ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The 17th-ranked Central Washington University Women's Basketball Team will conclude the regular season with a clash against the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Saturday. The Wildcats will also honor their three seniors with a pregame celebration: Asher Cai, Aliyah Finch, and Lylah Spring.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
 
Saturday, February 28
#17 Central Washington vs. Northwest Nazarene
1:00 p.m.
Nicholson Arena
Ellensburg, Wash.
WATCH: HERE
LIVE STATS: HERE
TICKETS: HERE
 
QUOTING CWU HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH RANDI RICHARDSON:
 
"We are excited to be home and finish out the conference regular season as well as celebrate our seniors. NNU is a very good team that we have a ton of respect for. Our prep needs to reflect that this week."
 
LAST WEEKEND:
 
The Wildcats split last weekend in their final road trip of the regular season.
 
CWU first suffered a 66-57 setback at Western Oregon on Thursday after being unable to overcome a slow start. Fiona Snashall and Cai led the 'Cats with 17 points each with Snashall making it a double-double with 18 rebounds while Cai added three rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Capri Sims finished with seven points while grabbing 17 rebounds, one assist, and one block. CWU finished the game shooting 31.7 percent from the floor, 19.2 percent from three, and 93.3 percent from the free-throw line. WOU had four players in double figures led by Kylani Rookstool with 18 points while Ciona Wells added 13, Danyell Booker added 11, and Salma Youngblood tacked on 10. The Wolves finished the game shooting 42.9 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three, and 58.8 percent from the free-throw line. CWU won the rebound battle 43-32.
 
CWU bounced back with a huge 55-49 victory on Saturday at Saint Martin's after fending off the Saints comeback attempt to hold them scoreless the final two minutes. Cai led the 'Cats with 23 points while adding nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals while Snashall tacked on seven points, 11 rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal. The 'Cats shot 46.5 percent from the floor, 38.5 percent from three, and 50 percent at the free-throw line. SMU was led by Kiana Rios who had 14 points while Jada Travis added 12 points and Avery Oaster had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Saints finished the game shooting 30.2 percent from the floor, 25 percent from three, and 62.5 percent from the free-throw line. The 'Cats won the rebound battle 41-32.
 
SCOUTING THE NIGHTHAWKS:
 
Northwest Nazarene is 16-9 on the season including an 11-6 GNAC record. The Nighthawks and Wildcats last met in their GNAC-opener back on December 6 in Nampa, Idaho where the 'Cats earned a big 77-63 victory. The Nighthawks began GNAC play with a 1-2 record but a weekend home sweep over Western Washington and Simon Fraser quickly saw the Nighthawks climb to an 8-3 GNAC record with their only loss after the first two GNAC weekends being a one-point setback at Montana State Billings. Following a home sweep of the Alaska schools the Nighthawks split on the road at SFU and WWU before bouncing back for a home sweep over Seattle Pacific and MSUB. Last weekend NNU was swept on the road falling 73-53 at Saint Martin's, then falling 68-58 at Western Oregon.
 
NNU averages 70.6 points per game while giving up 65.2 points to their opponents. They average 39.8 percent from the floor, 32 percent from three, and 74.5 percent from the free-throw line. Opponents average 40.5 percent from the floor, 28.3 percent from three, and 71.8 percent from the free-throw line. The Nighthawks outrebound their opponents 37.1 to 36.5 per game. NNU dishes out 14.9 assists per game compared to the 13.1 assists their opponents contribute. The Nighthawks turn the ball over at a 17.7 clip per game but are one of the top teams in the GNAC to force turnovers as opponents turn the ball over 20.7 times a game. NNU steals the ball away from their opponents 12.1 times a game while opponents steal the ball away 9.6 times a game. The Nighthawks block the ball 3.8 times a game while opponents block the ball 2.4 times a game.
 
Chloe Deharo leads NNU at 13 points per game with Trinidie Nichols not far behind at 12.4 points per game. Kendall Clark also averages double digits at 10.2 points per game. Clark also leads the team at 6.9 rebounds a game. Kelly Garrity has 101 assists to lead NNU this season. Nichols leads the team with 69 steals while Claire Fischer has 33 blocks this season.
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Wildcats will turn their attention towards the GNAC Tournament, which is hosted by Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash. from Thursday, March 5 through Saturday, March 7 on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
 
The Wildcats are currently in first place in the GNAC and will know their fate following Saturday on what seed they will be for the tournament. The 'Cats are in a good spot to lock up the number one seed with a win on Saturday thanks to a season sweep of third place Saint Martin's and a split with second place WWU whom the 'Cats hold the tiebreaker against due to the sweep of SMU and WWU splitting with the Saints. The Vikings play at home against Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings while the Saints head up to Alaska this weekend.