ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University women's basketball returns to Nicholson Pavilion Saturday night (tomorrow) to start a three-game homestand. The Wildcats get things started against Montana State Billings.
 
GAME INFORMATION
vs. MSU Billings
Saturday, Feb. 1
5:00 p.m. PT
Nicholson Pavilion
Ellensburg, Wash.
 
QUOTABLE
"Excited for another opportunity to bounce back. MSU Billings is a good team who plays very solid basketball on both ends. They have players who can put pressure on you on the perimeter and on the inside," CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "We have to be disciplined tomorrow and have a great team effort on both sides of the ball. Rebounding will be a huge factor in this game as well."
 
SCOUTING MSU BILLINGS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2019-20 STATS
The Yellowjackets enter the weekend with a .500 record at 10-10 overall and 5-6 in conference play after falling to Northwest Nazarene, 80-72, on Thursday night.
 
The 'Jackets rank near the bottom in the GNAC in scoring. They average just 62.2 points per game which is third worst in the league. They shoot an average of 37.8% from the floor overall and are 32.1% from deep. Their three-point percentage is fourth in the GNAC.
 
Defensively, MSU Billings is sixth in scoring defense allowing 65.7 points per game to its opponents. Teams shoot an average of 39.8% against them overall and 30.6% from deep. They rank fourth in blocked shots with an average of 3.1 per game.
 
Three players are averaging double figure points in Taryn Shelley, Hannah Collins and Jeanann Lemelin. Shelley is the overall leader at 12.5 points per game, followed by Collins and Lemelin at 11.4 and 10.6 points per game, respectively.
 
Shelley also cleans up the boards the best for the 'Jackets averaging 7.8 per game. Her mark is fourth best in the GNAC going into the weekend. She is also fourth in the GNAC in blocked shots at 1.2 per game. Montague is the team's second leading rebounder averaging 3.7 per game.
 
Shelley and Collins both have the top overall shooting percentage. Shelley owns the top average at 43.9%, while Collins is shooting 40.1%. Collins is the top three-point shooter at 39.7%, which is third in the GNAC.
 
Lemelin is floor general for MSU Billings averaging a team best 2.8 assists per game. She also leads the team in free throw percentage at 79.2%. her 1.9 steals per game lead the team and rank fifth in the conference.
 
 
GNAC STATS LEADERS (As of Jan. 31)
The Wildcats still sit in the middle of the pack in terms of scoring as they rank fifth averaging 67.9 points per game. They still rank second in field goal percentage at 44.5% and lead the way in three-point shooting at 34.7%.
 
On the defensive end, Central is third in terms of points allowed per game. They hold opponents to an average of 62.4 points per game. Opponents shoot just 38.2% against the Wildcats which ranks third in the GNAC.CWU has the top three-point percentage defense allowing just 27.2%.
 
The Wildcats squad is still second in the GNAC in free throw percentage. They team has made 219-292 shots at the charity stripe for a percentage of 75.0. They are fourth in rebounding averaging 38.9 per game and are second in blocked shots at 4.9 per game.
 
Alexis Pana is currently sixth in scoring averaging 13.9 points per game. She is one of four Wildcats averaging double figure points. Kaelie Flores is 12th at 12.7 points per game. Taylor Shaw is 16th at 11.5 points per game, while Samantha Bowman is 17th at 11.4 points per game.
 
Bowman and Flores are both in the top-10 in rebounding still. Bowman is the team leader and ranks fifth at 7.5 rebounds per game. Flores is right behind her at sixth averaging 7.0 per game.
 
Bowman is still the top-three in terms of field goal percentage. The sophomore is second with a mark of 58.2%. Flores is just outside the top-10 at 11th at 49.4% shooting. Shaw is 15th now at 45.3% overall.
 
Pana still holds the top spot in the GNAC when it comes to assists. She is averaging 4.9 per game. She is also seventh in terms of steals averaging 1.8 per game.
 
Flores is second overall in free throw percentage at 87.9%. Bowman is three spots back at 81.1%, while Pana ranks ninth with an average of 78.7%.
 
Shaw continues to climb the leader board when it comes to three-point shooting. She has the second-best percentage from three-point range art 44.2%. She makes an average of 2.2 triples per game which ranks fourth in the GNAC now. Pana is fifth in three-pointers made at 2.0.
 
Flores is also second in blocked shots. She is averaging 1.8 per game. Bowman is third at 1.3 swats per game. Pana is sixth averaging 1.1 per game. Pana is also eighth in assist-turnover ratio at 1.6.
 
 
LAST TIME OUT
Central Washing University women's basketball suffered a tough loss on the road Tuesday night as the team fell 72-63 against Northwest Nazarene.
 
The Wildcats were fast out the gate and managed to maintain a high-paced tempo for much of the game. The Nighthawks managed to grab a late in the third and never relinquished in the fourth to secures a regular season sweep of CWU.
 
A 24-13 discrepancy in turnovers did not help the Wildcats, but NNU used that to convert into 26 points. Late turnovers troubled with a stagnant offense in the final minutes proved to be costly for the Wildcats.
 
Taylor Shaw led the way with 16 points for her final tally. She also tacked on two steals and a trio of rebounds. Samantha Bowman added 13 points and 10 boards for a double-double performance off the bench.
 
Kaelie Flores rounded out the double-digit scoring with 13 and grabbed seven rebounds. Kassidy Malcolm also had double figure rebounds on the night while adding five points. Alexis Pana chipped in eight points and had a game-high seven assists.
 
CWU vs. MSUB HISTORY
Following the 63-45 loss back on Jan. 2 earlier this season, CWU is now 13-27 all-time against the Yellowjackets in 40 total meetings. Since 2000-01, CWU is just 13-21 against MSU Billings.
 
In three seasons of leading CWU, Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley is now 2-4 against MSU Billings.