Central women’s basketball returns home to face off against the University of Alaska Fair banks and University of Alaska Anchorage after winning an overtime thriller on the road versus Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) 68-66; the team’s first win at NNU in ten years.

This will be a key piece to second half playoff push Central starts with the matchups versus University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Central starts a two game home stand Thursday night tipping off against first place University of Alaska Anchorage who holds an 8-1 conference record and 18-1 overall.

According to the latest USATODAY.com NCAA Division II basketball rankings Anchorage came in at third in the nation.

This is a great chance for Central to make their mark and get a huge home win over Anchorage.

However, they will have their hands full with Anchorage having six players averaging double digit points.

“Their speed, their overall team speed and athleticism,” Head Coach Jeff Harada said. “They are so much quicker than us. They are long and athletic. They press the whole game so for us we need to be composed and not get caught up in playing that up down fast tempo. We want to dictate the tempo and slow the game down a little.”

The last time Central and Anchorage faced each other it was not a pleasant night for Central.

Anchorage walked away with an 80-57 win and dominated all facets of the game causing Central to turn the ball over 29 times.

Central was out-rebounded 43-31. Central will look to reverse some of those stats if they are going to take down first place Anchorage at home.

“We need to be careful with the ball against the press, just make it a point to take care of the ball better. We need to be in attack mode and not let them pressure us and dictate what they want us to do but attack the press and keep them on their heels.” Harada said

Central will need a big night from both their guards if they are going to beat first place Anchorage.

Senior guard Courtney Johnson and freshman guard Jasmin Edwards who both averaging 13.5 points per game will lead the Wildcats.

In the last outing versus Alaska Anchorage, Johnson seemed to really find her groove and shot her way to a 15 point game.

Another performance like that could go a long ways for Central in this game.

“The style they play requires them to play a lot people and they really get after you and they play hard every time they are on the court. Johnson said. So we just need to match that and be fresh and have all 11 players ready to play.”

The second matchup of this two game homestand will be versus Fairbanks. This is a crucial game for Central holding just one spot lead over Fairbanks in the standings.

Fairbanks is currently at sixth place with 4-5 conference record in the GNAC and 12-7 overall. Fairbanks is led by sophomore forward Jordan Wilson who is averaging 16.3 points/game.

Central will need to pay close attention to Wilson to keep her in check on the court.

To support Wilson in the attack, Fairbanks looks to senior guard Benissa Bulaya. Bulaya is averaging 11.6 points per game and five assists per game.

Coming into the second half of conference play in the GNAC, the Central ladies have put themselves in a spot to make a run and clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2003 and in Harada’s first year at the helm.

It is tough to drop home games in the GNAC and make the playoffs so making sure Central picks up both of these home wins will be huge.