ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Feb. 14) – Central Washington University women's basketball heads on the road for the penultimate week of the regular season.  The Wildcats take on Western Washington and Simon Fraser University.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday at 5:15 p.m. at Western Washington | Live Stats / Video
Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at Simon Fraser | Live Stats / Video
 
TABLE TALK
Three teams have already punched their ticket to the GNAC Championship.  The University of Alaska Anchorage, Northwest Nazarene, and Seattle Pacific University are locked in, currently as the top three seeds respectively.
 
The Wildcats are 10-6 in GNAC play, tied for fourth with Montana State Billings.  Western Washington and Concordia are also inside the playoff bubble at 7-9 and 7-10 respectively.
 
Simon Fraser and Western Oregon both have an outside chance at making the tournament, at 6-10 and 6-11 respectively, but both will need a strong showing in the next two weeks and help from above.
 
With just four games remaining in the regular season for Central Washington, an 11-win conference season would provide immense safety to the Wildcats' playoff endeavors.  Western Oregon and Concordia have just three games remaining after playing Tuesday, giving the Wildcats a game in-hand until after Saturday's contest against Simon Fraser.
 
In their last four games, the Wildcats play six-seeded Western Washington, eight-seeded Simon Fraser, winless Alaska, and top-seeded Anchorage.   
 
SCOUTING WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Vikings are 11-13 overall and 7-9 in GNAC play.  At home, they have compiled a 7-3 record in GNAC play. 
 
The Vikings have won four of their last five games, losing only to Seattle Pacific in their last outing.  In five of the last six games, the Vikings have held opponents to a shooting percentage of 35 or less from the field.  The Vikings' opponent field goal percentage sits atop the GNAC leaderboard at 37.8.
 
Hannah Stipanovich leads the Vikings in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game.  Gracie Castaneda is the only other player averaging double digits (10.6).  Stipanovich is also shooting 48.3 percent from the floor.  Anna Schwecke leads the rebounding, hauling in 7.1 boards a game, while Stipanovich (7.0) is close behind.
 
The Wildcats picked up a 77-73 win over the Vikings the last time the two sides met.  The Wildcats were led in scoring by junior Sadie Mensing. Mensing scored a game-high 18 points, with six points coming in the fourth quarter. The Snohomish, Wash. native also dished out four assists in the game.   It is the first time the Wildcats have won at home against Western Washington since 2002.  It is also the first time the program has swept Simon Fraser and Western Washington in the same week.
 
SCOUTING SIMON FRASER
The Clan are 11-13 on the season and hold a conference mark of 6-10.  At home, the Clan are just a game above .500 at 5-4.
 
Last week the Clan fell to Seattle Pacific before taking home a victory in Lacey, Washington against Saint Martin's.
 
The Wildcats picked up a 77-71 win over the Clan in Ellensburg.  Rachel Lorentson led the Wildcats with 14 points, alongside her shooting percent of 66.6 percent, and led Central with nine rebounds.  Alexis Pana (13), Kaelie Flores (12), and Taylor Baird (11) also scored in double digits.  Beverly Verduin and Jasmin Edwards each picked up six assists.  Overall, Central recorded 27 rebounds, 23 assists, and 10 steals.  Every Wildcat player who took at least one shot scored.  The Wildcats scored 42 points in the paint, 21 points off of turnovers, and the bench contributed 31 points.
 
Sophie Swant leads the Clan in scoring, averaging 41.1 points per game.  Nicole VanderHelm (12.1) and Tayla Jackson (11.8) also average double digit scoring efforts.  Leading the rebounding for the Clan is Swant, hauling in 5.8 rebounds per game.  The Clan average 68.5 points per game and shoot 38.7 percent from the field, collectively.
 
REGIONAL UPDATE
The Wildcats sit in 10^th in the west region according to the NCAA's poll released today.  Central Washington had been ranked as high as No. 6 in the D2SIDA West Region Media Poll throughout the season.
 
NATIONAL STAT UPDATES
Jasmin Edwards ranks 48^th in the DII in assists per game (4.7), 37^th in assists (113), 28^th in minutes played (850), and 31^st in minutes played per game (35.42).  Both Edwards (1.69) and Alexis Pana (1.62) rank in the top 100 players in assists to turnover ratio.  Kaelie Flores (31) ranks 99^th in blocks.
 
The Wildcats rank 80^th in field goal percentage (42.1) and 83^rd in scoring offense (71.1).  They also rank in the top 80 in assist to turnover ratio (72^nd; 0.94), assists (71^st; 352), assists per game (79^th; 14.7), blocked shots (66^th; 92), and blocked shots per game (74^th; 3.8).  The NCAA DII team rankings are calculated with a base of 301 schools ranked.