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Washburn will return to Lee Arena for five straight home games Thursday against Oklahoma Christian.
Ron McHenry will be looking for his 350th career win. He's 349-76 in his 14th year, all at Washburn.
Washburn is 7-5 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA after a loss at UCM Monday. The Ichabods are 4-0 this year when returning after a loss.
Oklahoma Christian, in Edmond, Okla., is 6-6 and 2-4 in the Heartland Conference. The Eagles are in their second year as a provisional NCAA II member. Washburn and OC have never met.
Taylor Ignoto has scored in double figures in all four of her games this year after sitting out 1.5 seasons. She's led the team the last two games. She averages 17.5 points a game.
Casyn Buchman leads the Ichabods with 18.8 points a game and scored in double figures in each of the first 10 games. She ranks second in the MIAA in scoring.
Brittney Lynch has four double-doubles this year. She's second in the MIAA with 9.1 rebounds a game and 28th with 10.8 points a game.
Washburn is 2nd in the MIAA with a .752 free throw percentage and a +9.0 rebounding margin.
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.
WU has been left out of the last three USA Today Sports national polls after being ranked as high as 16th this year.
Ron McHenry is 349-75 (.823) 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.
Bods look to rebound in non-conference tilt with NCAA newcomer Oklahoma Christian
The Ichabods will start a five-game home stand Thursday at 7 p.m. as they welcome NCAA II newcomer Oklahoma Christian to Schendel Court at Lee Arena in Washburn's final non-conference game of the year.
The Ichabods are 7-5 overall after a loss Monday at then-No. 8 Central Missouri but they enter the game 4-0 when returning from a loss. Oklahoma Christian, in its second year as a provisional member of NCAA II and the Heartland Conference, is 6-6 after a win Saturday at Rogers State.
The game will be carried live on 580 AM WIBW. Links to live stats and audio are available at wusports.com/live.
Casyn Buchman leads the Ichabods and is second in the MIAA scoring 18.8 points a game.
Brittney Lynch is second in the MIAA with 9.1 rebounds a game and she nearly averages a double-double with 10.8 points a game.
The Eagles have three players averaging double figures with Roz Hamilton leading with 11.3 points a game. She also leads with 7.7 rebounds a game.
Washburn and Oklahoma Christian have never met. The Ichabods have played two Heartland Conference opponents in recent wins with a victory over Texas-Permian Basin last year and a win in the NCAA tournament in 2005-06.
McHenry nears 350th career win and 200th MIAA win
Washburn head coach
Ron McHenry is 349-76 (.821) overall and he will need just one more conference win to get his 200th MIAA victory. He's 199-49 (.802) in MIAA games.
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 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 earned their third loss during week four and dropped out of that USA Today Sports national poll. They have been absent from the last three 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 three polls.
Emporia State is the highest ranked MIAA team with a No. 3 ranking after a 14-0 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 sixth in the poll. The two teams played their only scheduled meeting on Monday in a UCM win. Previous non-conference opponent Nova Southeastern is fourth in the nation and Drury is 10th.
Quick history review
In Washburn's 44 years of basketball since 1969-70, the Ichabods are 830-361-1 (.697) in 1192 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 strong in first four games back
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. She's scored in double figures in all four games and has led the team in scoring in the last two.
Ignoto is averaging 17.5 points a game and shooting 45 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line. She had a high of 23 points on December 22 against Lindenwood.
Lee Arena provides Ichabods with strong scoring advantage
The Ichabods score over 13 points a game more at home than they do on the road. They're averaging 84.5 points in their four home games and 71.2 points in their six road games.
Washburn shoots 45 percent from the field in home games and 41 percent on the road. The biggest difference may be 3-point shooting. Washburn is shooting 39 percent from long range in home games and just 26 percent on the road.
Casyn Buchman is scoring 23.3 points a game at home and 15.3 a game on the road.
Buchman near the top in several MIAA categories
Junior guard
Casyn Buchman is near the top in several MIAA statistic categories. She's second in scoring with 18.8 points a game and first shooting .917 from the free throw line. She's third in assists with 4.5 a game and 15th with 6.3 rebounds a game. Overall, her name appeared on 10 of the 13 categories.
Lynch nearly averaging a double-double
Junior forward
Brittney Lynch leads the team and is second in the MIAA with 9.1 rebounds a game and she nearly averages a double-double as she has 10.8 points a game, 28th in the MIAA. Lynch has scored in double figures in all but three games this year and has reached 10 or more rebounds five times with four double-doubles. She set career highs on December 5 with 20 points and 17 rebounds at Southwest Baptist.
Coming up next
The Ichabods will continue their five-game home stand and start a four-game MIAA home stand Saturday at 5 p.m. against Northwest Missouri. Washburn beat the Bearcats three times last year but they are only scheduled to meet once this year. The Ichabods have won five straight and 11 out of the last 12 in the series and lead it overall, 49-10. Washburn is 29-2 at home against NWMSU with wins in the last 29 and the two losses coming when the series began in the 1980s.
