring averages."
 
Over the last five games Briggs is averaging 15.6 points per game.  Gandy is currently 15^th in the GNAC in scoring average.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. against Western Washington on Thursday (Feb. 2).  Live stats and video are available via wildcatsports.com.
 
Simon Fraser University is 19-3 on the season with a 10-2 mark in GNAC play.  The Clan have been in good form recently, picking up a pair of wins last week. 
 
The Clan's seniors led the Clan in scoring for six straight games prior to last Saturday, when Elisa Homer led the scoring parade.
 
Ellen Kett leads Simon Fraser in assists, dishing out 6.8 assists per game.  She is also second on the Clan in rebounding, averaging 4.8 a contest.
 
"Simon Fraser is a tough matchup because they have tremendous size all around and usually 3 or 4 players on the floor can all shoot the three.  Wilson and Kett do so much for them, but they have other players who will hurt you if you don't guard them.  We were tied at halftime the last time we played, but again one bad quarter allowed them to get a lead which we couldn't recover from."
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the West Gym in Burnaby.  Live video is available through the Clan's YouTube channel HERE, while live stats are available HERE.
 
"I think our players know we can play with these teams," Harada added.  "But it has to be a consistent and intelligent effort.  Poise under pressure is something our young team is learning and I'm excited to see how we respond this week."