ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The 13th-ranked Central Washington University Women's Basketball Team heads on the road one last time for the regular season as they first travel to Oregon to face the Western Oregon Wolves on Thursday before heading north for a date with the Saint Martin's Saints on Saturday.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
 
Thursday, February 19
#13 Central Washington at Western Oregon
5:15 p.m.
Wolves Athletic Center
Monmouth, Ore.
WATCH: HERE
LIVE STATS: HERE
TICKETS: HERE
 
Saturday, February 21
#13 Central Washington at Saint Martin's
5:15 p.m.
Marcus Pavilion
Lacey, Wash.
WATCH: HERE
LIVE STATS: HERE
TICKETS: HERE
 
QUOTING CWU HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH RANDI RICHARDSON:
 
"This is just another week of great conference basketball against two very good teams whom we had two competitive great games at home in the first round. We are eager to stick to our process and compete on the road this week."
 
LAST WEEKEND:
 
Last weekend the Wildcats earned a home sweep behind a pair of double-double performances from Capri Sims and a career-tying performance from Asher Cai with 37 points on Thursday against MSUB.
 
The 'Cats first dismantled the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets on Thursday in overtime after the 'Jackets came surging back to force overtime after a 16-point deficit in the third quarter. Cai led the charge with 37 points while adding four rebounds, six assists, and a steal. Sims added 18 points, 18 rebounds, and one assist. Annalee Coronado contributed 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists to lead the bench. The 'Cats shot 40.7 percent from the floor, 21.1 percent from three, and 80.8 percent from the free-throw line. MSUB saw Kaitlin Grossman and Cassie Chesnut both log 18 points and nine rebounds with Grossman adding six assists, two blocks, and three steals and Chesnut adding five assists, four blocks, and three steals. Allison Kunze finished with 10 points and an assist. The Yellowjackets finished the game shooting 34.2 percent from the floor, 14.3 percent from three, and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line. The 'Cats won the rebound battle 46-42.
 
On Saturday, the Wildcats used a big second quarter to pull away from the Seattle Pacific Falcons by a 69-53 score. Cai once again led the 'Cats with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Sims added her second double-double of the weekend with 14 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and a block. Fiona Snashall also added a double-double of 10 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists. CWU shot 38.7 percent from the floor, 22.2 percent from three, and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line. SPU was led by Grace Turley and Grace Leasure who had 14 and 13 points, respectfully. Turley added a rebound, an assist, and five steals while Leasure tacked on six rebounds, an assist, and two blocks. The Falcons shot 38.5 percent from the floor, 22.2 percent from three, and 64.3 percent from the free-throw line. The 'Cats won the rebound battle 51 to 25.
 
SCOUTING THE WOLVES:
 
Western Oregon is 11-11 on the season with a 6-8 GNAC record. The 'Cats hosted the Wolves back on January 24 where CWU fended off a third quarter outburst from WOU to win 57-49. Since then WOU has gone 2-3. They headed back to Monmouth where they had a split at home, first defeating Simon Fraser 67-63 before falling to Western Washington 66-44. They then headed on the road where they earned another split, defeating Seattle Pacific 75-64 before falling at Montana State Billings 85-48. Last weekend they fell at Saint Martin's by a 60-51 score.
 
Western Oregon has outscored opponents by a slight 67.7 to 64.5 margin this season. They are shooting 40.2 percent from the floor, 33.1 percent from three, and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line. Opponents are averaging 38.4 percent from the floor, 30.1 percent from three, and 75.1 percent from the free-throw line. Opponents have the edge in the rebounding department by a 38.8 to 36.6 margin. WOU dishes out 12.6 assists per game while opponents average 12.9 assists per game. The Wolves are stingy at turning the ball over, only turning it over 11.5 times a game while forcing opponents to turn the ball over 13.8 times per game. Of the 13.8 turnovers they force, seven come as steals whereas their opponents steal the ball away 5.9 times a game. WOU averages 1.5 blocks per game while opponents block the ball three times a game.
 
Kylani Rookstool leads the Wolves this season with 16.7 points per game while Enid Vaifanua is the only other Wolf to average double figures at 11.6 points per game. Natalie Brown averages the most boards per game for WOU at 5.4 per contest. Ciona Wells is one of the best ball distributors in the GNAC, accumulating 80 assists this season, and also leads the Wolves with 10 blocks. Triniti Youngblood is the leader in steals on the season with 32.
 
SCOUTING THE SAINTS:
 
Saint Martin's is 15-8 on the season and 11-3 in GNAC play. CWU and SMU met on January 22 in Ellensburg where the 'Cats earned a 57-54 victory after the two teams battled back-and-forth through the finish. Since the two teams met, the Saints are 5-1 and currently on a five-game winning streak. After the 'Cats and Saints met, SMU traveled to Northwest Nazarene where they fell 83-73. They bounced back with a huge home victory against Western Washington by a 56-48 score and backed that up to earn the home weekend sweep with a 66-55 victory over Simon Fraser. They then traveled on the road where they defeated Montana State Billings 68-47 before taking down Seattle Pacific 67-47. Last weekend they earned a home victory over Western Oregon by a score of 60-51.
 
The Saints are averaging 63 points per game while allowing 55.1 points to their opponents. SMU averages 37.6 percent from the floor, 31.6 percent from three, and 75.8 percent from the free-throw line while allowing opponents to shoot 38.3 percent from the floor, 28.1 percent from three, and 63.2 percent at the free-throw line. They are slightly outrebounding their opponents by a 35.2 to 34.9 margin. SMU averages 14.3 assists per game while opponents average 10.9 assists per game. The Saints take care of the ball only averaging 13.5 turnovers per game while forcing their opponents to turn the ball over 18 times a game. Of those 18 turnovers they force, 9.1 come as steals for the Saints while opponents steal the ball away 6.7 times a game. The Saints average 2.4 blocks per game while opponents block the ball 4.6 times a game.
 
There are four Saints averaging in double figures, led by Jada Travis at 12.8 points per game. Kiana Rios isn't far behind at 12.2 points per game with Avery Oaster at 11.7 and Laiken Hill at 10.7 points per game, respectfully. Oaster leads the defensive charge for SMU, leading the Saints at 7.6 rebounds per game and 25 blocks. Travis leads SMU with 75 assists this season as well as 42 steals.
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Wildcats will wrap up the regular season with a clash against the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks (16-7, 11-4 GNAC) for senior day on Saturday, February 28 at 1:00 p.m. inside Nicholson Arena. CWU will honor seniors Asher Cai, Aliyah Finch, and Lylah Spring during a pregame ceremony.