ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University women's basketball team (11-3, 2-0 GNAC) dives right back into the mix of conference play welcoming the nationally 17th-ranked Montana State Billings Yellow Jackets (11-3, 2-0 GNAC) and the Seattle Pacific Falcons (5-7, 2-0 GNAC) to ring in 2024.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Thursday, January 4
5:15 p.m.
Central Washington vs. #21 Montana State Billings
Nicholson Arena
Ellensburg, Wash.
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Saturday, January 6
4:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Seattle Pacific
Nicholson Arena
Ellensburg, Wash.
WATCH LIVE STATS TICKETS
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH RANDI RICHARDSON-THORNLEY
 
"We're excited to start conference play after the break. We are going to be challenged right out of the gate with two very strong opponents in MSUB and SPU. Both teams are well coached and gritty. Each of them will present different challenges that we have not consistently seen outside of conference play. I'm excited to see how we compete and step up to the challenge."
 
LAST OUTING
 
The Wildcats wrapped up 2023 with a convincing 73-40 victory over the Westminster Griffins last Saturday.
 
Sunny Huerta racked up 22 points to lead the game, adding one rebound, one assist, two blocks, and two steals. Asher Cai finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one block, and three steals. Malia Smith was the leader off the bench knocking down four three-pointers for 12 points while adding three rebounds. Keira Marsh added eight points, two rebounds, and a block while Annalee Coronado finished with five points, three rebounds, six assists, one block, and two steals. Shelby Blodgett tacked on four points, three rebounds, and a steal. Capri Sims and Aliyah Finch each added two points with Sims finishing with three rebounds and a steal while Finch added four rebounds and a steal.
 
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
 
After falling to nationally 24^th-ranked Texas Woman's by one point to open the season in the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead, hosted by MSUB, the Jackets rattled off seven straight wins including an 84-61 victory over nationally 18^th-ranked Regis. MSUB lost their second game of the season in a tight four-point game at Colorado School of Mines, 75-71, before rebounding with four more wins in a row including an 83-68 victory over Alaska Anchorage and a 88-40 victory over Alaska Fairbanks in the opening weekend of GNAC action. MSUB traveled down to Florida to participate in the Daytona Beach Shootout before the holiday break going 1-1 in the tournament. They fell by one point to West Texas A&M, 59-58, before rebounding with a 65-61 victory over St. Mary's of Texas.
 
The Wildcats and Yellow Jackets split during the regular season last year with both teams winning on the road, CWU first with a 70-44 victory in Billings before the Jackets won in Ellensburg 76-66. The teams then met in the GNAC Tournament which saw MSUB move on with a 75-62 victory in the second round of the tournament in Bellingham.
 
MSUB returns a lot of pieces from their team from a season ago and added some firepower in their current leading scorer and Montana State transfer Kola Bad Bear who is averaging 16.8 points per game this season. Dyauni Boyce and Aspen Giese each are averaging double-figures with Boyce earning 14.6 points per game and Giese averaging 10 points per game. Bad Bear has been the leading rebounder for MSUB nabbing 7.5 per game and is the leader in blocks for the Jackets with seven on the season. Kortney Nelson has dished out the most assists with 40 while Chloe Williams has the most steals with 19.
 
So far this season the Jackets have shot 42.1 percent from the floor, 35.5 percent on their three-point attempts, and 79.9 percent at the free-throw line. MSUB is outrebounding their opponents, averaging 37.3 per game compared to their opponents' 30 per game.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
 
SPU opened their season with a split in Bellingham, falling 79-54 to Cal State Los Angeles before bouncing back against NCAA Tournament Elite Eight participant last year Cal State Dominguez Hills with a 58-53 victory. The Falcons dropped four straight games with two coming against NCAA Tournament teams from last season and a heartbreaking 64-62 game at Metro State. They opened GNAC play with a pair of statement victories, first a 70-43 win against Alaska Fairbanks followed by a 62-59 victory over Alaska Anchorage. The Falcons went 2-2 over the holiday break with victories over George Fox and Westminster at home but falling at Stanislaus State and Fresno Pacific.
 
The Wildcats and Falcons split last season with both teams winning on their home courts. The Wildcats first fell in Seattle by a 70-63 score before bouncing back in Ellensburg with an 81-72 victory.
 
The Falcons have two players averaging double-digits in points, led by Olivia Mayer with 12.8 points per game while Schuyler Berry is averaging 10 points per game. Mayer is the leader in rebounds and steals for SPU, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game and having 19 steals, and is tied with Berry for the most blocks each recording 12 on the season. Hunter Beirne has dished out the most assists for the Falcons with 23 on the season.
 
On the season, the Falcons are shooting 37.3 percent on their field goal attempts, 21.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 66.2 percent at the charity stripe. They're outrebounding their opponents 37.1 rebounds per game to 33.6 rebounds per game.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Wildcats will head on the road for another pair of tough matchups with the first coming against nationally 14th-ranked Western Washington (9-2, 1-0 GNAC) on Thursday, January 11 at 7:00 p.m. in Bellingham. CWU will then head north of the border to take on Simon Fraser (8-6, 0-1 GNAC) on Saturday, January 13 at 7:00 p.m. in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.