Women's Basketball | 3/1/2017 5:00:00 PM

LACEY, Wash. (Mar. 1) – For the third straight year under head coach Jeff Harada, the Central Washington University women's basketball team is in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference postseason. 
 
After a rough 2-8 start to conference play, the Wildcats bounced back in the second half.  They boasted a 7-3 record in the final 10 games of the season, including winning six of their last seven contests, and four straight to close out the regular season.  Two of their wins in the final stretch came in overtime, including their Senior Night win where lone senior Kortney Grattic drained a three to tie the game with just seconds remaining.
 
"Well, we had to do it to get in," Harada said of his team's second half play.  "That was the goal and message of the team.  You know, sitting at 2-8 after the first 10 games wasn't where we wanted to be.  People started writing us off at that point.  We met as a team and made it a goal to go 7-3 at worst.  We wanted to put ourselves in a position to play in the tournament and see what happened."
 
With a little help from Seattle Pacific University and Western Washington, the Wildcats qualified for the postseason.
 
As the number six seed, Central Washington is set to play Simon Fraser University on Thursday (Mar. 2).
 
The Clan were ranked as high as No. 20 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Poll during the 2016-17 campaign.  Currently, Simon Fraser is receiving votes in the poll as of February 28.  The Clan finished the regular season with a 24-6 record overall and 15-5 in GNAC play.
 
The first meeting between Central Washington and Simon Fraser did not go well for the Wildcats.  The Clan took home a 77-60 victory, in which Rachel Fradgley and Ellen Kett scored 20 and 19 points respectively.  Simon Fraser shot 60 percent from the field and scored 46 points in the paint.
 
Taylor Baird and Jasmin Edwards, who just received GNAC Second Team All-Conference honors, led the Wildcats in the first meeting.  Baird notched 17 points, while Edwards pitched in 15.  Central shot 44.9 percent from the field, but was just 4-for-16 from beyond the arc.
 
In the second regular season meeting between Simon Fraser and Central Washington, the Wildcats came out on top in overtime, after Sadie Mensing hit a three with four seconds remaining in regulation.  The Wildcats hit shots when they needed to, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 54 percent from beyond the arc.
 
"Different players stepping up at different times, in big moments for us," Harada added.  "Kortney and Rachel hit big shots on Senior Night, Sadie hit a big three in Burnaby, you can look at how Kaelie stepped up late this season.  You know, it wasn't just one player stepping up for us during this streak.  That's the beauty of it.  It's been a lot of contributions from everyone.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for noon on Thursday (Mar. 2) at Marcus Pavilion.  Live stats and video are available via wildcatsports.com.