TOPEKA, Kan. – The Ichabods made 11 of 12 free throws the final five minutes to hold on for a 78-71 win Saturday over Missouri Western at Schendel Court in Lee Arena.
 
The eighth-ranked Ichabods improved to 11-2 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA. They'll continue conference action Monday at home at 5:30 p.m. against Central Missouri.
 
Washburn led the entire second half until the Griffons (6-4, 1-3 MIAA) tied the game at 70 with 1:08 to play after two free throws by LaQuinta Jefferson. Casyn Buchman then answered with a jumper in the paint 11 seconds later that put the Bods back up for good.
 
She then grabbed a defensive rebound on the Griffons' next possession and made two free throws after she was fouled with 39 seconds left. Taylor Ignoto then made two more free throws 20 seconds later and Buchman stretched the Washburn lead to three possessions with two free throws with six seconds left.
 
Ignoto ended up 6 of 11 from the field and 11 of 16 from the line for a career-high 24 points. It was her fifth 20-point game and it gave her double figures for the 12th time in her 12 games this year.
 
Buchman, the MIAA's leading free throw shooter, shot 8 of 8 from the free throw line to improve her percentage to .905 at the line. She ended with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Honor Duvall went 7 of 12 from the field for 16 points and she added four assists and eight rebounds.
 
Jayna Smith had a career-high 10 rebounds and five assists as she made her second career start. She shot 3 of 6 from the field with eight points.
 
The Ichabods built their first double-digit lead of the game at 26-16 with 7:43 left in the first half. The Griffons then erased that with an 11-0 run to go up 27-26. The Bods jumped back ahead and led 38-33 at halftime.
 
Buchman's layup at 14:34 in the second half gave the Ichabods a game-high 14-point lead and they kept the advantage until the Griffons tied the game with an 8-1 run near the one-minute mark.

Washburn shot 52 percent in the first half but cooled to 40 percent in the second half to end the game shooting 46 percent. The Griffons shot 45 percent in the game and made 10 of 25 3-pointers (40 percent). Washburn made just 2 of 11 3-pointers after going 0 for 4 in the first half. The Ichabods made up the difference by making 26 of 32 (81 percent) free throws while the Griffons made 11 of 18 charity shots.

The Ichabods won the rebound battle, 37-31 and had 46 points in the paint while the Griffons had 28. MWSU was led by 25 points off the bench from Jefferson. She was 9 of 13 from the field with four 3-pointers. Sarafina Handy had 16 points.