ELLENSBURG, Wash.— Central Washington women's basketball (16-6, 9-4 GNAC) is headed south to Western Oregon (8-12, 4-9 GNAC) then a short trip north to Saint Martin's (11-10, 3-9 GNAC) for their final Great Northwest Athletic Conference Road Trip.
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, February 17th
5:15 p.m.
Vs. Western Oregon
New PE Building
Monmouth, OR
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Saturday, February 19th
3:00 p.m.
Vs. Saint Martin's
Marcus Pavilion
Lacey, WA
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QUOTABLE
"We're excited to head on the road and play two good opponents in WOU and SMU," said Central Washington Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley. "Both of these programs gave us challenges at home and will do the same the second time around. We will have to come out and show growth from this past week, especially on the defensive side of the ball for us to have success."
INTO THE WOLVES DEN
Western Oregon currently sits 8-12 this season with a 4-9 conference mark. The Wildcats and Wolves met previously this season in Ellensburg, Washington, resulting in a 74-55 win for Central. Since their last meeting on January 22nd, the Wolves are 1-6 with just one win over Saint Martin's, 49-47.
WOU has a long and smart defense, leading the GNAC as a team in blocked shots per game averaging 5.1.
The Wolves offensive leader is Meadow Aragon. The 5-11 forward is fourth in the GNAC with a .518 field-goal percentage, and averages 10.9 points per game alongside 7.2 rebounds. Aragon also leads the roster with 33 blocks.
As a team the Wolves offense averages 63.5 points per game on shooting .387 from the floor, .279 from deep, and .695 at the line. WOU has allowed opponents to score 65.8 points on average, just a -2.3 margin. As a high turnover team, the Wolves give up 18.3 turnovers per game grabbing just 8.4 steals.
CHALLENGING THE SAINTS
Saint Martin's sits 11-10 overall with a 3-9 conference mark. While the Wildcats are busy down in Monmouth, the Saint's will host Northwest Nazarene Thursday evening. The Saints and Wolves last met on January 20th, resulting in a 90-75 win for the Wildcats.
Chasing two of the Wildcats big three, Claire Dingus leads the Saints roster in scoring and sits third in the GNAC averaging 17.0 points per game. Dingus, a 6-0 junior forward, also averages 8.0 rebounds per game and has 52 of the teams 159 steals.
As a team SMU averages 62.1 points per game shooting .399 from the floor, .268 from deep, and .720 from the charity stripe.
The Saints rely on quick ball movement and getting multiple tools involved, leading the GNAC in assists averaging 16.3 per game.
LAST TIME OUT
Central enters this week 16-6 with a 9-4 conference record.
The Wildcats hit the road after splitting last week's home stand with Simon Fraser and Western Washington, 1-1. The split has dropped the Wildcats into fourth in GNAC standings, trailing Montana State Billings by a game.
On Thursday, the Wildcats toppled Simon Fraser 92-69. As a team Central shot a combined .422 from the field and .424 from beyond the arc, resulting in a comfortable 43-32 lead at the half. The Wildcats held Simon Fraser to just nine points in the second quarter. The 'Cats came out even stronger in the second half, scoring 17 points in the third and a dominant 32 points in the fourth. The Wildcats held Simon Fraser to shooting just .386 from the floor, .241 from deep, and .667 from the charity stripe. Central set a new GNAC record shooting a perfect 24-24 at the free throw line.
Saturday's loss to Western Washington was a nail biter, ending in a 74-72 win for the Vikings. The Vikings defense was tough, holding the Wildcats to shooting just .394 from the floor and .350 from deep. While the 'Cats matched the Vikings holding them to just .333 from the deep, WWU took advantage down low shooting .435 from the floor and outscoring the Wildcats in the paint, 42-34. The Vikings Emma Duff scored a career-high 29 points in route to Western's win. The difference maker wound up being the third quarter as the Vikings outscored the Wildcats 18-12.
