Wildcat basketball star named GNAC Athlete of Year

The all-time leading scorer in Central Washington University women's basketball history added yet another award to her long list of accolades last week when she was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Female Athlete of the Year.

Senior guard Asher Cai finished her career as the conference’s all-time leading scorer with 2,257 points and was named a first-team All-American after leading the Wildcats to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the third time in four seasons. She also holds GNAC career records for field goals made (746) and 3-pointers made (290) over her four seasons.

Cai, a four-year starter from Colfax, capped her career with an impressive three-game stretch in the NCAA Tournament, totaling 48 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, one block, and five steals, highlighted by a 31-point performance against Vanguard in the second round.

In addition to her latest honor, she earned recognition as a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, a WBCA First Team All-American, a D2CCA First Team All-American, the D2CCA West Region Player of the Year, GNAC Player of the Year, a unanimous First Team All-GNAC selection, and an Academic All-GNAC honoree. She was also named GNAC Player of the Week twice during the season.

Cai averaged 22.2 points per game last season, finishing with 710 total points while also contributing 5.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per contest. Defensively, she added 46 steals and nine blocks. She shot 43.1 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 87.6 percent from the free-throw line.

CWU track and field standout Emy Ntekpere won the GNAC Female Athlete of the Year award in 2025.