Dec. 18, 2014
Women's Basketball Takes Winning Streak to Yellowjacket Basketball Classic
Fresh off of being named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Team of the Week, the Central Washington University women's basketball team will take its three-game winning streak on the road for two games in Billings, Montana on December 18 and 19 to take part in the Yellowjacket Basketball Classic.
The Wildcats will first take Montana Tech on Thursday followed by a Friday Matchup with South Dakota Mines.
Courtney Johnson remains a hot shooter for the Wildcats, scoring 17.1 points per game and shooting 54.2 percent, including 41.9 percent from three-point territory.
But it's the defense of the Wildcats that caught the conference's attention, and the reason Harada believes the team is off to a 6-2 start so far this season.
"The players have really bought into the program. I love our defensive intensity and overall effort. It is a lot easier to win games when you don't have to score 70 to 80 points, and so far this season we have been able to hold our opponents to a manageable point total."
The Wildcats are only giving up 55.6 points per game, which is second best in the conference. In their last two games the Wildcats have held their opponents under 40 points. The 34 points scored by Western Oregon on Dec. 6 was the fourth fewest points given up in school history.
Leading the defensive charge are Jasmin Parker and Jasmin Edwards. Parker leads the team with 10 blocks on the seasons and has also totaled seven steals. Edwards has been a pesky defender with 15 steals so far this season while committing just 10 fouls all season.
About the Opponents
The Montana Tech Diggers will be a familiar opponent for the Wildcats, not just because they played last season, but also because the Diggers' new head coach is former CWU assistant Carly VanDyke.
Montana Tech is 7-4 so far this season having won their last two contests, both of which were against Northwest Indian School. They are scoring 74.4 points per game and are led by the scoring duo of Mandy Machinal and Kayla Dewit who are both scoring over 14 points per game.
South Dakota School of Mines is 3-6 on the season and lost their last matchup against the University of Nebraska-Kearney. They have just one player scoring in double-figures and as a team score just 53.4 points per game.