KEARNEY, Neb. – The Washburn Ichabod Women's Basketball team picked up its first conference win of the season in a 63-57 victory at Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Dec. 5.
 
Washburn (5-3, 1-1 MIAA) started the game with four unanswered, and after UNK responded to take a 5-4 lead, the Ichabods ran off a 5-0 run of its own to lead, 9-5, after a three-point play from Jayna Smith and a jumper from Erin Dohnalek.  The Lopers cut the lead to one (11-10) inside three minutes to go in the quarter, but Washburn closed the first ahead, 15-12.
 
The Ichabods built a six-point lead (18-12) early in the second, but saw UNK  cut the lead to two (28-26) with less than four minutes to go in the half.  The Lopers tied it at 28 with a pair of free throws at the 1:37 mark in the second, and took the lead behind a 7-0 run (that began at the 3:37 mark) to take a 30-28 advantage.  That score held until halftime, as WU was held without a basket for nearly four minutes to close the quarter.
 
As a team, Washburn shot 43.3 percent for the field with a 13-for-30 effort, led by Felisha Gibbs' 10 points and Cindy Demosthene's seven points. 
 
The teams traded spurts of four unanswered to open the third quarter, and with 4:44 to go in the period a layup from Dohnalek brought the Ichabod deficit back to two (36-34).  That layup sprung Washburn on a 9-0 run that lasted nearly three minutes and put the Ichabods ahead, 41-36.  Dohnalek had seven of those nine Ichabod points during that burst which forced a UNK timeout. 
 
The Lopers eventually stopped the run with 1:45 to go, but Washburn continued to push and close the quarter with six straight to take a 47-39 lead into the fourth.
 
WU built its lead to 11 (52-41) with 7:42 left in the game off a jumper from Gibbs, but the Lopers soon cut it to four (52-58) behind a 7-0 run.  Washburn, though, held strong and outscored UNK, 5-1, over the final minute to close out the win.
 
Gibbs and Dohnalek each scored 14 points to lead the Ichabods, as Gibbs hit seven and Dohnalek hit six of nine total field goals (for both) in the game.
 
Erika Lane had a team-high six assists with eight points while Cindy Demosthene finished 4-for-5 on field goals and scored nine total points.
 
On the boards, Jayna Smith grabbed 12 rebounds for her third double-digit rebounding effort of the season.
 
As a team, Washburn finished with a 45 percent field goal percentage despite sinking just one three-pointer (a season-low) on the night.
 
For UNK, Laramey Becker (16 points), Bri Starks (14 points) and McKenzie Brown (11 points) were in double-digits.
 
Washburn returns to Lee Arena on Saturday, Dec. 12 for its second home game of the 2015 portion of the season against Southwest Baptist.