Women's Basketball | 1/24/2018 3:40:00 PM

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Jan. 24) – The Central Washington University women's basketball team opens the second half of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on the road against Concordia (Ore.) and Western Oregon.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday at 7:00 p.m. | (A) Concordia (Ore.) | Live Stats/Video
Saturday at 7:00 p.m. | (A) Western Oregon  | Live Stats/Video
 
SCOUTING CONCORDIA (Ore.)
The Cavaliers have lost three straight games in conference play, including their last outing a 69-61 loss to Montana State Billings.
 
Danielle Hartzog led the Cavs' offense with 25 points, eclipsing her season average of 16.4.  She has scored double-digit points in all but one game this season.  Against the Wildcats earlier this season she scored 22 points and added seven assists.  She has scored a team high in points seven times this year, one more than Bailey Cartwright.
 
The last time out against Concordia capture a 93-89 victory.  The fourth quarter was a shootout, with both teams scoring over 30 points.  It was the highest scoring game of the season for both Concordia and Central Washington.  Each side finished with four players with 10 or more points.  The Cavaliers nearly doubled their average three-point output, knocking down eight treys.
 
The Cavaliers sit at 5-5 in the conference, in the final playoff spot, just one game behind the Wildcats (6-4).  They are averaging 69.83 points per game and are outrebounding their opponents 42-36.  The Cavs are shooting just 38.9 percent from the floor, while knocking down five threes a game.
 
Beside Hartzog, Cartwright (13.2) and Kizzah Maltezo (10.8) round out the top three in scoring.  Cartwright averages a double-double, adding 10.4 rebounds per outing.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN OREGON
The Wolves have won three of their last five contests, righting the ship, after a six-game losing streak.  Their wins over Western Washington, Alaska, Fairbanks, and Concordia have all come in 2018.
 
In two of their last five games, however, the Wolves have shot below 30 percent from the field.  In a 54-50 win over Western Washington, the Wolves connected on just 17 shots and a shooting percentage of 29.8.  The difference, in that contest, was the Wolves' ability to make free throws.  A mark of 16-for-17 at the charity stripe elevated the Wolves over the Vikings. 
 
Their performance at the charity stripe in 2018 is remarkably different from their efforts at the charity stripe during the six-game skid.  The Wolves failed to reach 80 percent success on free throws in all six of the losses during the skid, including a 7-for-13 mark against Simon Fraser.  Cumulatively, however, the Wolves have converted on 80.1 percent of their free throws.
 
Within their losses this season, Western Oregon has failed to score 70 points in each.
 
In their last outing, a 65-56 loss to Billings, the Wolves struggled from the floor.  They finished 17-for-65, a clip of just 26.2 percent.
 
In the first meeting between Western Oregon and Central Washington, the Wolves fell 72-65.  Savannah Heugly scored 21 points, while Kennedy Corrigan added 19.
 
THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats swept Simon Fraser and Western Washington last week, the first time in program history.  It was also the first time the Wildcats defeated the Vikings in Nicholson Pavilion since 2002.
 
 The Wildcats took advantage of a short-handed Simon Fraser team that finished the game with six active players. Central Washington enforced its presence in the paint, outscoring the Clan 42-28 down low.

The team's three leading scorers combined for 49 points in CWU's win over Western Washington. Sadie Mensing posted 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting while Baird supplied 17 points and eight rebounds. Along with six assists, Edwards managed 14 points in 38 minutes.

Central Washington is averaging 71.4 points per game and leads the GNAC with 3.8 blocked shots per game. Sophomore forward Kaelie Flores is second in the GNAC with 1.4 blocked shots per game.
 
At 6-4 in the GNAC, the Wildcats are currently in fifth.