Senior standout leads Wildcats into postseason

It’s been a dream season for senior Asher Cai and the Central Washington University women’s basketball team. The only thing that could make it sweeter would be a Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship and a deep run in the upcoming NCAA Division II tournament.

After finishing second in the GNAC during the regular season, the Wildcats earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for this week’s GNAC Championships in Bellingham. Despite falling to Northwest Nazarene on Senior Night last weekend at Nicholson Arena, Cai and her teammates feel like they can handle any challenge that comes their way.

“We have the strongest conference in the West, and that has prepared us super well for the postseason,” said Cai, who broke the GNAC’s all-time scoring record earlier this season and currently has 2,195 career points. “Now, our goal is to win a GNAC ring and go all the way.”

The Wildcats’ conference championship quest will begin Friday when they take on the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between No. 3 Saint Martin’s and No. 6 Montana State-Billings. On the other side of the bracket is top-seeded Western Washington, which won the second meeting between the two rivals on February 5 after CWU claimed the first matchup in early January.

Even though the Wildcats (23-5 overall) suffered two more setbacks over the season’s final two weeks, they believe they can play with anyone.

“I feel like this group has what it takes to win a championship,” said Cai, who is averaging a GNAC-best 23.1 points per game, along with 6.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists. “Our hearts and minds are in it, and we’ve been working so hard to get to this point. We care about each other and this program so much, and that’s what is always on the forefront of our minds.”

Cai applauded Head Coach Randi Richardson and her staff — Associate Head Coach Jessica Richardson and Graduate Assistant Tiara Scott — for creating a winning culture for the CWU program, which has reached three of the past four NCAA tournaments, including a run to the Sweet 16 last season.

Cai also credits Richardson for helping her develop into the leader she has become during her four years in a Wildcats uniform.

“I give props to my coaches for making me the player and the person I am today,” said Cai, also the GNAC’s all-time leader in field goals made (732) and three-point field goals made (279). “I have built really strong relationships with all of them, and I can’t think of a better situation for me over the past four years.”

Cai had a feeling that Central was where she wanted to continue her playing career when Richardson traveled to her hometown of Colfax to watch her play volleyball.

“We just clicked right away,” Cai said. “I felt like I could trust her from the moment we met, and even though I was talking to some other schools, I knew CWU was where I belonged.”

Now in her ninth season at the helm, Richardson has continued bringing in top talent to surround Cai, including fellow team leaders Capri Sims, Annalee Coronado, and Fiona Snashall.

Recent CWU standouts like Alexis Pana, Samantha Bowman, Sunny Huerta, and Kizzah Maltezo have all gone on to play professional basketball, and Cai is beginning to consider her options once she graduates this spring with a degree in exercise science.

“I’d like to play overseas, but I honestly haven’t thought too much about it yet,” said Cai, a two-time all-GNAC first team selection who also won the GNAC Freshman of the Year award in 2022-23. “My former teammates have reached out to a couple teams for me, but we’ll see what happens after the season.”

For now, Cai and her teammates have their minds set on one thing, and one thing only: winning a GNAC title and contending for a D-II national championship.

As the West Region’s top-ranked team heading into March Madness, the Wildcats’ hopes are justifiably high.

“What has stood out to me this year is how much everyone on the team wants to win,” Cai said. “That’s all that truly matters to us.”