By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Tears of frustration filled the eyes of Central Washington women’s players as they walked off their home floor with a 62-60 loss to top-seed Montana State Billings in the semifinals of last year’s Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championships.
 
It was a painful end to a successful season, as CWU came inches away from advancing to the championship game last March. When the teams met for the first time since then on Saturday afternoon in Ellensburg, the bitter memory helped fuel CWU to a gutsy, 48-45 win over the sixth-ranked Yellowjackets (16-4, 5-2 GNAC) as they avenged last year’s narrow defeat.
 
“This year is a different year, but both teams have a lot of returning players. There is a history with every team in the conference,” said CWU head coach Randi Richardson. “We had a couple of really close losses last year to Billings when we played them. This was a big game for our group to prove to themselves they can compete at the national level against a really good team with very veteran players and a team we have a ton of respect for. I was happy for our ladies that we were able to pull that one out and get on the side of getting a win this time around.”
 
The Wildcats also topped Seattle Pacific (6-14, 0-7) 88-65 last Thursday and were selected as the GNAC Team of the Week on Monday. CWU (16-4, 5-2 GNAC) climbed into a tie for second in the conference standings with its two wins last week, which came after a heartbreaking, 67-65 loss to Western Washington (10-7, 5-3) the Saturday before. CWU bounced back last Thursday, pulling away from Seattle Pacific late with a 28-point fourth quarter. “We came off a really tough loss up in Bellingham last Saturday,” Richardson said. “We didn’t want that type of game to define our season; we wanted it to help us pivot in aspects like closing out games. Going into the SPU game, it was important for us to take a step forward. SPU competed really well with us, and we were able to pull ahead in the fourth. Sunny (Huerta) sustained us in the second quarter with scoring, and Asher (Cai) went on her own little run at the end of the third to give us a lift. They challenged us in some ways we needed to be challenged. I thought Hunter Beirne from SPU had a terrific game, and it forced us to look at some things we were doing defensively.”
 
After running away from the Falcons late, the Wildcats were challenged with a much slower pace in Saturday’s low-scoring affair against the Yellowjackets. After being out-scored 16-10 in the first quarter, CWU limited MSUB to no more than 10 points in a quarter the rest of the game and held on through an intense final possession to secure the win.
 
“We knew going in that Billings was a very sound defensive team, and that our paces contrasted each other,” Richardson said. “I didn’t know where the pace was going to fall, and it actually played into their benefit. However our team showed a ton of growth and maturity in our willingness to defend throughout the game when our offense was not producing. We are a high paced, high scoring offensive team, and sometimes that’s what motivates and fuels us. But when you play a great team like Billings who takes away your first and second options, you need to formulate shots to get a win. We made enough plays at the end of the game to pull it out.”
 
At the crux of the success for the Wildcats is senior guard Sunny Huerta, who has established herself as one of the greatest scorers in GNAC history. With her 44 points last week, Huerta upped her four-year total to 1,656 points and broke into the top-10 on the conference’s career leaderboard in scoring. She is 41 points away from breaking Rose Shaw’s school record of 1,696 points. The Whittier, Calif., native ranks third in the conference with 18.0 points per game and is second in the league in 3-point shooting at 45.6%. Perhaps even more important than her game-high 22 points on Saturday was a leaping block she made on what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer by MSUB’s Kortney Nelson with just 17 seconds left in the game. “I’m so happy for Sunny and proud of her,” Richardson said. “She has grown throughout her whole career and is really coming into her own. She is a terrific defender, and that’s something we don’t talk about a lot. We put her defending someone who is bigger than her a lot of the time, she is a captain and she is also playing the point for us now. We are putting a ton of things on her plate and she is handling it with so much grace, poise and confidence. She is playing with so much passion and without any fear, and that is a really great thing for her as a competitor. Her consistent scoring at all three levels has been vital to our success.”
   

GNAC Women's Basketball All-Time Scoring Leaders (as of Jan. 20, 2025)
Rank	Player	Points	School	Career
1	Alisha Breen	2,001	Montana State Billings	2013-18
2	Erin Chambers	1,946	Simon Fraser	2011-15
3	Taylor Peacocke	1,946	Western Washington	2013-17
4	Bobbi Knudsen	1,831	Montana State Billings	2010-14
5	Jordan Wilson	1,783	Alaska Fairbanks	2013-17
6	Rebecca Kielpinski	1,752	Alaska Anchorage	2005-09
7	Rose Shaw	1,696	Central Washington	1998-02
8	Sunny Huerta	1,656	Central Washington	2021-25
9	Amanda Dunbar	1,654	Western Washington	2007-11
10	Katie Benson	1,645	Seattle Pacific	2010-14

 
Giving the Wildcats the most dangerous offensive 1-2 punch at the guard position in the league is junior Asher Cai, who is second in the conference with 18.4 points per game, fifth with 6.9 rebounds per game and sixth with 3.6 assists per game. Cai was firing on all cylinders in the win over the Falcons, scoring 23 points while adding nine rebounds, seven assists and seven steals. “She impacts the game in so many facets, and her stat line in the SPU game was insane,” Richardson said of the Colfax, Wash., native. “She is a kid who is super hungry. She is a big competitor, a very big scorer and a great rebounder for us from the guard spot. She has a terrific feel for the game. She is a great passer and has the ability to make some big plays defensively. She is really starting to hone in on certain aspects of her game she has been wanting to improve. I’m excited to see her continue to grow in that regard.”
 
The Wildcats have relied on sophomore forward Capri Sims to compliment their lineup, as she leads the team and ranks third in the GNAC with 7.9 rebounds per game while adding 8.4 points. A reliable presence in the paint, Sims also ranks fourth in the conference in shooting at 50.4% from the floor. “Capri is a terrific competitor,” said Richardson. “I have so much admiration for how hard she plays, and I love coaching her because of her effort and coachability. She has improved tremendously on the defensive side of the ball with her ability to defend in the paint against more size. Offensively she is still growing and is going to continue to improve with her confidence. I’m excited to see her take steps forward this year.”
 
Another sophomore guard CWU has relied on for significant minutes this season is Annalee Coronado, who has started 12 of 16 games in her second season in the program. The Othello, Wash., native is chipping in 6.4 points per game and is third on the team with 3.19 assists per game. “Anna is a great talent with her size and ability, and we have made a shift that will help her more with her ability to score,” Richardson said. “She can really impact the game because of her skillset and scoring, and we can put her on some of the bigger guards in the league. She plays with an infectious energy for our team, and that has been positive for us.”
 
Veteran leadership has been an important factor for the Wildcats as well, with redshirt junior Shelby Blodgett and senior Malia Smith standing as two more regulars in the lineup. Blodgett, from Clatskanie, Ore., has started all 16 games and contributes 4.4 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 45.8% overall. “Shelby is that consistent presence who does everything right,” Richardson said. “She is extremely strong and executes our game plan really well. She also has the ability to step out and stretch the floor from the four spot which is something I think we missed last year. That really influences our ability to play how we want to from behind the 3-point line.”
 
Smith has seen action in all 16 contests and has made four starts, and ranks third in the GNAC in 3-point accuracy at 42.7% from long range. The Snohomish, Wash., native ranks fourth on the squad with 6.9 points per game. “She is one of the best shooters I have ever coached, and it has been fun to watch her grow and come into her own,” Richardson said. “She does a great job of stretching the floor for us and has improved tremendously on the defensive side of the ball. She has stepped up huge for us in her senior year.”
 
Now in her eighth season leading CWU, success has followed Richardson since taking the reins in 2017. She has guided her team to an overall record of 128-71 (.643) including a mark of 76-45 (.628) in conference play. Her squad has its sights set on returning to the conference tournament – which it won in 2022 – for the 10th consecutive season if it can maintain its spot in the top-6 in the conference standings over the next seven weeks.
 
The Wildcats continue their campaign with a four-game road stretch over the next two weeks, with games scheduled across three different states. Next up is a Thursday evening (5:15 p.m. PT) matchup against a Saint Martin’s (10-5, 3-4) team that has won two of its last three games. “Going into today, we are focusing on the process and it’s one game at a time,” said Richardson. “There are still a lot of great takeaways we can grow from in last week’s wins. We know what we are capable of but still don’t feel like we have put a full 40 minutes together with our abilities. This is a great group and they are hungry. Right now it’s about getting better and chipping off as many wins as we can.”