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The Ichabods are 4-2 after a win last Tuesday against Benedictine.
Southwest Baptist is 3-2 and MSSU is 5-1. The Lions host UNK Thursday before hosting Washburn.
Washburn leads the all-time series 35-11 over the Bearcats with 11 straight wins going back to 2007-08.
Washburn is 45-26 all-time against MSSU and has won six straight going back to 2009-10.
Casyn Buchman has topped her previous career high of 13 points in all six games this year with a high of 26 against Southwestern.
Washburn is second in the MIAA scoring 87.8 points a game but has the 13th highest scoring defense, allowing 72.2 points a game.
Buchman tied a school record going 12-12 from the free throw line at Drury. Overall, she is 21-22 from the line with 19 straight makes this year.
Brittney Lynch has two career double-doubles this year. She averages 11.2 points, 27th in the MIAA, and 8.8 RB, 5th in the league.
Five Ichabods are scoring in double figures this year and all five of them are in the top 30 in the league in scoring.
The Ichabods are 17-7 in MIAA openers with wins in six straight.
The Ichabods were picked third in the MIAA coaches and media preseason polls. The coaches picked Emporia State first and the media picked Central Missouri first.
Washburn was ranked 20th in the USA Today Sports poll last week. Washburn has been ranked in 176 of the last 177 polls. A new poll will be released this Tuesday.
Ron McHenry is 346-73 (.826) in his 14th year at Washburn. He is the winningest DII coach among those with at least 10 years experience and he's led Washburn to 12 straight NCAA tournaments.
MIAA season opens on the road with games at SBU and MSSU this week
The Ichabods will begin defense of their two straight MIAA championships with a game Thursday at Southwest Baptist and another Saturday at Missouri Southern.
Washburn, 4-2 and ranked 20th in last week's national poll, will play SBU at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and MSSU Saturday at 1 p.m. The SBU game will be carried live on 580 AM WIBW and 106.9 FM KTPK will carry the MSSU game. Links to live stats, video and audio are available at wusports.com/live.
Washburn improved to 4-2 with a 97-65 win last Tuesday against Benedictine. Southwest Baptist is 3-2 after going 1-1 in games in Pensacola, Fla., over the Thanksgiving weekend. MSSU is 5-1 after a win against Rockhurst on Saturday and will host Nebraska-Kearney Thursday before playing Washburn Saturday.
Washburn, SBU and MSSU all played Drury in non-conference games and lost to the Panthers.
Casyn Buchman leads the Ichabods and is second in the MIAA with 20.5 points a game after she scored a career-high 26 points against Southwestern two weeks ago to help her earn MIAA athlete of the week honor.
Brittney Lynch averages 11.2 points and 8.8 rebounds a game. She's fifth in the MIAA in rebounding.
McHenry begins 14th season at Washburn as NCAA II's winningest active coach
Washburn head coach
Ron McHenry returns for his 14th season at Washburn with the highest winning percentage among active NCAA II coaches with at least 10 years at four-year schools.
McHenry is 346-73 (.826) overall and he will need just four more conference wins to get his 200th MIAA victory. He's 196-46 (.810) in MIAA games.
McHenry is a four-time MIAA coach of the year and he has eight MIAA regular season titles. He's been to 12 straight NCAA tournaments and he coached Washburn to an NCAA II national title in 2004-05.
He started the year second all-time in NCAA II history among coaches with at least 10 years with an .828 winning percentage. Lloyd Clark holds the record with an .834 winning percentage at Delta State from 1984-2002.
Washburn drops to 20th in national poll
The Ichabods dropped from 16th to 20th in last week's USA Today Sports national poll, the second poll of the regular season. Another poll is expected to be released Tuesday afternoon this week.
The Ichabods were picked 22nd in the preseason poll after they finished last year ranked 14th in the nation with a 23-6 season and a second straight MIAA title with a 16-2 record. They have now been ranked in 176 of the last 177 polls, dating back to week three of the 2002-03 season. The final poll of the 2010-11 season was the last time Washburn was not ranked.
Emporia State is the highest ranked MIAA team with a No. 3 ranking after a 6-0 start to the season. The Ichabods and Hornets won't play until February as they battle February 5 in Topeka and February 22 in Emporia.
Central Missouri is fifth in the poll and Washburn will travel to UCM January 6. Previous non-conference opponent Nova Southeastern is fourth in the nation and Drury is 16th.
MIAA coaches and media pick Ichabods third in preseason poll
The Ichabods will have some work to do if they are going to repeat as MIAA champions for a third straight time. The conference coaches and media both picked Washburn to finish third in the MIAA preseason women's basketball polls released October 24.
Washburn earned one first-place vote among the league's 14 head coaches and finished with 143 points in the poll. The coaches picked Emporia State first with 164 points and Central Missouri earned 158 to finish second in the voting. The media picked UCM first with 359 points and ESU second with 338. Washburn earned 312 votes and six of the 27 first-place votes. Fort Hays State was picked fourth and Pittsburg State was fifth in both polls.
Washburn won the MIAA last year with a 16-2 record and Central Missouri and Northeastern State tied for second with 14-4 records. Emporia State finished fourth at 13-5 and won the MIAA postseason tournament.
Washburn suiting just 11, including just one senior, to start season
Washburn will suit up just 11 of the 13 players on its roster and will have just one senior in Division I transfer
Kara Lee.
Four juniors and a sophomore make up the Ichabods' five returners. Among the eight newcomers, junior
Taylor Ignoto will not be eligible until the end of the fall semester and freshman
Jada Lynch was injured in the preseason and will take a redshirt.
Quick history review
In Washburn's 44 years of basketball since 1969-70, the Ichabods are 829-358-1 (.698) in 1188 games. They have 13 MIAA regular season titles and nine tournament titles since joining the league in 1989-90.
Thirty all-America awards have been won between 16 different players and Washburn has seven MIAA MVPs and 22 MIAA first-teamers.
The Ichabods won the 2004-05 NCAA II national title and set an NCAA II record with a 51-game winning streak stretching from 2004-05 into the 2005-06 season. Guard Jennifer Harris was the NCAA II player of the year in 2005-06 and was the No. 20 pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.
Buchman keeps setting career highs
Junior guard
Casyn Buchman entered the year with a career high of 13 points set last year against Emporia State. She has since topped that in all six games this year with a new career high of 26 points November 23 against Southwestern.
Buchman opened the season with 14 points at Nova Southeastern. She then upped that with 24 points the next game against Barry.
Buchman then tied that with 24 points at Drury. She went 12 for 12 from the free throw line to tie a school record.
Buchman then set a career high with 11 rebounds last Tuesday against Benedictine with her first career double-double. She added 19 points that game.
Buchman near the top in several MIAA categories
Junior guard
Casyn Buchman is second in the MIAA with 20.5 points game. She's one of two MIAA players averaging more than 20 points a game.
Buchman is third in assists with 4.7 a game and first with 32.8 minutes a game. She is 21 of 22 overall from the free throw line with a .955 percentage. Two MIAA players entered the week perfect from the free throw line to put Buchman third in the league. Overall, Buchman is in the top 15 in eight different MIAA categories.
Lynch nearly averaging a double-double
Junior forward
Brittney Lynch leads the team with 8.8 rebounds a game and she nearly averages a double-double as she has 11.2 points a game. Lynch has scored in double figures in five of six games and reached 10 or more rebounds three times with two double-doubles.
She had her second double-double November 23 against Southwestern with 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. She had her first in the opener against Nova Southeastern with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Final notes on the Benedictine game
Washburn improved to 33-7 all-time against the Ravens and has now won 23 straight in the series.
The 97 points is the most Washburn has ever scored against Benedictine.
Coming up next
Washburn will take 12 days off and then play its first MIAA home game on December 19 against Lincoln at Schendel Court in Lee Arena. The Ichabods are 22-0 all-time against the Blue Tigers.
