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Washburn went 7-1 during January and will enter February on a six-game winning streak. The streak began on January 9 against Oklahoma Christian when
Taylor Ignoto was inserted into the starting lineup.
Fort Hays State is 10-0 at home after upsetting third-ranked Emporia State 72-57 on Thursday.
Washburn has the longest current winning streak in the league. Pittsburg State has the next longest streak at 3.
Washburn is now third in the MIAA standings after ESU and MSSU lost Thursday. The top four teams advance to the MIAA tournament quarterfinals in KC while the 5th-12th seeds must win a play-in game.
Head coach
Ron McHenry earned his 350th career win and his 200th MIAA win in January.
Washburn is 4th in the nation averaging 1,526 fans a game, ESU is 3rd and two NSIC schools are on top.
The Ichabods were 8th in the nation with a +9.0 rebounding margin & 11th averaging just 13.5 turnovers a game in this week's report.
Washburn has lost just once to FHSU since the Tigers joined the league in 2006-07. FHSU won 68-59 on 02/05/09 in Hays. Washburn has won 20 of the last 21 and leads the series 45-26.
Washburn has three scorers in the top 30 in the MIAA (Buchman 3rd with 16.5; Lee 27th with 10.9; Duvall 29th with 10.5)
Buchman is 52 of 58 from the three throw line to lead the MIAA at .897, 11th in the nation. She has gone perfect seven times and has not missed more than two in a game. She made 32 straight at one point.
Brittney Lynch is second in the MIAA with 9.0 rebounds a game and she averages 9.7 points a game.
Taylor Ignoto averages 15.1 points a game and would be sixth in the MIAA in scoring but she has not played enough games to qualify for the league report.
WU has been left out of the last six USA Today Sports national polls after being ranked as high as 16th this year.
Ron McHenry is 355-76 (.824) in his 14th year at Washburn. He is the winningest DII coach among those with at least 10 years of experience and he's led Washburn to 12 straight NCAA tournaments.
Ichabods look to extend winning streak into February with game at FHSU Saturday
The Ichabods will begin the month of February at 2 p.m. Saturday at Fort Hays State looking to win their seventh straight game. They went 7-1 during January and now have the longest current win streak in the conference after starting the year 6-4.
Washburn is 13-5 overall and tied for third in the MIAA at 8-3 after an 82-70 win Thursday at Nebraska-Kearney. Fort Hays State is 14-4 overall and sixth in the league with a 7-4 record. The Tigers are 10-0 at home after knocking off conference leader Emporia State 72-57 on Thursday.
The game will be carried live on 106.9 FM KTPK. Links to video, live stats and audio are available at wusports.com/live.
Washburn swept the Tigers last year and have won 14 out of 15 since Fort Hays State joined the MIAA in 2006-07. Washburn leads the all-time series 45-26.
Casyn Buchman leads the Ichabods and is third in the MIAA scoring 16.5 points a game.
Brittney Lynch is second in the MIAA with 9.0 rebounds a game and
Taylor Ignoto is averaging 15.1 points a game through her first 10 contests. She sat out the first semester after transferring and would be sixth in the league in scoring but she hasn't played enough games to qualify.
McHenry gets 350th career win and 200th MIAA win in same week
Washburn head coach
Ron McHenry is 355-76 (.824) overall and 204-49 (.806) in MIAA games. He earned his 350th career win January 9 against Oklahoma Christian and he got his 200th MIAA win January 11 against Northwest Missouri.
McHenry started this year, 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 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 out of national poll
The Ichabods dropped out of the USA Today Sports national poll after week four and they have been absent from the last six polls now. Washburn was 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 before these last six polls.
Emporia State is the highest ranked MIAA team with a No. 2 ranking after a 17-0 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 eighth in the poll. The two teams played their only scheduled meeting January 6 in a UCM win. Previous non-conference opponent Nova Southeastern is third in the nation and Drury is ninth.
Quick history review
In Washburn's 44 years of basketball since 1969-70, the Ichabods are 836-361-1 (.698) in 1198 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.
Ignoto earns starting spot after joining team after fall semester
Junior guard
Taylor Ignoto had to sit a full year at Washburn and she played her first games in mid December after the fall semester ended. After four games off the bench she earned her first start and Washburn has since gone 6-0 with her in the starting lineup. She's averaging 15.1 points a game and she's reached double figures in eight of her 10 games this year.
Ignoto would be sixth in the MIAA in scoring but she hasn't played enough games to qualify for the league or NCAA rankings.
Ichabods go on road and extend winning streak to six games
The Ichabods went undefeated during a five-game home stand and then went on the road Thursday to extend their winning streak to six straight games. Washburn was 7-5 before the streak and is now 13-5.
The Ichabods have outscored their opponents by 13.7 points a game during this streak and they have a +7 rebound margin. Scoring has been balanced during the streak. Four different players are averaging between 10 and 14 points a game.
Washburn's defense has held opponents to 57.8 points a game and 34 percent shooting during the streak. Overall, opponents are shooting 38 percent this year and scoring 65.9 a game.
Buchman third in scoring and near the top in several MIAA categories
Junior guard
Casyn Buchman is near the top in several MIAA statistic categories in the latest report. She's third in scoring with 16.5 points a game and first shooting .897 from the free throw line. She's fifth in assists with 3.9 a game and 16th with 6.7 rebounds a game. Overall, her name appears in 11 of the 13 categories.
Tough Schedule
Washburn has three opponents this year ranked in the top 10 that each have just one loss. Emporia State, a school Washburn will play twice in February, was third at 18-1 in the latest poll. Nova Southeastern was fifth at 15-1 and Drury was seventh at 16-1. Those two schools beat Washburn earlier this year on their home courts in non-conference games.
Coming up next
The Ichabods will return home to host Emporia State Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Arena. The February 5 game will be the latest into the season the two have met for the first time. The two had always had their first game by at least January since Washburn joined the MIAA. The last time they waited until February to meet was in 1977-78.
