ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University Women's Basketball Team (4-0) will welcome Biola, Western Washington, and Westminster (UT) for the CWU Thanksgiving Tournament inside Nicholson Arena this weekend.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 29
Western Washington vs. Biola at 12:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Westminster (UT) at 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30
Western Washington vs. Westminster (UT) at 12:00 p.m.
Central Washington at Biola at 2:00 p.m.
TOURNAMENT PARKING INFORMATION
Friday's games will occur during Campus Parking Enforcement hours of operation. Due to that, patrons will need a guest parking pass if you don't already have a CWU pass in order to park in the paved parking lots closest to Nicholson Arena (Lots Q-14 and S-10). The dirt parking lot by Tomlinson Stadium is free to park (Lot X-12) as well as free parking along East 18th avenue. Parking enforcement does not patrol on Saturdays.
To purchase a daily guest pass click
HERE
To view a campus parking map click
HERE
GAME INFORMATION
Friday, November 29
2:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Westminster (UT)
Nicholson Arena
Ellensburg, Wash.
WATCH LIVE STATS TICKETS
Saturday, November 30
2:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Biola
Nicholson Arena
Ellensburg, Wash.
WATCH LIVE STATS TICKETS
QUOTING CWU HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH RANDI RICHARDSON
"We're excited to get back and play inside Nicholson again. Biola and Westminster are two very well-coached teams who will challenge us in some new ways. I'm excited for the opportunity to compete this weekend and learn more about ourselves."
LAST OUTINGS
CWU had a week off, last participating in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover on Nov. 15-16. The Wildcats earned a couple hard-fought victories, first a 70-66 victory over Vanguard followed by a 66-55 victory over hosting Westmont down in Santa Barbara, Calif.
A 28-point performance by
Asher Cai including a perfect 8/8 at the free-throw line helped the Wildcats stave off the Lions of Vanguard. Cai added nine rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
Sunny Huerta tacked on 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Shelby Blodgett and
Annalee Coronado each added seven points while
Malia Smith contributed six.
Capri Sims finished the game with three points while
Jordy DeMott had one point. The Wildcats finished 12/24 on three-point attempts in the game and outrebounded the Lions 38-34.
After a slow start, the Wildcats bounced back in the second and third quarters to help fend off the hosting Warriors in game two of the crossover by a 66-55 score. Huerta led all scores in the game with 24 points while adding five rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Aliyah Finch had arguably her best game in a Wildcat uniform, dominating the paint with 17 points, five rebounds, and one assist. Cai tacked on 14 points, five rebounds, one block, and one steal. Sims led the Wildcats with 13 rebounds while adding five points while Coronado added four points and
Keira Marsh added two. CWU finished the game shooting 53.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Warriors 38-29.
LAST MEETINGS
The Wildcats hosted the Griffins of Westminster last year during the holiday break. CWU earned a 73-40 victory over Westminster with Huerta leading the charge with 22 points, one rebound, one assist, two blocks, and two steals. Overall, the Wildcats lead the series 3-2 with CWU winning the last three matchups.
CWU and Biola have only met once, back on November 19, 2005, in a neutral site game in Seattle. The Wildcats came away with a 59-56 victory.
SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS
Westminster is currently 1-3 on the season. They dropped a pair of exhibition matches to open their 2024-25 campaign, first a 94-70 setback at Utah State followed by a 105-37 loss at BYU. They fell twice to Texas A&M-Kingsville in their home opener by a 66-63 score and a 71-47 score before falling to St. Edward's at home by a 78-70 score. They earned their first victory of the season in a 61-58 nonconference victory over Fort Lewis at home. Most recently, they fell 64-43 to Idaho State on the road in another exhibition match.
The Griffins are averaging 57 points per game compared to the 65 points they're giving up to opponents per game. On the season, they're shooting 40.1 percent from the floor, 38.7 percent on three-point attempts, and 71.4 percent at the free-throw line. They're outrebounding their opponents 31.7 rebounds per game to the 29 their opponents are averaging.
WU has been led by Teuila Nawahine who is averaging 14.3 points per game and has the most steals for the Griffins at six on the year. Maunayia Harrigfeld is leading the Griffs in rebounds at 8.3 per game as well as blocks with seven and is tied with Nawahine for the most assists at nine each.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Biola is still searching for their first victory of the season, starting the year 0-5. They split in exhibition play, defeating La Sierra 68-57, but fell to San Diego 75-30. They dropped their opening-weekend, first a 53-45 setback against Saint Martin's, then a tight 63-60 loss at Cal State San Bernardino. They've since dropped three home matches, first a 68-58 loss to Cal Poly Pomona, then a 91-39 defeat to Alaska Anchorage, and most recently a 59-53 loss to Regis.
The Eagles are mustering up 50.4 points per game but have given up 66.8 points per game to their opponents. They're shooting 38.9 percent from the floor, 26.3 percent from three, and 68.4 percent at the free-throw line so far this season. Biola is getting outrebounded by their opponents 38.6 rebounds per game to the 32.8 the Eagles are snatching.
BU is led by Jessa Thurman and Sammie Henley who are averaging 12.4 and 11.6 points per game this season, respectively. Thurman also leads the Eagles in rebounding with 7.6 per game. Laila Walker has contributed the most assists with 23 on the year while Henley has the most steals at 10, and Jaycee Goldsmith has the most blocks for BU at two.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will dive into GNAC play next weekend when they host Northwest Nazarene (4-2) for a Saturday afternoon battle. The 'Cats and 'Hawks clash at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 7 from inside Nicholson Arena.
