Scouting the Lady Lions
Lindenwood enters the New Year at 7-4 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA (matching the Ichabods) ... Lindenwood is 3-2 in its previous five games, all MIAA, win losses coming against Central Oklahoma and then-No. 16 Missouri Western while the Lady Lions defeated Lincoln, Northeastern State and Northwest Missouri in conference play ... LWU and WU have no common opponents yet this year ... Saturday's game is just the sixth all-time between the two teams in school history, with the previous three coming as MIAA matchups ... Washburn won the first three (dating back to 1987) but has lost the previous two and trails, 1-2, in conference games ... Two Lady Lions, Kassidy Gengenbacher (20.4 ppg) and Jenny Rocha (11.5 ppg) are averaging double-digits in points this season ... Rocha is coming off a double-double against NWMSU of 15 points and 10 assists, and leads the Lady Lions with 55 assists on the year ... as a team, LWSU is shooting  46.7 percent from the field this year and 38.4 percent from three-point range, hitting 63 long range field goals thus far ... LWU is averaging 75.2 points per game and allowing 63.7 on average ... more information on series and opponent stat leaders can be found on page one of the game notes.

Last Time Out
JOPLIN, Mo. – A staunch defensive effort and double-digit scoring from three Ichabods carried Washburn to a 64-42 win over Missouri Southern on Saturday, Dec. 19 ... Washburn nearly shot 50 percent from the field, finishing 24-of-50 (48 percent) and 7-of-15 from long range while hitting a season-high 90 percent (9-of-10) from the charity stripe ... MSSU shot just 23.5 percent from the field in the game and was only 3-of-26 on field goals in the second half ... Washburn outscored the Lions, 39-15 over the final two quarters and 26-12 in the paint for the game ... WU continued its season-long streak of winning the rebounding battle, dominating the boards, 41-24, and had a 21-point effort from its bench ...  Trailing 27-25 at the break, the Ichabods started hot out of the locker roomin the second half, breaking off a 9-0 run while holding the Lions scoreless for the first 4:41 of action in the third ... That burst was part of a 16-4 run for Washburn that started at the 2:14 mark in the second quarter and ended with Alyxis Bowens' jumper with 4:45 to go in the third ... After pushing the lead to double-digits in the fourth, the Ichabods continued its strong defensive effort to hold MSSU without a field goal (and just two total points) until the 4:10 mark ... Including the final 3:32 of play in the third quarter, that was a span of over nine minutes that WU did not allow a field goal ... Ravn led the team with 13 points, joining Lane (12 points) and Bowens (10 points) in double-digits ... Bowens also had seven rebounds as she and Jayna Smith (13 rebounds, seven points) both just missed double-doubles ... Smith now has four double-digit rebounding efforts this season ... Lane dished out five assists to lead the team and four Ichabods (Pfau, Gibbs, Dohnalek and Bowens) had a block in the game.  

Road Warriors
Washburn played nine games in its first 11 of the season, closing the 2015 portion of its schedule with a 5-4 record on the road and 2-0 at home ... the first portion of the schedule featured three games on the road against ranked opponents and only one home conference game in that span ... Washburn now returns to Lee Arena for five home games in January (out of nine total games) and five home games in February (out of eight total games) ... WU has seven remaining road games to secure a winning record in that category ... last season, WU went 6-5 on the road and 5-7 away from Lee Arena the year prior (2013-14).

Lockdown Defense
Twice this season, Washburn has held its opponent to 49 or less points, including the final game of 2015 where the Ichabods limited Missouri Southern (which previously averaged 66 ppg) to just 42 points, days after the Lions upset then-No. 3 Emporia State ... 

Swat Team
Washburn is averaging 3.8 blocks per game as a team and has been swatted just 1.1 times per game on average ... the Ichabods sit third in the conference in overall blocks (42) and second in blocks per game, while ranking 48th and 61st in NCAA Division II in those categories ... Alyxis Bowens has 1.4 blocks per game while Jayna Smith has 0.6 blocks per game for the Ichabods ... Felisha Gibbs and Erika Lane are both at 0.5 blocks per game on average.

Crashing The Boards
Washburn has outrebounded its opponent in all 11 games this season, holding a +9.5 rebounding margin per game on the year ... nationally, the Ichabods rank 15th in rebound margin and second in the MIAA, while sitting 71st in total rebounds (442) ... Jayna Smith (8.8 rpg) leads the team in rebounds per game while Felisha Gibbs (6.1 rpg) and Alyxis Bowens (5.4 rpg) are also above the 5.0 mark on average ... the team has seven 40-plus rebounding efforts on the season and is averaging 40.2 rebounds 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 6-1 in games that it makes more three-pointers than its opponent and 1-3 in games that the opponent has a better mark (or tied) in that category ... as a team, the Ichabods are shooting 32.0 percent from beyond the arc on the year, averaging 6.0 three-pointers per game while limiting opponents to a 25.8 percent effort and 5.7 three-pointers per game.

Zero to 60
A trend has begun for the Ichabods in 2015-16, as Washburn is 6-0 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 5-0, and when the Ichabods score less than 60, they've won just one game (losing two).

Board Certified
Jayna Smith's impact isn't always felt in the points category on the stat sheet (though she has led the team in scoring in two games), but she has proved vital towards the team success this season ... the senior nursing major leads the team in rebounds (97) and rebounds per game (8.8) thru 11 games while also dishing out 34 assists (team-high) ... Smith has four double-digit rebounding efforts on the year, including a career-high 13 at Missouri Southern on Dec. 19 and two 12-rebound efforts ... she also has three five-plus assist efforts, including a career-high eight at Palm Beach Atlantic on Nov. 28 ...  Smith earned her first start of the season on 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 previous career-high in rebounds (12) in back-to-back games against UNK and SBU ... she has now started five straight games leading into the New Year.

Quick Lane
With seven double-digit scoring efforts this season, Erika Lane leads the team in that category as well as scoring averaged (11.2) and total points (123) ... the guard had a career-high 25 points in WU's second game of the year (at Minot State) and enters the New Year with three double-digit efforts in the previous five games ... Lane's quickness has also been felt away from the hoop, defensively and offensively ... her 2.8 assists per game (and 31 total assists) is second highest on the team and she is fourth on the team in steals (five) and rebounds (43) and rebounds per game (3.9) ... the point guard has started all 11 games this season.

Balanced Scoring 
Erika Lane is the lone Ichabod averaging double-digits in points (11.2) entering the New Year, but Erin Dohnalek (9.9 ppg) and Alyxis Bowens (9.2 ppg) are less than one point away from that mark, and Felisha Gibbs is close behind with 8.5 ppg ... Dohnalek has scored in double-digits six times this season, including a 17-point effort in the win over No. 3 Nova Southeastern on Nov. 26 ... Bowens had 20 points in WU's season opener at U-Mary and has scored over 10 points four times this year, including the final three games of 2015 ... Gibbs has hit the 10-point threshold four times this season as well.

Noting the WBCA Poll
Though Washburn has not been ranked nationally this season, several 2015-16 opponents and MIAA foes are listen 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 17th and Pittsburg State is receivingvotes ... from the Central Region, Winona State (No. 11), Sioux Falls (RV-33), Minnesota State-Moorhead (RV-27) and Arkansas-Fort Smith (RV-11) 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.

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.

No. 400
Head Coach Ron McHenry is just 19 victories away from No. 400 in his career  and at Washburn with 381 wins thus far in his career ... he entered the season 26 wins away.

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.

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.