ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The 19th-ranked Central Washington University Women's Basketball Team (6-0) will dive into GNACtion with their second visit to Nampa, Idaho this season only this time to actually face the Nighthawks of Northwest Nazarene (4-2).
GAME INFORMATION:
Saturday, December 6
#19 Central Washington at Northwest Nazarene
Noon PST
Johnson Sports Center
Nampa, Idaho
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LAST WEEKEND:
The Wildcats traveled to Bellingham, Wash. to participate in the Lynda Goodrich Classic, hosted by Western Washington University and earned a pair of big victories.
CWU first chomped down on the Gators of San Francisco State by a 65-44 seeing the crimson and black hold SFSU to seven points in the first and fourth quarters.
Asher Cai paced CWU with 23 points, adding five rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
Capri Sims also finished in double-digits with 15 points and fell one rebound shy of a double-double with nine and also added three assists, three blocks, and three steals.
Jordy DeMott led CWU with 10 rebounds while adding three points and a block. SFSU was led by Athena Brombacher who had 12 points, adding five rebounds, an assist, and a steal. CWU finished the game shooting 47.4 percent from the floor, 32 percent from three, and 60 percent at the free-throw line while the Gators shot 24.5 percent from the floor, 25 percent from three, and 81.3 percent at the free-throw line. CWU won the rebound battle 37-31.
The 'Cats then sunk the University of Mary Marauders in a tightly contested 89-82 game. Cai and
Fiona Snashall both posted career-highs of 37 and 18 points, respectfully to lead CWU. Cai added five rebounds, eight assists, and two steals while Snashall contributed six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal. Sims added a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds while adding five assists. Bergen Kinnebrew led UMary with 41 points, adding eight rebounds, three assists, a block, and three steals. CWU finished the game shooting 55.8 percent from the floor, 55 percent from three, and 71.4 percent at the charity stripe while the Marauders finished shooting 45.8 percent from the floor, 31.3 percent from three, and 92 percent at the free-throw line. The crimson and black edged out the Marauders on the board 32-27.
LAST MEETING:
The Wildcats and Nighthawks concluded the regular season this past season with a thriller down in Nampa. A layup under the basket right before time expired by
Shelby Blodgett on an inbounds pass from
Sunny Huerta gave the 'Cats the 69-67 victory. The 'Cats were led by Cai who had 24 points, adding six rebounds, four assists, and a block while Blodgett tacked on 12 points, four rebounds, an assist, and two steals. Sims contributed a double-double of 11 points, 12 rebounds and added two assists and a steal. NNU was paced by Kendall Clark with 18 points, nine rebounds, an assist, and two steals. CWU finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor, 43.5 percent from three, and 72.2 percent at the free-throw line. NNU finished the game shooting 36.2 percent from the floor, 31.3 percent from three, and 92.3 percent at the free-throw line. CWU dominated the boards 43-27.
SCOUTING THE NIGHTHAWKS:
NNU is currently 4-2 this the season, playing the same first four opponents as the Wildcats. They first swept their weekend at the GNAC-CCAA Crossover, defeating Cal Poly Humboldt 82-75 before taking down Cal State East Bay 85-75. They then hosted the GNAC-PacWest Crossover, taking down Westmont 66-65 before suffering their first defeat to Vanguard 87-56. Last weekend they were down in San Diego at the Sea Lions Thanksgiving Classic, defeating Cal State San Marcos 64-60 before falling to hosting Point Loma 76-56.
The Nighthawks currently average 68.2 points per game and are averaging 73 points to their opponents. They are shooting 36.1 percent from the floor, 30.1 percent from three, and 74.6 percent at the free-throw line. Their opponents are averaging 43 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from three, and 60.8 percent at the charity stripe. Opponents are slightly outrebounding NNU by a 37.3 to 36.7 margin per game. Opponents are averaging 16.5 assists per game compared to the 11 the Nighthawks are averaging per contest. NNU is turning the ball over 22.5 times per contest compared to the 22.3 times they're forcing their opponents to turn the ball over. Among those turnovers 13.5 come as steals for NNU while 12 come as steals for their opponents. The Nighthawks average 2.2 blocks per game while their opponents average 3.5 blocks per game.
Trinidie Nichols and Chloe Deharo lead the Nighthawks at 13.7 and 13.3 points per game, respectfully. Claire Fischer is the leading rebounder at five rebounds per game with Nichols not far behind at 4.8. Nichols and Kelly Garrity lead NNU with 11 assists so far this season while Nichols has accumulated 24 steals already this season. Hadley Craig and Fischer are tied at four blocks apiece.
UP NEXT:
CWU will head back to nonconference action with a trip to Southern California for three games. They first take on the 23rd-ranked Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (4-1) in Pomona at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 13 inside Kellogg Arena. They then head into Los Angeles to face the Cal State LA Golden Eagles (3-0) on Monday, December 15 at noon from inside University Gym. They wrap up their time in SoCal with a trek down to San Marcos to see the Cal State San Marcos Cougars (3-1) on Tuesday, December 16 at noon from inside The Sports Center.
