ELLENSBURG, Wash.—Central Washington women's basketball team welcomes Northwest Nazarene to Nicholson this Saturday, January 29th, for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup. Tip off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. 

After losing to the Northwest Nazarene 61-59 previously this season, the Wildcats are looking to even the score. The Wildcats are currently knotted in a tie for third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings alongside Northwest Nazarene who shares an identical 5-2 conference mark. The duo trails Montana State Billings who moved into the number two spot with a 6-2 conference mark.  

Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley hopes to pick up just her second win against the Nighthawks during her tenure as Central's head coach.

"We're excited for another opportunity to play and to play at home," said Richardson-Thornley. "NNU is a great team and will challenges us in great ways that we need to show growth. We have to learn from our mistakes in the first game with them as well as build on what we did well."

SCOUTING THE NIGHTHAWKS
The Nighthawks boast an 11-4 overall record alongside a 5-2 conference record. Just like the Wildcats, the Nighthawks enter Saturday's game fresh off of a pair of wins against Western Oregon (7-7, 3-4) and Saint Martin's (9-6, 1-5). Head coach Steve Steele and the Nighthawks will look to extend their six-game winning streak over the Crimson and Black.

Freshman Teagan Thurman is at the helm of the Nighthawks offense. The 6-1 freshman is averaging 13.2 points per game, shooting .479 from the floor and .333 from beyond the arc. Alongside Thurman is sophomore Nyalam Thabach. The 6-3 forward is averaging 12.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The duo is responsible for lifting NNU to the second highest scoring offense in the GNAC, averaging 71.7 points per game.

Steals are the name of the game for the Nighthawks, who average 10.1 per game. The Northwest Nazarene roster has eight different players with 10 or more steals, three of whom boast more than 20 each.

Saturday's matchup will be the first time the Nighthawks have made the trip to Ellensburg since December 21^st, 2019.

LAST TIME OUT
The Crimson and Black continue to ride the momentum and have advanced to a seven-game winning streak after taking down Simon Fraser 72-60, last Tuesday. The win elevated the Wildcats to a 12-4 overall record and 5-2 GNAC mark.

The Wildcats trailed throughout the opening three quarters against Simon Fraser, falling behind 51-48 at the end of the third quarter. The Wildcats put the clamps on Simon Fraser in fourth quarter, holding their offense to shooting 3-18 from the floor and 2-8 from beyond the arc. With SFU unable to score, the Wildcats put up 24 points to SFU's 9 in the final quarter, winning with a 12-point lead.

Junior center Samantha Bowman continued her season dominance against Simon Fraser recording her third 20 points/20 rebound game of the season. Seniors Kassidy Malcolm and Kizzah Maltezo remain hot on the court, averaging 21.1 and 23.2 points per game over the last seven respectively.

After putting up 15 points against Simon Fraser on Tuesday, Kassidy Malcolm is now only six points away from 1,000 career points. Malcolm is looking to become the 14^th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points. Malcolm, who has already grabbed 649 total rebounds, would become just the 6^th player in program history to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.