BY JAMES NARANJO, Staff Reporter

Central Washington women’s basketball team hosts Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Western Washington University Saturday night in Nicholson Pavilion at 7 p.m.

Similarly to Simon Fraser, which beat CWU 75-61 on Thursday, the Vikings have tall players which hope to mismatch against the Wildcats.

The previous meeting between the Wildcats and Vikings ended in a highly competitive Central defeat, 71-64. Upset about losing, the ladies had nothing to hang their heads about.

“These girls work their butts off every day,” Nelson said. “The game could have gone either way.”

VanDyke had a double-double, logging 21 points and grabbing 10 boards against the Vikings.

The Vikings enter the game with an 11-8 overall record, and a 7-4 record in GNAC play.

They may not have a superstar like Chambers on their squad, but they are a team built with all-around solid basketball players.

Keep an eye on junior guard Katie Colard. Colard is a natural leader, and plays the point guard position very well.  She comes in averaging 13 points-per-game, along with 2 rebounds, and 2 assists-per -game.

Central must play smart and in the moment to win these games.

“We must make our free throws, and we must make good decisions,” Nelson said.

Central comes in with a 6-13 overall record, and is 1-10 in GNAC play. The record may not reflect it, but the Wildcats have been in position to win the majority of their games.

Though the Wildcats are out of playoff contention, Nelson will look to have his Wildcats ready to play.

Big players tend to show up in big games, so count on VanDyke and Parker to set the tone and get their team fired up.