ELLENSBURG, Wash.— Central Washington was named the No. 2 seed in the NCAA West Regional announced by the selection show on Sunday night. The Wildcats will face Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent and No. 7 seeded Northwest Nazarene in the quarter finals.
 
Game times and ticket information will be announced at a later date.
 
Central (23-7) earned an automatic selection to the West Regional by winning its first GNAC Tournament Championship last Saturday night.  
 
Top-seeded Cal State East Bay will serve as the host of the West Regional.
 
"I'm really happy for our girls to be selected and get the two-seed," Central Washington Head Coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said. "We've had a really great season and I'm so proud of the growth they've showed all year. We're excited to go down to California and get some sunshine and play some good basketball."
 
Northwest Nazarene (18-9) is both a familiar and challenging opponent. CWU split the regular season with NNU, losing game one in Nampa 61-59, and winning game two in Ellensburg 71-65.  
 
"It's exciting to play an opponent we already know," Richardson-Thornley said. "It's going to be tough, but we're up for the challenge. The GNAC is a super tough conference and if we win, we're playing another familiar opponent."  
 
The Wildcats charged through the conference tournament led by GNAC Tournament MVP Samantha Bowman. Bowman, the nation's leading rebounder, averages 16.1 points and 15.6 rebounds per game. Bowman grabbed a GNAC Tournament single-game record 23 rebounds in the Wildcats championship win.
 
Kizzah Maltezo and Kassidy Malcolm lead the Central offense. Maltezo, a First Team All-GNAC honoree, is averaging 18.9 points and 2.9 assists per game. Malcolm, a First Team All-GNAC honoree and GNAC Player of the Year, is averaging 18.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.