ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington women’s basketball team will open their season participating in the CCA Division II Canadian Tip-Off Classic hosted by Simon Fraser University Friday, Nov. 3rd through Sunday, Nov. 5th.
GAME INFORMATION
Friday, November 3rd
12:45 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Colorado Mesa
Langley Events Centre
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Saturday, November 4th
12:15 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Texas A&M International
Langley Events Centre
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Sunday, November 5th
12:45 p.m.
Central Washington vs. #7 Texas-Tyler
Langley Events Centre
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LIVE STATS
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
TICKETS
THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats are coming off of their second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The crimson and black boasted a 21-9 record including a 12-6 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Wildcats made it to the second round of the GNAC Tournament, first defeating Simon Fraser 88-62 in the opening round before falling to Montana State Billings 75-62. The Wildcats were selected as the sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament, falling in the first round to Cal State San Marcos 86-74.
The Wildcats saw the departure of seniors Kiera Bush, Samantha Bowman, and Jenna Troy. Bush and Troy proved to be key rotational pieces for the Wildcats throughout their careers. The 2022-23 Roy Lenz D2CCA National Player of the year and GNAC Player of the Year, Samantha Bowman departs CWU as one of the greatest players to don the crimson and black, leaving with her seven GNAC records, and nine CWU women’s basketball records.
The Wildcats do welcome back Bowman as she finishes up her graduate degree, as coach Randi Richardson-Thornley named her as the Student Assistant to the Head Coach. Joining Bowman as a new face on the coaching staff is CWU graduate Shawnee Covington as a Volunteer Assistant Coach.
The crimson and black bring back a plethora of talent from a season ago including First Team All-GNAC member Sunny Huerta, GNAC Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention All-GNAC Asher Cai, and Honorable Mention All-GNAC member Tori Maeda.
The Wildcats will be a young team this year as nine players are either a freshman or sophomore. Helping to guide the team will be seniors Maeda and Brinley Hagemeier as well as juniors Huerta and Malia Smith. Richardson-Thornley brought in four freshmen and two transfers to round out the squad this year.
Coming in from Cal State East Bay is Arlington, Wash. native Keira Marsh while Chelan, Wash. native Aliyah Finch comes into the program from Yakima Valley College where she earned the NWAC East Region Most Valuable Player honor last season. Joining Marsh and Finch in the recruiting class are Ellensburg native Rylee Leishman, Othello, Wash. native Annalee Coronado as well as out-of-state talents Olivia Huntsinger (Missoula, Mont.) and Capri Sims (Post Falls, Idaho).
QUOTING HEAD COACH RANDI RICHARDSON-THORNLEY
“We are very excited to start our season. The Canadian Tip-Off Classic will be a great opportunity to be challenged right out of the gate and will provide us a great opportunity to see where our team is at. We will play three great teams in three days that will each present various challenges. We look forward to the opportunity to compete.”
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
The Wildcats will face three programs never seen before in program history, starting with the Colorado Mesa Mavericks. The Mavericks were picked sixth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Poll.
The Mavericks went 13-15 last season, posting a 12-10 RMAC record. The Mavs will be led by 2022-23 RMAC Freshman of the Year Olivia Reed who led the team in scoring last season with 12.4 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game as well as posting 47 blocks. Only one other starter returns for CMU in Tia Slade who averaged 7.9 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game. Laura Gutierrez is back after serving in a key role off the bench, finishing third on the Mavs in scoring with 8.2 points per game.
The Mavs are similar to CWU as they have 12 of their 18 players are listed as either a freshman or a sophomore. They brought in five freshmen as well as two transfer players to round out their roster.
SCOUTING THE DUSTDEVILS
The Dustdevils are returning six players from a team that went 13-17 overall last year and 6-16 in Lone Star Conference action. TAMUI was picked to finish 13th in the LSC for the upcoming season with Raiana Brown listed as a player to watch.
Brown returns after serving as the leading scorer for the Dustdevils a season ago, posting 19.2 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, and 45 steals. Emily Swiercz also returns after finishing second on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game as well as adding on 53 steals on the season. Key contributors Marija Bakic (6.7 PPG), Barbara Turkalj (6.1 PPG), and Angelique Morgan (5.3 PPG) all return.
TAMUI hit the recruiting trail hard bringing in 12 athletes for the upcoming year. Of the 12 newcomers, six are freshmen ranging from Wisconsin to Ohio to Nashville to all over Texas. The Dustdevils also welcome six transfer students including an NCAA Division I transfer from Lamar University.
SCOUTING THE #7 PATRIOTS
UT Tyler is coming off of a very impressive season making a run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament before falling to the national champions. UTT finished the year 27-8 overall with an 18-4 LSC record. The Patriots were picked to finish third in the LSC, while also picking up nine first-place votes. Oregon native Meagan Mendazona was named to the LSC Players to Watch list for the upcoming season.
The Patriots leading scorer, Destini Whitehead, returns for her senior year after posting 12.6 points per game. Montse Gutierrez and Mendazona each return in big roles after posting 8.1 and 7.1 points per game, respectively. Ella Bradley will also be back after starting for most of the season last year, posting 5.8 points per game, four rebounds per game, and leading UTT with 23 blocks. The leader in assists for UTT also returns in Frances King who averaged 6.7 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, and also had 43 steals with her 95 assists.
UTT has a diverse group this year with nine girls from outside the United States. The Patriots will be a very experienced group this year with a majority of their roster returning. Only four Patriots are new to the roster this year with two coming into the program and two transferring in, including one from LSC rival St. Mary’s.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will head south to participate in the CCAA-GNAC Crossover hosted by Cal State East Bay. The Wildcats will take over Hayward, Calif. for a two-game matchup, first with the hosting Pioneers on Friday, Nov. 10 at 5:00 p.m. The crimson and black will then wrap up the weekend taking on the Warriors of Stanislaus State on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1:00 p.m.