TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn tied the game six times in the second half but didn't take a lead after that until the opening basket in overtime. The Ichabods pulled away in the extra period to remain undefeated and hand third-ranked Drury its first loss of the year, 87-79 Saturday evening at Schendel Court in Lee Arena.
 
Washburn (4-0) will travel to Oklahoma Christian, an NCAA II transitional school, Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. game.
 
Washburn trailed by three with under a minute in regulation. Ally Nikkel hit a layup with 42 seconds left to pull Washburn within one. The Panthers (3-1) then missed a jumper and Jayna Smith pulled in the rebound with 16 seconds left. The Bods called a timeout with nine seconds to go and then Casyn Buchman drove up the middle and was fouled with three seconds left going in for the go-ahead layup. She missed the first of two free throws then hit the second to tie the game at 69-69. She then blocked Drury's desperation shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
 
Washburn finally took its first lead of the game since the 14:58 mark of the first half with a layup from Nikkel 44 seconds into the overtime. A jumper from Buchman after that gave the Bods a four-point lead and they held it the entire period. Buchman made six straight free throws in the final 33 seconds of the game to help Washburn pull away.
 
Buchman and Nikkel set career highs for scoring and Taylor Ignoto scored her first 20-point game of the year. Buchman went 9 of 18 from the field and made 8 of 10 free throws for 28 points, one better than her previous career high. She scored 12 of those points in the second half and then 10 of them in the five-minute overtime period. She was 6 of 6 from the line in the extra period.
 
Nikkel scored eight points in the extra period and finished with a career-high 13 points. She was 5 of 8 from the field. Ignoto, who was averaging in double figures off the bench in Washburn's first three games, started her first game of the year and scored 20 points with four baskets coming from 3-point range.
 
Washburn shot 29 percent in the first half and missed all but one of its 11 3-point attempts. The Ichabods turned things around by shooting 52 percent in the second half and hitting early 3s that helped them get close. They ended the game 44 percent from the field while Drury was 36 percent. Washburn shot 66 percent from the free throw line while the Panthers hit 19 of 20 to shoot 95 percent.
 
Washburn blocked 11 Drury shots, mostly by getting hands up on perimeter shots. Six different Ichabods had swats with Janelle Travis leading with three. The Bods edged Drury in rebounding, 47-44 and had six turnovers while Drury had just five.
 
Felisha Gibbs scored nine points off the bench with a 4 of 7 performance. She grabbed eight rebounds while Buchman just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Nikkel had a game-high five assists.
 
 
The Ichabods scored the first four points of the game but let the lead go to Drury after the first five minutes. They trailed 32-26 at halftime and weren't able to tie the game in the second half until the 11:16 mark when Ignoto made a 3-pointer to make the score 47-47. The Bods had a chance to take the lead on their next possession when Emily Gamble was fouled making a layup. She missed the free throw that would have broken the tie.
 
The two teams exchanged 3-pointers near the four minute mark with Ignoto's at 3:48 tying the game again. Drury then retook the lead and held it until Buchman's free throw in the final seconds.
 
Drury shot just 3 of 10 in the overtime period and was 0 of 4 from 3-point range. Annie Armstrong led three Panthers in double figures with 24 points. She was 8 of 17 from the field and 8 of 8 from the line.