BILLINGS, Mont. (Feb. 23) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team closed the regular season with a 59-48 victory over Montana State University Billings.
 
The Wildcats are now 14-14 overall and 9-11 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  They have won six of their last seven.  The Yellowjackets fall to 8-18 overall and 5-13 in GNAC play.

"What a gritty team win for us tonight," CWU Head Coach Jeff Harada said.  "Needing to win four games to give ourselves a chance for the postseason, we responded to the challenge and I'm so proud of them for that."
 
Central Washington sits in seventh in the GNAC playoff push, but can still make the conference tournament if Simon Fraser and Western Washington defeat Alaska and Seattle Pacific defeats either Concordia or Western Oregon.  The above scenario in a myriad of options as the season's final week closes down. 
 
After the first 10 minutes of play the score remained level at 15-15 thanks to a late bucket by Kaelie Flores. 
 
Flores led the Wildcats with a career high 15 points.  She finished 6-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.  She also pulled in three rebounds and swatted three shots.

"Our bench came up big," Harada added.  "Kaelie and Qua'Shaya Hammon really gave us a spark.  Everyone contributed, not just tonight, but in each of the last four games.  Now we wait and see what happens over the weekend."
 
The Wildcats outscored Billings 15-9 in the second quarter, creating a 30-24 margin in favor of Central Washington.  The Yellowjackets cut the Wildcats' lead to 50-46 after 30 minutes, but Central's defense was staunch in the final quarter. 
 
The Wildcats held Billings to just two points in the final quarter.  The lone bucket for the Yellowjackets in the final period of play came with 8:30 remaining in regulation on a layup from Grace Weeks.
 
The Wildcats finished with a 40.4 shooting percentage from the field.  They tallied 38 rebounds, 15 of which were offensive.  Central nabbed 22 second chance points and only allowed six from the Yellowjackets.  The Wildcats also notched 26 points from the bench and held the Yellowjackets' reserves to just six.  Central tallied 36 points in the paint.  The Wildcats' defense held the Yellowjackets to just 21 conversions on 68 possessions. 

"It wasn't our best game offensively," Harada acknowledged.  "But we made shots when we needed to.  Their 1-2-2 zone forcd us into different looks but once we attacked it and stopped settling for jumpers we were much more successful."
 
Sarah McGee recorded eight points, five rebounds, three assists, and one block.  Jasmin Edwards finished with seven points, four assists, and two steals.  Sadie Mensing notched seven points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal. 

"I'm just happy for our team that we were able to finish the regular season strong," Harada noted.  Through all the injuries and a tough first half of league play, we were able to go 7-3 in the second hald and that speaks a lot to the character of this team.  I hope we have a chance to extend our season because I think we deserve it."
 
Central Washington's regular season has concluded and the Wildcats now wait, as the GNAC's final week concludes on Saturday, to determine if they have made the postseason.