ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University women's basketball is back on its home floor for the second and final time in January this Saturday (tomorrow). The Wildcats host their neighbors to the north in Simon Fraser University (B.C.).
 
GAME INFORMATION
vs. Simon Fraser (B.C.)
Saturday, Jan. 18
5:00 p.m. PT
Nicholson Pavilion
Ellensburg, Wash.
 
QUOTABLE
"Simon [Fraser] is a good team who can really hurt you from deep. Our team has to focus on recovering and mentally being focused on preparing as best as we can with one day's prep," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "How well we can execute on the defensive end will determine tomorrow night's outcome."
 
SCOUTING SIMON FRASER | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2019-20 STATS
The Simon Fraser Clan come into the Saturday showdown with a 10-7 overall record and are 5-2 in conference action. SFU had its four-game winning streak snapped on Thursday in a close 85-84 loss to Northwest Nazarene.
 
SFU enters Saturday's contest with the fourth highest scoring offense in the GNAC. They average 70.9 points per game on 41.3% shooting. In terms of three-point shooting, SFU is hitting a 31.3 shooting percentage.
 
Defensively, SFU is on the bottom end of the GNAC in points allowed. Opponents score an average of 68.8 points per game against the Clan and shoot an average 41.3% from the field overall and 31.2% from beyond the arc.
 
Jessica Jones is the top scorer for SFU and is the second leading scorer in the GNAC going into the weekend. She averages 18.1 points per game on 42.9% shooting from the floor overall. Jones also shoots 36.8% from deep to lead SFU.
 
Tayler Drynan is the team's second leading scorer and is the only other player averaging double figure points. She scores 11.8 points per game and also facilitates the offense as leader in assists. She dishes out 4.3 assists per game to rank fourth in the conference.
 
Drynan, along with Kendal Sands, are in the top-10 in free throw percentage in the GNAC. Sands is fourth at 84.9%, while Drynan is eighth at 78.5%. Ozioma Nwabuko is the leading rebounder at 6.6 boards per game and is tied for seventh in the GNAC with her average.
 
Nwabuko is also the team's top overall percentage shooter. She is shooting 50% from the floor in 17 games this season on 65-130 made buckets. Nwabuko and Jones are also the top ball stealers for SFU as both average 1.5 per game.
 
SFU has played a number of close games this year. Of the team's 17 games this season, 13 have been decided by 10 or less points. Following Thursday's loss, the Clan is now 7-6 this season in those games.
 
GNAC STAT LEADERS (As of Jan. 17)
Following Thursday night's win, CWU currently sits sixth in the GNAC in scoring offense with an average of 68.3 points per game. The Crimson and Black have the second-best field goal percentage at 44.4% and are the top three-point percentage team in the GNAC at 34.7%.
 
Defensively, the Wildcats currently rank fourth in scoring as opponents are averaging 63.0 points per game against then. Percentage wise, CWU holds its opposition to 38.3% shooting which ranks third in the conference. Opponents shoot just 29.1% from deep, which is fifth in the GNAC.
 
CWU now ranks second in the conference in free throw percentage at 75.5%. The team is just .1% back from the top spot which is now held by Seattle Pacific. The Wildcats are currently fifth in rebounding in the GNAC with an average of 38.6 boards per contest. They are also tied for first in blocks averaging 4.9 per game.
 
Alexis Pana and Kaelie Flores continue to rank in the top-10 in the GNAC in scoring. Pana is seventh averaging 14.4 points per game, whole Flores is 10th with 13.1 points per game. Samantha Bowman and Taylor Shaw are in the top-20 at 12.0 points (14th) and 11.1 points per game (19th), respectively.
 
Bowman is the fifth highest rebounder in the GNAC a 7.9 boards per game. Flores is right behind her at 7.1 rebounds per game. The duo is also top-10 in field goal percentage. Bowman is second at 57.4%, while Flores is ninth at 50.7%.
 
Pana is still the conference leader in assists. The senior is averaging 4.8 in 13 games played and has tallied 63 this season. She is also tied for seventh in the GNAC in steals averaging 1.8 per game.
 
Flores, Bowman and Pana all still sit in the top-10 in free throw percentage. Flores is now second at 87.0%. Bowman and Pana are sixth and seventh at 82.6% and 80.5%, respectively. All three are top-10 in blocks as well. Flores is second at 1.7 per game, with Bowman behind her at third at 1.4. Pana is fifth at 1.2.
 
Shaw now ranks second in the GNAC in three-point shooting. She is 30-69 from deep for 43.5% through 15 games played. Shaw's 2.0 made triples per game is fourth in the GNAC. Pana is eighth in triples made at 1.8 per game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Central Washington University women's basketball picked up its third straight win against in-state rival Western Washington with a 72-62 win at home Thursday night inside Nicholson Pavilion. The win pushed the Wildcats' record to 9-6 overall and 4-3 in the GNAC.
 
Pacing the Wildcats to their second-straight win and ninth overall was 52% shooting overall from the floor and a 41.2 percentage from deep. The Vikings (10-5, 4-3 GNAC) finished with a 43.4 shooting percentage but were just 20% (4-20) from beyond the arc.
 
Alexis Pana led all scorers with a game-high 26 points on 9-13 shooting overall and a 4-6 mark from deep. Taylor Shaw added 23 points on 8-10 made shots and went 3-4 from deep. Kassidy Malcolm led the way in rebounds with a game-high of 11. Kaelie Flores chipped in 11 points to round out the double figure score for the Wildcats.
 
CWU vs. SFU HISTORY
SFU hold a 62-14 all-time lead against CWU and currently have won each of the last three contests. In Ellensburg, the Wildcats are just 2-7 against SFU since the 2010-11 season.
 
Last season, SFU secured 10-point wins on the road and at home, respectively. Under third year Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley, the Wildcats are just 1-3 against SFU. The lone win came at home during the 207-18 season.