HAYS, Kan. – Washburn Women's Basketball fell just short of picking up its second win over a Top 5 opponent in one week, falling to No. 5 Fort Hays State, 62-54, in its MIAA opener on Wednesday, Dec. 2.
WU (4-3, 0-1 MIAA) led for much of the game, but a late run from FHSU (7-0, 1-0 MIAA) inside three minutes to play proved too much for the Ichabods to overcome. Free throws proved costly for the Ichabods in the game, as WU hit five of just six opportunities from the line and FHSU shot 17-of-23 from the charity stripe.
Washburn rolled out to a 4-0 lead to start the game after
Julie Ravn hit her first three-pointer of the night. Later on, with the Ichabods ahead one (9-8), WU pushed the lead back to four (12-8) early in the second as
Erika Lane drew a foul on a layup and sunk a free throw for a three-point play with 2:48 on the clock. An FHSU layup with 54 seconds to go gave FHSU a brief lead (14-13), but another four point burst from the Ichabods helped WU end the quarter ahead one, 16-15.
Neither team scored for nearly four minutes to open the second, but three-pointers from
Jharian Bowen,
Erin Dohnalek and Lane made up a 9-0 run for WU and built the Ichabods' lead to 10 (25-15) just past the halfway point of the frame, and though an FHSU jumper at 3:39 stopped the run and started a charge back for the Tigers, Washburn went to the locker room ahead 28-24 at the half.
WU ahead pushed its lead to 10 (34-24) in the opening three minutes of the third quarter, but FHSU again charged and cut the lead to one (36-35) with 4:20 to go. Still, the Ichabods didn't break and held a four-point advantage (46-42) headed into the fourth quarter.
Ahead five with 7:23 to go, Washburn saw the Tigers tie it, 52-52 with 4:02 on the clock and take the lead for good behind a 10-0 run to end the game. WU held the lead from the 4:26 mark of the first until the 2:15 mark in the fourth, but fell just short of another ranked win. WU is now 1-2 in games with ranked opponents this season.
Jayna Smith just missed a double-double, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists in her first start of the season, tying Lane (three assists, four rebounds) for the team-lead in points.
Felisha Gibbs also had double-digits in scoring, totaling 10 points to go with seven rebounds.
Washburn heads to Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Dec. 5 for its second MIAA contest of the season. Tipoff from Kearney, Neb., is 5:30 p.m.
