WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Washburn Women's Basketball dropped its final game of a Thanksgiving trip, 60-53, at Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday, Nov. 28.
 
WU (4-2) started hot and took a 32-23 lead at the half but couldn't slow a hot-shooting Sailfish team in the second half in the loss.
 
The Sailfish took an early 5-0 lead in the first but saw WU respond quickly, taking the lead, 6-5, after layup from Felisha Gibbs. Later in the first, the Ichabods built a three-point lead (13-10) after Jharian Bowen hit a pair of free throws with 1:49 to go, but PBA ran off four unanswered to end the period with a 15-13 lead.
 
After PBA extended its lead to four (19-15) with 8:25 on the clock in the second, Haley Pfau hit a three-pointer just seconds later to open a 15-0 run for the Ichabods that lasted nearly five minutes and propelled them towards a 30-19 lead with 3:43 to go in the half.  PBA went 0-for-7 from the field during that stretch, and though a layup stopped the run, the Ichabods held on to a nine-point advantage (32-23) at the half.
 
WU held PBA without a basket for the first 3:10 of the third quarter, but the Ichabods shot just 2-of-9 from the field over the final six minutes of the quarter as the Sailfish came back to tie it at 39 before the quarter ended all even, 41-41.
 
The teams traded baskets over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter before a Erin Dohanlek hit a layup at 6:46 and drew a foul, sinking the free throw before coming up with a steal on the ensuing defensive possession to provide Washburn with a three-point separation, 49-46. PBA came back to take a 51-50 lead inside the four-minute mark, and though Pfau hit a three-pointer on the other end to regain the lead, another three-pointer from the Sailfish prompted an Ichabod timeout with 3:02 to go, down 54-53.  That was as close as Washburn would come the rest of the way, however, as PBA pulled away late to hang on for the win.
 
Gibbs just missed a double-double, finishing with a team-high 12 rebounds to go with eighth points, as Julie Ravn led the team with nine points.
 
Jayna Smith dished out a career-high eight assists on the day with seven points and three rebounds as Pfau added eight points with four assists.
 
The Ichabods open MIAA play next week with two road games, traveling to No. 7 Fort Hays State on Wednesday, Dec. 2 and Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Dec. 5.