ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The 14th-ranked Central Washington University Women's Basketball Team (14-1, 5-0 GNAC) will head back on the road for another pair of GNAC contests. They first head to the west side for a date with in-state rival, the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Thursday before heading to Big Sky Country to face the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets on Saturday.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Thursday, January 15
#14 Central Washington at Seattle Pacific
5:15 p.m.
Royal Brougham Pavilion
Seattle, Wash.
WATCH:
HERE
LIVE STATS:
HERE
TICKETS:
HERE
Saturday, January 17
#14 Central Washington at Montana State Billings
1:00 p.m.
Alterowitz Gymnasium
Billings, Mont.
WATCH:
HERE
LIVE STATS:
HERE
TICKETS:
HERE
QUOTING CWU HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH RANDI RICHARDSON:
"Just like every week in the GNAC we have two great challenges ahead of us in SPU and MSUB. Our team understands the importance of our process and preparing ourselves each and every game. First our focus is on SPU tomorrow and giving that game our best 40 min. Then we will set our sights on Billings."
LAST WEEKEND:
The Wildcats earned a pair of huge victories in their GNAC home-opening weekend.
The 'Cats first earned a 64-53 victory over Simon Fraser thanks to a stout second half effort to pull away for the win.
Capri Sims led the 'Cats with a double-double performance of 18 points and 11 rebounds and added three assists and a block.
Fiona Snashall also had a double-double performance with 11 points and 22 rebounds while adding five assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Asher Cai also added 17 points, four rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal. The 'Cats finished the game shooting 36.4 percent from the floor, 30 percent from three, and 58.3 percent from the free-throw line. SFU was paced by Haley de Walle who logged 17 points, four rebounds, one assist, and two steals while Rachel Loukes added 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, a block, and two steals. The Red Leafs shot 31.5 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from three, and 70 percent from the free-throw line. The 'Cats had a huge day on the boards winning the rebound battle 52-31.
CWU completed the weekend sweep with a huge 75-58 victory over rival Western Washington thanks to a hot start. The 'Cats saw four players in double-figures led by Cai with 21 points, one rebound, and five assists.
Kayla Thornton added 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, and a steal while
Annalee Coronado tacked on 10 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Snashall added another double-double performance with 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals. CWU shot 55.6 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three, and 73.1 percent at the free-throw line. Libby Stump led the Vikings with 25 points, two assists, and a steal while Olivia Hodges added 11 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. WWU shot 33.9 percent from the floor, 23.1 percent from three, and a perfect 13-13 at the free-throw line. The 'Cats edged the Vikings in the rebound battle by a 32-31 margin.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS:
Seattle Pacific is 4-10 on the season and 1-4 in GNAC play so far this season. They earned a weekend split at home to begin the season, falling to Cal State LA before bouncing back for a key victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills. They were swept in the GNAC/PacWest Challenge, falling to Azusa Pacific and at Concordia Irvine. They traveled to the Sunshine State where they earned another split, falling to then 12th-ranked Nova Southeastern before defeating Palm Beach Atlantic. They were swept in their GNAC-opening weekend at home against Simon Fraser and Western Washington but bounced back for a victory over George Fox. Over the holiday break they were swept in Nampa, Idaho, falling to Westminster and 11th-ranked Colorado Mesa. They began 2026 falling at home to Montana State Billings. Last weekend they suffered a defeat at Saint Martin's by an 83-43 score before bouncing back for a huge victory at Western Oregon by an 80-58 score.
Opponents are outscoring the Falcons by a 67.4 to 57.7 margin so far this season. SPU shoots 35.4 percent from the floor, 26.2 percent from three, and 71.9 percent at the free-throw line. Opponents average 38.6 percent from the floor, 34 percent from three, and 69.1 percent from the charity stripe. Opponents outrebound the Falcons by a 43.1 to 35.4 margin. SPU averages 11.1 assists per game compared to the 12.4 assists opponent's average. The Falcons turn the ball over 19 times a contest and force their opponents into 18.5 turnovers per game. Of those 18.5 turnovers the Falcons force 9.7 come as steals while opponents steal the ball 9.4 times per game. The Falcons average a GNAC-high 5.4 blocks per game while opponents earn 3.4 blocks per game.
Layne Kearns paces SPU with 10.5 points per contest and also leads the team with 5.7 rebounds per game. Haylie-Anne Ohta has dished out the most assists at 44 on the season and has the most steals with 32. Grace Leasure leads the GNAC with 31 blocks on the season.
SCOUTING THE YELLOWJACKETS:
MSUB is 9-9 on the season with a 1-4 GNAC record. The 'Jackets began the season going 2-1 in their Tipoff Classic they hosted falling to Mary before defeating Colorado State Pueblo and Colorado School of Mines. They then were swept on the road against Vanguard and at Westmont. They then fell to Minot State. In the Yellowjacket Classic they defeated Jamestown before falling to Adams State. They defeated Rocky Mountain in the Rimrock Rivalry before being swept at home to Western Washington and Simon Fraser in their GNAC-opening weekend. Over the holiday break they defeated Lethbridge Polytechnic at home and Rocky Mountain on the road before traveling to Las Vegas where they defeated Tampa and 25th-ranked Daemen. They began 2026 with a road victory at Seattle Pacific. Last weekend they were swept on the road first falling 66-55 at Western Oregon before falling at Saint Martin's by a 63-57 score.
The Yellowjackets average 61.9 points per game and give up 59.3 points to their opponents. They shoot 36.9 percent from the floor, 26.9 percent from three, and 70.9 percent from the free-throw line. Opponents average 38.1 percent from the floor, 28.8 percent from three, and 73 percent at the charity stripe. The 'Jackets outrebound their opponents by a 40.4 to 33.9 margin. MSUB dishes out 12.4 assists compared to the 11.3 their opponent's average. The 'Jackets average 14.5 turnovers per game while forcing 15.5 turnovers from their opponents. Of those 15.5 turnovers they force eight come as turnovers for MSUB while opponents average 7.1 steals. They average 3.1 blocks per game compared to the 3.8 blocks their opponents average.
Cassie Chesnut and Kyle Momberg lead MSUB with 10.8 points per game while Chesnut is tied with Kaitlin Grossman with 7.8 rebounds per game. Momber has contributed the most assists with 40 so far this season. Chesnut leads the 'Jackets with 27 steals and 17 blocks.
UP NEXT:
The 'Cats will begin their first of two-straight weekends at home when they see the Saint Martin's Saints on Thursday, January 22 at 5:15 p.m. They then see the Western Oregon Wolves on Saturday, January 24 at 5:00 p.m. with both games happening from inside Nicholson Arena.
