ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team (13-5, 4-2 GNAC) will welcome the pair of schools from the last frontier as the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (9-5, 3-2 GNAC) come to town for a Thursday night matchup followed by a Saturday afternoon showdown against the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks (2-13, 0-5 GNAC).
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, January 18
7:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Alaska Anchorage
Nicholson Arena
Ellensburg, Wash.
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Saturday, January 20
4:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Alaska Fairbanks
Nicholson Arena
Ellensburg, Wash.
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QUOTING HEAD COACH RANDI RICHARDSON-THORNLEY
"This is another big week for us at home. UAA has been playing at a very high level, and we will see things from them we haven't seen all year. We have to have great practices this week to give us a chance to compete with them.
UAF is another team who is full of players who are going to play hard and can hurt you in various ways. Our team has to come out ready and with confidence both nights to have success."
LAST WEEKEND
The Wildcats took a split on the road last weekend falling first at Western Washington 100-75 before bouncing back for a big 77-65 victory north of the border at Simon Fraser.
Annalee Coronado finished as the leading scorer against WWU with 15 points.
Capri Sims (13),
Riley Johnson (12), and
Malia Smith (11) all scored in double-figures as well for the crimson and black.
Sunny Huerta finished with eight points while
Asher Cai and
Keira Marsh each tacked on seven.
Aliyah Finch also contributed two points.
Cai got back to her usual ways against the Red Leafs, dropping 26 points for a game high. Huerta and Coronado also finished in double-digits with 14 and 11, respectively.
Tori Maeda and
Shelby Blodgett each finished with eight points while Smith tacked on six. Finch and Sims tallied two points apiece.
SCOUTING THE SEAWOLVES
UAA has started their season with a 9-5 record including going 3-2 in GNAC play. The Seawolves started their season in heartbreaking fashion losing on the road 76-75 at NCAA Division III Pacific University of Oregon. They bounced back with a pair of wins in Hawaii over Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii-Hilo before falling in exhibition play at home against NCAA Division I schools Utah and UAB in the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout. UAA went on a four-game skid getting swept by Adams State by one point in both games before dropping their GNAC-opening weekend at Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific. UAA has bounced back with seven-straight victories, sweeping Clarion at home, defeating Stanislaus State and San Francisco State on the road, before knocking off Western Washington and Simon Fraser at home before defeating Alaska Fairbanks last weekend at home 84-55.
The Seawolves have three players averaging double-figures, led by Senya Rabouin with 13.3 points per game. Tori Hollingshead and Jazzpher Evans are each averaging 12.3 and 11.1 points per game, respectively. Hollingshead has been the leading rebounder, grabbing 6.9 rebounds per game as well as leading the Seawolves in blocks with 30 on the year so far. Aside from being the leader in points for UAA, Rabouin is the leader in assists and steals with 67 assists and 29 steals on the year so far.
UAA is currently outscoring their opponents 73.1 points per game to their opponents 58.4 points per game. The Seawolves are shooting 43 percent from the floor this season, 32.2 percent on their three-point attempts, and are shooting 69.3 percent from the free-throw line. UAA is averaging 39.7 rebounds per game compared to their opponents' 34.1. UAA's signature aggressive style of defense has helped them to lead the GNAC with 14 steals per game.
SCOUTING THE NANOOKS
UAF participated in the CCA DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic with the Wildcats to open their season. They finished the weekend 0-3 losing to Texas A&M International, 7th-ranked UT-Tyler, and Colorado Mesa. They then took trips to California and Utah where they fell to Biola, Concordia Irvine, NCAA Division I Southern Utah, and wrapping it up by being swept by Westminster by scores of 64-57 and 74-69. The 'Nooks traveled back up to Alaska where they earned their first wins of the year in a 70-62 victory over Cal State San Bernardino and then a 59-55 victory over NCAA Division III Covenant. The Nanooks are currently on a five-game losing streak since starting conference play, falling to Seattle Pacific, Montana State Billings, Simon Fraser, and Western Washington before falling 84-55 last weekend at Alaska Anchorage.
The Nanooks are led by Destiny Reimers who is averaging 10.7 points per game. Emma Wass is the leading rebounder with 9.7 per game. Emma McKenney is the second-leading scorer at 9.9 points per game and has dished out the most assists with 41 on the season. Kayla Johnson also contributes 9.7 points per game and has the most steals for the Nanooks with 15 on the season. Ellen Silva is the leader in blocks for UAF with 16.
UAF is currently averaging 55.1 points per game compared to their opponent's 74.1 per game. The 'Nooks have made 36.6 percent of their field goals, 24.3 percent of their three-pointers, and 73.6 percent of their free-throw attempts. UAF is just slightly outrebounded by their opponents 38.8 to their opponents 38.9 rebounds per game.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will head back on the road for a single game next week as they travel to Nampa, Idaho to take on Northwest Nazarene (6-7, 3-3 GNAC) on Saturday with a 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time tip-off.
