The CWU women’s basketball team’s overall record currently stands at 12-4 with a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) record of 3-1. The team went on an eight-game winning streak over winter break until their matchup against Montana State University Billings (MSUB) on Thursday, Jan. 4.
Not only is MSUB a nationally ranked team presently holding a 13-3 overall and a 4-0 GNAC record for the season, but the series history reveals that they’re also leading in victorious matchups against the Wildcats over the last few years.
Emphasizing the importance of drawing upon lessons learned from previous games, “we take what we’ve done in the past, what has worked with teams and what has not, and make adjustments because the [opposing team] made adjustments in themselves and those types of things,” Richardson said. “[We] take a lot of things from the past, especially with programs that have had long-standing coaches.”
Sophomore guard Asher Cai spoke to the training regime supplied by Richardson and discussed the preparation that went into this competition.
“Some of the strategies that Coach Randi wanted us to execute included things like defend the three, since they are shooting a very high percentage from beyond the arc as well as locking down on their post play being that we are a smaller team.”
By this, Richardson intended to instill a defensive mindset among the team in order to combat MSUB’s high three-point success rate and their shots being taken close to the basket, known as the post.
However, Cai pointed out that the work put in for this game was no different than it would’ve been for any other opponent. She highlighted that regardless of MSUB’s status, their team remained headstrong and stuck to their game plan.
“Preparation for these games and any games we play this season doesn’t change based on ‘how good’ a team is,” Cai said. “We spend the whole week better understanding and repping their offenses to be able to defend them and their key players.”
Junior guard Sunny Huerta emerged as CWU’s top scorer of this game with 29 points, and according to Cai, her impact on this team is only anticipated to further expand.
“Sunny doesn’t just impress me in games, but practices as well,” Cai said. “She is always pushing herself and her teammates to be better and that is something I admire about her. Everything that she has done has started with her being a great leader and showing us all how we need to operate in order to win games.”
In reflecting on the team’s collective performance against MSUB, Richardson applauded her team’s attempt and pointed toward a stronger sense of persistence among players for future clashes.
“I’m pleased with our team’s overall effort tonight against a very good MSUB team,” Richardson said according to wildcatsports.com. “We got a great taste of what conference basketball is and hopefully, we improve on our sense of urgency to execute on both sides of the floor.”
With a seemingly restored sense of urgency, the Wildcats bounced back against the Seattle Pacific University (SPU) Falcons shortly after on Saturday, Jan. 6 ending with a final score of 71-61.
Both Huerta and Cai have been threats on CWU’s offense this season as they’ve continually been trading places as top scorers per game. Cai was at the top against SPU with 21 points, Huerta followed close behind with 19 points, and preceding them was freshman forward Capri Sims with 13 points and junior guard Malia Smith with 9 points.
“Sunny and Asher are going to be a big part of our scoring for the remainder of the season,” Richardson said. “Teams have tried many of different things [to defend them] already this year … it’s fun to see them step up to these higher pressure roles and bigger expectations of performance every night.”
Cai’s defensive statistics have paired well with her offensive ones as she has been able to maintain success on both ends of the court. She attributed her skills to her mental preparedness as well as support from her team.
“My mindset is to come into the game knowing what steps I need to take on defense to get stops for the team, and offensively to keep shooting and being aggressive regardless of the shot before,” Cai said. “I wouldn’t be able to get the looks I do if it weren’t for how well the team shares the ball and how selfless the team is.”
The Wildcat’s next showdown is versus the Western Washington University (WWU) Vikings on Thursday, Jan. 11 inside the Carver Gym in Bellingham, Washington. This will be the team’s first game on the road since the opening weekend of the GNACtion tournament at the end of November last year.
“We have to improve defensively in defending their bigs, they have a very massive strength with having a lot of size,” Richardson mentioned when discussing potential challenges about facing the Vikings.
Regardless, Cai expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming match and getting to face their rival team.
“This game will show how much we have grown throughout the season … it should be a good game with a good game plan and we are feeling confident coming in,” Cai said. “Although playing at Western can be tough, we’ve done it before and we can do it again.”
