ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University women's basketball is on the road this week for a pair of games before returning home for the final time. The Wildcats get the road trip started up north in Canada against Simon Fraser University (B.C.).
GAME INFORMATION
vs. Simon Fraser
Thursday, Feb. 13
7:00 p.m.
West Gym
Burnaby, B.C., Canada
QUOTABLE
"This is a big week for our team on the road against to two of the top teams in the league," CWU Head Coach
Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "Simon Fraser is a team who can really hurt you from behind the arch, offensively. Our team has to be disciplined defensively and ready to defend the three for 40 minutes."
SCOUTING SIMON FRASER | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2019-20 STATS
The Clan enter Thursday with an overall record of 16-8 and are 11-3 in great Northwest Athletic Conference play. They have won each of their last four games and are 9-4 on their home floor this season.
SFU is currently fourth in the conference in scoring averaging 71.1 points per game on 41.4% shooting from the floor overall. They shoot just 31.3% from the floor which ranks seventh in the GNAC.
Defensively, SFU is near the bottom of the conference in points allowed. They surrender an average of 67.3 points per game which ranks eighth overall. They are second worst (10th) in field goal percentage defense at 42.3% and are ninth in three-point field goal percentage defense at 35.5%.
The Clan have the third best free throw percentage in the league at 72.7%. They are fourth in assists per game and steals per game at 14.5 and 8.5, respectively. Their +1.54 mark in turnover margin is also fourth best in the GNAC. They rank third in assist-turnover ratio at 0.9.
Two players are averaging double figures led by Jessica Jones at 17.3 points per game. Her average is second best in the conference. Also scoring double-digit points is Tayler Drynan at 10.8 points per game.
Ozioma Nwabuko is the top rebounder averaging 6.5 per contest. She ranks eighth in the GNAC. Nwabuko also leads the way in field goal percentage at 53.7%, which is fifth in the GNAC. Second on the team in rebounds is Claudia Hart at 4.9. Right behind her is Jones at 4.6.
Drynan is the top assist getter for the Clan averaging 4.2 per game. Hart and Kendal sands rank second and third on the team at 2.0 and 1.9, respectively. Nwabuko and Jones are the top options on defense in terms of steals. Nwabuko averages 1.8 per game while Jones is at 1.6.
Sands is the team's leading free throw shooter at 84.2%. Her average is fourth highest in the conference. Drynan ranks sixth in the GNAC at 80.5%. Jones is just outside the top-10 at 12th averaging 75.8% from the charity stripe.
Jones is the sixth best three-point shooter in the conference at 38.6%. She also leads the GNAC in average three-pointers made per game at 3.3.
GNAC STATS LEADERS (As of Feb. 11)
The Wildcats still own the No. 5 spot in scoring offense averaging 68.7 points per game. They are also second in field goal percentage at 44.7% and three-point percentage at 35%.
On the defensive end, Central ranks third is scoring defense allowing just 62.9 points per game. They are also third-best in field goal percentage defense at 38.3%. They are second in three-point percentage defense at 28.5%.
The Wildcats have the second highest free throw percentage at 75.7%. They rank third in rebounding averaging 38.9 per game. Central is tied for the GNAC lead in blocked shots at 4.8 per game.
Alexis Pana is the only player ranked in the top-10 in scoring at seventh with an average of 13.9 points per game. Three other players are averaging double figures in
Kaelie Flores,
Samantha Bowman and
Taylor Shaw.
Flores is ranked 13th in scoring at 12.3 points per game, with Bowman three spots back in a tie for 16th averaging 11.9 points per game. Shaw is 21st at 10.8 points per game.
Bowman is fifth in rebounding at 7.1 per game. Flores is two spots back at seventh averaging 6.8 rebounds per contest. Pana is 15th at 3.9 per game. Bowman also ranks second in the GNAC in field goal percentage at 60.4%.
Pana still owns the top spot in assists per game. The senior is averaging 5.0 per game and she is also top-10 in steals per game. She is tied for eighth averaging 1.8 per game.
Shaw still sits atop the rankings in three-point shooting. She has the top percentage from deep at 43.4%. She ranks fourth in average three-pointers made per game at 2.1. Pana is ahead her in third at 2.2 per game.
Flores, Bowman and Pana all still sit in the top-10 in blocked shots. Flores is second overall at 1.7 per game. Bowman is behind her in third averaging 1.5 swats per game. Pana is tied for sixth averaging 1.0 per contest.
Pana is seventh in the GNAC in assist-turnover ratio. She has 99 assists and 61 turnovers this season to average a 1.6 ratio. She is third in minutes played at 32.0, while Shaw is eighth at 29.1.
LAST TIME OUT
Central Washington University women's basketball hosted No. 8 Alaska Anchorage on Saturday evening. A late surge from the Seawolves pushed them past the Wildcats 67-59 inside Nicholson Pavilion.
The matchup between the Wildcats (13-9, 8-6 GNAC) and Sewolves (23-2, 11-1 GNAC) came down to execution at the end of both halves. A six-minute drought in the second hindered the Wildcats from maintaining a 22-15 lead they had earned at the end of the first quarter. Then in the fourth, the visitors shot 41.7% from the field while the Wildcats mustered a 29.4% performance.
Alexis Pana led the way scoring 16 points, followed
Kassidy Malcolm with 15 points. Malcolm also led the way in rebounds pulling down eight.
Kaelie Flores added 14 points to round out the double-digit scoring. She also had six rebounds for the game.
CWU vs. SFU HISTORY
SFU holds a 63-14 all-time lead against CWU and currently have won each of the last four contests. The Clan defeated the Wildcats earlier this season, 65-59, back on Jan. 18.
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 1-4 against SFU. The lone win came at home during the 207-18 season.
