Wildcats’ Asher Cai named Female Athlete of the Year

MOSES LAKE — After a strong senior season with the Wildcats women's basketball program, Asher Cai was named the GNAC Female Athlete of the Year, according to a statement by GNAC. The GNAC Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one male and one female deemed to have achieved the highest performance athletically. 

“To be recognized among so many talented student-athletes across our conference is truly amazing,” Cai said in the GNAC’s statement. “While this is an individual award, it’s a reflection of the people who’ve supported me throughout this journey. I am especially thankful for my teammates and the commitment they made this season was so special. Every practice, game and challenge we faced together helped shape me into the player I am today, and I share recognition with them in this.” 

According to the GNAC, this marks the second year in-a-row that Central Washington earned the league’s top female athlete award, with track & field national champion Emy Ntekpere taking the honor in 2024-25.  

Overall Cai is the third woman in school history to receive the league’s top recognition, joining Ntekpere and 2005-06 recipient LeAnne McGahuey (volleyball). Cai is the fifth women’s basketball player to earn the honor and the first in a decade with 2015-16 recipient Megan Mullings of Alaska Anchorage being the most recent in the sport.  

Other women’s basketball players to earn GNAC Female Athlete of the Year were Bobbi Knudsen of Montana State Billings (2013-14), Hanna Johansson of Alaska Anchorage (2011-12) and Kerie Hughes of Seattle Pacific (2002-03). 

According to a statement by CWU Athletics, Cai averaged 22.2 points per game this 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.  

She matched her career high of 37 points twice during the season, first against University of Mary and later against Montana State University Billings. Cai also tied a Central Washington single-game record by making 14 free throws twice, first at Cal Poly Humboldt and again against Mary. In the game at Cal Poly Humboldt, she went a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line. 

This season alone, Cai 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. 

“This is a big honor given the high caliber of female athletes who span across the GNAC in every sport,” Head Women’s Basketball Coach Randi Richardson said. “Asher's work ethic and how she operates is different, and this recognition is a direct reflection of that. She has invested so much of herself into our program, her teammates, and her own personal growth and development over the past four years.  

"She has stayed committed to the process of being a collegiate athlete and being a part of something bigger than herself through the highs and lows, which is becoming rarer these days, and she has and will continue to reap the benefits of that commitment and loyalty.” 

Cai finished her career as the GNAC's all-time leading scorer with 2,257 points. She also holds conference career records for field goals made (746) and 3-pointers made (290) over her four seasons. She 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. 

According to the GNAC, Cai battled through a leg injury that significantly hindered her comfort on the court. Her efforts to push through paid off after the Wildcats Earned a spot in the NCAA West Region Championships for the third time in Cai’s career.  

CWU stifled Montana State Billings 63-36 in the opening game to earn a vengeful victory against the team that knocked them out of the GNAC Championships the previous week. Seemingly ignoring her nagging injury, Cai made 8 of 15 field goals, including 6 of 12 3-pointers on her way to 31 points to help the Wildcats take down Vanguard 81-73. That earned CWU its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16, where its season ended with a competitive 57-51 defeat against Cal Poly Pomona. 

“She has impacted our program in such a positive way each year she has been here and during her time CWU women’s basketball has not had a more successful four-year stretch in the NCAA D2 era,” said Richardson. “Then when the spotlight on her was biggest going into her senior season, she stepped up and answered that pressure with the highest statistical output of her career and led our program to new heights and expectations. Most importantly, during all of this she has operated with a high level of integrity, and has been a great student, teammate, and representative of our program. I am happy for her and proud of her to receive this well-deserved recognition.”

    Asher Cai (21) throws up a one after scoring a bucket for the Wildcats last season.
  

    Wildcats senior Asher Cai walks out onto the court during CWU’s senior night. Cai made the All-Conference team and was named Player of the Year in the GNAC.
  

    The Wildcats’ Asher Cai (21) is embraced by her teammates after their 63-36 win over Montana State Billings last season.