BILLINGS, Mont. - The Montana State University Billings Women's Basketball team is on the road for the second week in-a-row as they travel to Central Washington University and Northwest Nazarene University for a pair of conference games.
 
MSU Billings is 10-5, 3-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  In their lone game from last week the team is coming off a close loss to Seattle Pacific University last Saturday 57-63.  The game was the GNAC Game of the Week and was broadcast live on ROOT SPORTS.
 
"This is a very important GNAC road trip for our team," Head Coach Kevin Woodin said.  "Central Washington is a very talented team and just came off of a great win at Simon Fraser.  NNU is always tough, especially at home and they too are very talented.  It will be a challenging weekend to say the least."
 
Central Washington University is 6-8 overall and 1-5 in the conference, but don't be fooled by their record.  Week-to-week, Central Washington has continually improved and all of CWU's games have gone the distance.  In their conference games, the Wildcats lost to Western Oregon in overtime, to second in the GNAC Alaska Anchorage by two points, and last week CWU might have had their break-through game in their win over Simon Fraser University.
 
The Wildcats are shooting 40 percent from the field and 27 percent from the three-point arc.  Led by Jessica VanDyke who is averaging 16.7 points per game, CWU has three players averaging in the double-digits in scoring.  Courtney Johnson is averaging 12.2 and Jasmine Parker 10.1.  Parker is also fourth in conference in blocked shots averaging 2.2 a game.
 
In the win over Simon Fraser last week, Parker was the high-scorer with 21 points.  Ally Schmitt, the team's assist leader with 6.2 per game, had 11 points.  Schmitt is currently ranked fourth in the nation in assists.  Johnson and VanDyke both had 10 points.
 
Northwest Nazarene University is 10-4 overall and 3-3 in the GNAC.  NNU has been ranked as high as 17 in the country, but have dropped their last two games and have since dropped out of the rankings.  They are still second in the conference as a scoring offense, and are first in offensive rebounds.  NNU is averaging 78 points and 43 rebounds per game. 
 
The Crusaders have two players ranked in the top ten in the GNAC in points scored per game.  Taylor Simmons is averaging 16 points and is ranked eighth while Megan Hingston is ranked tenth and is averaging 15.2 points.  Hingston is also ranked fifth in the GNAC in rebounds with 8.3 per game. 
 
In their loss to Western Washington University last week, Simmons was 3-6 from the field, but 10-12 from the free-throw-line for a total of 16 points.  Hingston had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Chelsie Luke, a talented non-starter came in and had 20 points.
 
Montana State University Billings is looking to bounce back after their loss last week to Seattle Pacific University.  As a team, the Yellowjackets shot 33 percent from the field, their third lowest of the season.
 
"We will need to play more consistently than we did last week," Coach Woodin said.  "Offensively, we shot the ball poorly so we will need to improve upon our field goal percentages.  Defensively, we will need to limit extra possessions by our opponents."
 
Bobbi Knudsen is leading the team averaging 15.9 points and 6.0 assists per game.  Kayleen Goggins is averaging 12.1.  Chelsea Banis is leading the conference with a .545 field goal percentage and is averaging 10.1 points per game.
 
Janiel Olson is leading the team in rebounds with an average of 10 per game.  Against conference opponents Olson is averaging 11.2 rebounds and is tied for first in the GNAC. 
 
Knudsen is currently ranked second in the GNAC and sixth in the nation with her 6.0 assist average per game.  She is also 50-53 in free-throws on the season, which ranks her first in the GNAC and third nationally.
 
Montana State University Billings will face Central Washington University on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 7 PM Pacific Time.  MSUB will then travel to Idaho for their game against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Jan. 18.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM.  Live video and live stats for both contests will be available at MSUBSports.com.