BY CHANCE WEEKS-WILLIAMS, Staff Reporter
The Central Washington University women’s basketball team is currently riding a five-game losing streak and are looking to snap its cold streak as they go on the road for their next two games.
The Wildcats take on the Seattle Pacific Falcons in Seattle on Feb. 13 and then head back east to play the Montana State University Billings Yellow Jackets on Feb. 15.
Central’s most recent loss was against bitter rival Western Washington University 82-61. Some of the losses seem to be coming close as five of their last 10 losses have been by single digits.
“It’s the little things that have been biting us in the butt, like turnovers and free throws and just our defense, so we need to fix those” junior forward Courtney Johnson said.
The last time Central matched up with Seattle Pacific it was back on Jan. 18 where the Wildcats fell to the Falcons s 73-65. Johnson and senior guard Jessica VanDyke led the Wildcats that game with 14 points apiece and will look to help out in a major way against Seattle Pacific.
“We just got to put a whole 40 minutes together and be consistent throughout those 40 minutes,” Johnson said.
It will be challenge for the Wildcats going against the Falcons since they lead the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in blocked shots, averaging 4.9 blocks-per-game. They also are in the top three in scoring defense only giving up 63.8 points per game. On offense they boast the second leading scorer in Katie Benson (19.8 points-per-game) and also is second in rebounds-per-game with 9.3. Stopping her will be a key to victory for the Wildcats.
“I think we can attack SPU from the Inside out,” head coach Shawn Nelson said. “Meaning we want to pound the ball into our post players, really be aggressive and attack the rim. They’re [SPU] strong enough to score in the post, but they also play outside. With our team and our personnel it’s a better match up for us.”
After that game Central will have all it can handle when they take on Montana state University Billings.
The Yellowjackets are currently the hottest team in the GNAC with a league leading eight-game win streak. They are absolutely dominant in the paint on defense, only allowing opponents a conference low 30 rebounds-per-game and also lead the GNAC in rebounding margin at 8.3.
The last time Central met up with Billings they suffered a rough loss, losing 72-44. The Yellowjacket defense was absolutely stifling, allowing n Wildcat to 10 or more points while Johnson led the Central with nine.
“We keep fighting, I don’t think our record shows how good of a team we are, but we’ve stuck together and we’re close and were ready to break through any time” VanDyke said.
Nelson says that despite their records they know how good they are and how a couple of games are separating them from being in the top-five in the GNAC.
