PITTSBURG, Kan. – Despite a strong second half push to overcome a double-digit deficit in the third quarter, the Ichabod Women's Basketball team couldn't complete the comeback on the road and fell, 66-58, to Pittsburg State on Wednesday, Dec. 16.
 
WU (6-4, 2-2 MIAA) outshot the Gorillas from the field, 37.3 to 36.1 percent and roared back from a 10-point deficit midway thru the third quarter to tie it, 42-all, early in the fourth before falling late.  
 
Washburn opened the game on a 5-0 run before Pitt State hit a three-pointer at 7:54, and after the Gorillas cut the lead to one (7-6), Washburn used a three-pointer from Julie Ravn to start a burst of seven unanswered for the Ichabods. 
 
Alyxis Bowens hit a layup with 4:12 on the clock was the final basket of the run for Washburn, forcing a PSU timeout with the Ichabods ahead, 14-6.  Out of the timeout, Pitt State closed the quarter with a 7-2 run, but Washburn led at the break, 16-13.
 
Washburn was dealt a cold spell in the second quarter, hitting just one field goal until just before the two-minute mark of the frame and two total field goals in the period..  Down 24-18 with 2:17 to play in the half, Dohnalek used an assist from Gibbs in the paint for a layup, scoring the first Ichabod points in 5:34 of game play. 
 
A strong defensive effort kept Washburn within striking distance despite the shooting struggles and the Ichabods went to the locker room down 26-21 at half. 
 
WU shot just 25 percent from the field in the first half and had just two three-pointers.  Neither team attempted a free throw in the second period.
 
Down nine (32-23) at the under five media timeout of the third, Washburn responded on an 8-2 run (including six points from Alyxis Bowens in that span) to bring the deficit back to four, 35-31.  PSU pulled away once more with five straight, but the Ichabods trailed by five (40-35) headed to the fourth after four free throws inside the final 40 seconds.
 
Looking for a comeback win, WU allowed an early layup in the fourth but roared back to tie it, 42-42, with 8:20 to go after a 7-0 run forced a PSU timeout.  Haley Pfau had the final five points of that run, tying the game with a three-pointer from the corner. 
 
After a pair of PSU free throws at 7:19 gave the Gorillas back the lead, the teams traded layups on consecutive possessions before a three-pointer made it a five-point deficit for the Ichabods, 49-44.  Washburn continued to hit shots down the stretch to keep things close, but three three-pointers from the Gorillas between 6:17 and 3:31 was too much for the Ichabods to overcome.
 
Dohnalek and Bowens each had 14 points to lead the team, as Felisha Gibbs grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds on the night.  Haley Pfau finished with nine points and Jayna Smith had nine rebounds, just missing her third consecutive double-digit rebounding effort.
 
As a team, Washburn continued its season-long streak of winning the rebounding battle, outdoing the Gorillas on the boards, 46-35, and outscored the Gorillas, 32-26, in the paint.
 
Washburn heads to Joplin, Mo., on Saturday, Dec. 19 for its final game before the holiday break.  Tip-off at Missouri Southern is 1 p.m.