Scouting the Lions
MSSU (9-2, 3-2 MIAA) enters Saturday's game coming off a 71-58 win over No. 3 Emporia State at home on Wednesday night ... The Lions are 3-2 in the previous five games, losing to Central Oklahoma at home and Missouri Western (now No. 17) on the road ... MSSU was picked to finish eighth in the preseason coaches poll, two spots behind the Ichabods ... prior to the current two game losing streak in the series, Washburn won the previous six dating back to 2009-10 and holds a 45-28 lead in the series overall ... with Ron McHenry on the bench, Washburn leads the series, 19-8 ... Missouri Southern has two players, Sharese Jones (17.8) and Deb Holcomb (13.8) averaging double-digits in points and Jones also leads the team with 7.1 rebounds per game ... as a team, the Lions are shooting 41.9 percent from the field and are holding opposing offenses to just 57 points per game while averaging 66.9 points per game themselves ... more information on series and opponent stat leaders can be found on page one of the game notes.

Last Time Out
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 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 trailed, 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 ... 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 ... 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 ... Erin Dohnalek and Alyxis Bowens each had 14 points to lead the team, as Felisha Gibbs grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds on the night ... 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.
  
Road Warriors
Washburn closes the 2015 portion of its schedule with a road games this weekend at Missouri Southern, and has been at Lee Arena just twice this season for home games ... The Ichabods are 2-0 at home and will play five home games in January ... on the road, Washburn is now 4-4 this season after a loss at Pittsburg State.

Swat Team - NCAA/MIAA Rankings as of Dec. 14
Washburn is averaging 3.9 blocks per game as a team and has been swatted just 1.1 times per game on average ... the Ichabods sit second in the conference in overall blocks (35) and first in blocks per game, while ranking 44th and 57th in NCAA Division II in those categories ... Alyxis Bowens  has 1.3 blocks per game to lead the team while Jayna Smith in second with 0.8 blocks per game)

From Long Range
Washburn has proved its ability to hit the three-point shot in games is a key factor in the outcome ... WU is 5-1 in games that it makes more three-pointers than its opponent and 1-3 in games that the opponent has a better mark in that category ... as a team, the Ichabods are shooting 30.9 percent from beyond the arc on the year, averaging 5.9 three-pointers per game while limiting opponents to a 29.3 percent effort and 5.8 three-pointers per game.

Zero to 60
A trend has begun for the Ichabods in 2015-16, as Washburn is 5-0 in games that it scores over 60 points and all four of its losses have come when an opponent reaches that mark (2-4 overall) ... when holding opponents under 60, Washburn is 4-0, and when the Ichabods score less than 60, they've won just one game (losing three).

Earning Her Spot
Jayna Smith earned her first start of the season on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at Fort Hays State and made the most of it, leading the team in points (13), rebounds (eight) and assists (five) ... She followed that effort by tying her career-high in rebounds (12) in back-to-back games against UNK and SBU  ... Smith is first on the team with 84 total rebounds, 8.3 rebounds per game and 31 assists through nine games and is tied for sixth on the team with 5.3 points per game ... Smith had her first double-digit scoring effort of the year at FHSU and has two five-plus assist games for the year ... the senior from Holton, Kan., averaged 6.4 rebounds per game with 16 starts last season, adding 5.3 points per game.

Double-Digit Scorers
Washburn has two players averaging over 10 points per game, as Erika Lane (11.1 ppg) and Erin Dohnalek (10.2 ppg) are above the mark ... Washburn had three players average double-digits last season, and this year Alyxis Bowens (9.1 ppg) is just short of joining Lane and Dohnalek in double-digits ... Felisha Gibbs is fourth on the team with 8.7 points per game ... Lane and Dohnlaek have each scored in double digits six times this season ...  Dohnalek has led (or tied) for the team-lead in four games this year while Lane and Jayna Smith have each led (or tied for the team-lead) in scoring twice this season ... Alyxis Bowens has also led the team in scoring twice.

Noting the WBCA Poll
Though Washburn has not been ranked nationally this season, several 2015-16 non-conference and MIAA foes are listed in the WBCA Poll ... Fort Hays State (No. 1) and Emporia State (No. 3) are top five teams and have been ranked in the Top 10 all season (Emporia State was previously No. 1) ... Missouri Western is listed 16th and Pittsburg State is receivingvotes ... from the Central Region, Winona State (No. 9), Sioux Falls (RV-50) and Minnesota State-Moorhead (RV-23) join the MIAA schools, and 2015-16 non-conference opponents Drury (No. 4) and Nova Southeastern (No. 10) are listed in the top 10 ... the complete WBCA poll is on page three of the game notes.

Top Five Takedown
Washburn's 70-60 win over Nova Southeastern (ranked No. 3) was the program's first ranked win of the season ... Washburn's last top five win came on Nov. 21, 2014 against then-No. 4 Drury at home ... Washburn is 12-15 all-time under Ron McHenry against Top 5 teams.

Washburn Versus Ranked Opponents
The Ichabods have set themselves up with one of the toughest schedules in the nation, thanks in part to two non-conference matches with ranked opponents and a stacked conference that features the current No. 1 and No. 3 team in the nation ... Wednesday's MIAA opener at then-No. 5 Fort Hays State was the third game versus in ranked opponent this season (and third of the previous four games) ... WU is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season, falling 66-46 at No. 11 Drury on Saturday, Nov. 21 before taking down No. 3 Nova Southeastern on the road, 70-60, on Friday, Nov. 27 ... WU lost at FHSU, 62-54, after leading for a majority of the game ... WU went 1-6 against ranked opponents last season and is 49-38 against ranked opponents all-time under head coach Ron McHenry dating back to 2000-01.

Washburn in Home Openers
The Ichabods are 34-10 all-time in home openers, winning their last 18 (dating back to the 1998-99) season ... WU has never lost a home opener under Ron McHenry.

Crashing The Boards
Washburn has outrebounded its opponent in all 10 games this season, holding a +8.7 rebounding margin per game on the year ... Jayna Smith (8.3) leads the team in rebounds per game while Felisha Gibbs (6.4) and Alyxis Bowens (5.2) are also above the 5.0 mark on average ... Erika Lane (3.9) and Haley Pfau (3.7) close the top five list of team leaders for rebounds per game.

McHenry's Home Court Edge
The Ichabods have been domninant in years past inside Lee Arena under the direction of Ron McHenry, going 193-30 (.865) since 2000-01 ... WU had perfect home records in 1991-92 and 2004-05, the year the Lady Blues won the national title ... McHenry and the Ichabods have had one-loss home records nine different times in McHenry's 15 years leading up to the 2015-16 season.

Washburn in Season Openers
Washburn is 15-1 in season openers under head coach Ron McHenry, with the only loss coming in 2013-14 at Nova Southeastern (a non-conference opponent on this year's schedule) ... all-time, the Ichabods are 27-2 in season openers as members of the MIAA (and NCAA), and in the 38-9 since the program's inception in 1969-70.

Ichabods Add Four in Early Signing Period
Four incoming student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to join Washburn in 2016-17 ... Cara Donley (Salina, Kan. / Abilene HS), Alexandra McDowell (Hill City, Kan. / Hill City HS), Raegan Phelan (Holyrood, Kan. / Central Plains HS) and Brandi Roepke (Waterville, Kan. / Valley Heights HS) make up the class.

Exhibition History
Washburn is 10-18 all-time in exhibitions under Ron McHenry since 2000-01 ... The Ichabods dropped a 48-75 contest at Kansas State on Monday, Nov. 2 in the first exhibition of the season before defeating NCAA Division I opponent Omaha, 61-56, in the final exhibition on Wednesday, Nov. 4. ... WU is 4-15 against NCAA Division I opponents, 7-3 at home and 3-24 on the road in exhibitions.

Where Are They From?
Washburn's 2015-16 roster has a wide mix of hometowns geographically, with its 15 players hailing from three different countries (United States, France and Denmark) and four different states within the US ... There are 10 players from Kansas (Alyxis Bowens, Jayna Smith, Haley Pfau, KayLee Farmer, Madison and Makayla Vargo, Erika Lane, Jada Lynch, Ashlee Ivy and Jharian Bowen) ... Arkansas (Felisha Gibbs), Missouri (Erin Dohnalek) and South Carolina (Kierra Campbell) are the other US states represented on WU's roster ... traveling abroad, Cindy Demosthene (France) and Julie Ravn (Denmark) are international players on the Ichabods' squad.

McHenry Winningest Active Coach in NCAA Division II
Ron McHenry's .799 winning percentage entering the 2015-16 ranks first among active coaches at the NCAA Division II level ... the 16th-year head coach for Washburn is No. 4 all-time in winning percentage among coaches at the NCAA Division II level ... for all NCAA Divisions (I, II and III), McHenry ranks 13th among active coaches and is No. 18 all-time. 

Experience Up For Grabs With New Look Ichabods
Washburn returns eight letterwinners in 2015-16, though several new faces dot the program after graduating six seniors (and eight total players) from the 2014-15 squad, including four of the top five scorers ... Haley Pfau and Jayna Smith return as seniors, and Pfau is the only four-year player on WU's roster this season ... Smith led the team in rebounding (6.4 per game) and added 5.3 points per game ... junior Erika Lane is the top returning scorer, as she averaged 5.8 points per game with a 40.4 field goal percentage last season ... Lane is one of eight juniors on this year's team, a group that WU will rely heavily on ... Felisha Gibbs (6-2) is a junior who will break into the starting lineup this season after a year behind former All-MIAA selection Honor Duvall (who graduated last year) ... all told, just four Ichabods returners started at least one game last year.

No. 400
Head Coach Ron McHenry is just 20 victories away from No. 400 in his career  and at Washburn with 380 wins thus far in his career ... he entered the season 26 wins away.

A First For McHenry
This year's 2015-16 Washburn Women's Basketball roster features no true freshman, a first for the Ichabods since McHenry's arrival in 2000-01. 

Non-Conference Recap
Washburn finished its non-conference portion of the 2015-16 regular season schedule last week with a 4-2 record in those games ... against regional opponents, Washburn went 3-1 in non-conference action ... WU now holds a combined 19-7 record in those six series, picking up wins over University of Mary, Minot State, Newman and Nova Southeastern with losses to Drury and Palm Beach Atlantic.

Eyeing a Return to the Top
The Ichabods have made 17 NCAA Tournaments under Ron McHerny, won eight MIAA regular season titles and seven MIAA tournament titles, but have not make the national tournament since the 2012-13 season ... A relatively inexperienced group will be tested with one of the toughest schedules in NCAA Division II as they eye a return to the NCAA Tournament.

New Faces
Washburn has five new players on its 2015-16 roster, including one NCAA Division I transfer and four junior college transfers ... Erin Dohnalek  joins the Ichabods after two years at Division I Northern Iowa.  Dohnalek averaged 3.7 points per game as a freshman and 2.6 per game as a sophomore, playing in 51 total games with the Panthers ... Kierra Campbell was a two-time all-conference selection (at Denmark Tech and Panola ... Ashlee Ivy played two years at Butler Community College in 2012-13 and 2013-14, earning First Team All-NJCAA honors in 2013-14 and a Second Team All-NJCAA selection in 2012-13 ... Ravn is a shooting specialist who played in 29 games with 28 starts last year at Cowley Community College, hitting 39.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc last year with 14.1 points per game ... KayLee Farmer (a sophomore) joins the program after a year at Independence Community College ... prior to ICC, Farmer ran track at the University of Kansas.

Last Season - Quick Hits
Washburn's 2014-15 campaign opened with seven straight wins and a 9-1 record through the first 10 games ... WU closed the season at 16-12 overall and finished eighth in the MIAA at 8-11 ... The Ichabods earned the No. 8 seed in the MIAA Tournament and lost a 59-46 contest with Northeastern State in the first round ... WU's signature win of the season was a 87-79 overtime victory at Lee Arena over then-No. 3 Drury on Nov. 22 ... Casyn Buchman was named All-MIAA Second Team while Taylor Ignoto and Honor Duvall garned Honorable Mention nods.

MIAA Preseason Poll
Emporia State topped the preseason poll with 13 first-place votes and 169 total points after an Elite Eight berth last season ... Fort Hays State, which hosted the NCAA Central Regional last year, had one first-place vote and 147 points while Central Missouri (135 points), Pittsburg State (128 points) and Missouri Western (124 points) rounded out the top five ... Washburn (103 points) was in sixth, just ahead of Central Oklahoma's 102 points ... the complete MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll can be found on page six of the game notes.

Early Success / Monthly Breakdown
Under Ron McHenry, Washburn has put together 12 perfect Novembers, including a 6-0 mark in 2014-15 ... Washburn has no more than two losses in November under McHenry ... that hot trend has continued into December, where McHenry has lost no more than four games (once) and has put together six perfect performances ... WU has five conference games in the month of December this season ... a month-by-month breakdown of the Ichabods under Coach McHenry is on page five of the game notes.