Micro-Blogging the BodsThe Ichabods (16-9, 8-9 MIAA) end the regular season with their final two games against two of the top 13-ranked teams in the nation starting with No. 13 Emporia State on Saturday and then No. 7 Pittsburg State on Feb. 28. The Ichabods lost 74-67 to No. 5 Fort Hays State last time out.
The Ichabods lost the first meeting with a then-No. 6-ranked Emporia State team 62-55 in Emporia.
Emporia State leads the all-time series with the Ichabods 50-44 and have won the last six in the series.
Casyn Buchman moved into the top 10 in career 3-pointers at Washburn with 112 placing her in ninth all-time at WU … eight more and she can move into eighth on the all-time chart.
Buchman sits at 968 career points needing 32 more to become the 23rd Ichabod to reach the 1,000-point mark.
Washburn is 11-0 when scoring at least 70 points and 5-9 when scoring less than 70.
The Bods were second in the last NCAA report are first in the MIAA with a +11.9 rebounding margin. They have out-rebounded opponents in 22 of their 24 games coming off a 44-32 advantage over FHSU last time out.
The Bods have kept opponents to under 40% shooting 16 times and under 30% six times.
Casyn Buchman is fourth in the MIAA in free throw percentage shooting .846 (66 of 78) from the free throw line. She's 42 of 50 (.840) in MIAA games.
Taylor Ignoto has reached double figures in 20 of her 24 games. She's first on the team and ninth in the MIAA with 14.9 points a game and has averaged 21.8 ppg in her last four.
Ron McHenry is in his 15th season as coach. He has gone 374-91 since 2000 and has won eight MIAA titles with 12 NCAA tournament appearances. He coached the team to the 2004-05 national championship.
Ichabods set to end regular season with two top 25-ranked teamsThe Washburn Ichabods return home to take on Emporia State on Feb. 21 and Pittsburg State on Feb. 28 wrapping up the regular season.
The Ichabods are coming off an 74-67 loss at No. 13-ranked Fort Hays State on Feb. 18.
Tickets can be purchased at wutickets.com, by calling 785-670-BODS or by visiting the Washburn ticket office in Petro Room 200 on the Washburn campus. Fans can hear the game on 580 AM WIBW with Jake Lebahn and Pat Strathman calling the action. Links to video (fee) and free live audio and stats are available at wusports.com/live.
The Lady Hornets, who were ranked No. 13 in the nation in last week's poll, topped Nebraska-Kearney last time out on Thursday night 73-57.
Honor Duvall led the Ichabods with 17 points in the first meeting with Emporia State while
Jayna Smith added a double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Casyn Buchman chipped in 12.
Washburn shot 38 percent in the first half as the game was tied at 28, but cooled off to 24 percent in the second half hitting 8 of 33 attempts. The Lady Hornets used a 7-0 run to open the second half of the game and the Ichabods could not recover.
Buchman climbing record chartsSenior guard
Casyn Buchman is tied for ninth in school career history with 112 3-pointers and she needs nine more to move to ninth. She's seventh with an .798 free throw percentage (170-213) and 17th with 267 career assists. Buchman is 25th with 968 career points. She is looking to become the 23rd Ichabod to score 1,000 career points.
Buchman's .846 free throw percentage this year would rank fifth in school single-season history. She's 66 of 78 from the line this year. She's .840 from the line in MIAA games this year as she made her first 24 attempts. Last year she had a streak of 32 straight makes from the line.
Strong defense key to Bod victoriesJust six opponents have shot above 40 percent against the Ichabods this year including three of the seven teams that beat Washburn this year.
The Bods are 13-4 when keeping their opponents to under 40 percent shooting and their 3-5 when their opponent shoots above 40 percent.
Washburn is holding opponents to .332 shooting in games won and .412 shooting in the five losses. The Bods have kept six of their opponents to under 30 percent shooting. Benedictine shot a season-low .170 against Washburn while Central Oklahoma has the season high of 52 percent shooting in a Washburn loss on Feb. 12.
Don't forget - Season highlightsWashburn was picked third in the MIAA preseason coaches poll. The Bods earned three first-place votes. Emporia State was picked first and Pittsburg State was second.
Washburn's 93-35 win Nov. 16 against PR-Rio Piedras was the school's second largest against an NCAA school. The 62 rebounds was the largest against an NCAA school.
WU outscored Benedictine 48-4 in the paint on Nov. 18.
Casyn Buchman's free throw in the final seconds Nov. 22 against No. 3 Drury sent the game to overtime. She scored 10 points in overtime to help WU beat No. 3 Drury, 87-79. She had a career-high 28 points.
Taylor Ignoto averaged 20.5 points and shot 72 percent Nov. 25-29 to earn MIAA player of the week.
Washburn's 40 points scored at Pittsburg State Jan. 17 was the school's lowest output since scoring 40 in 1999-00.
The seven juniors on the 2013-14 team had 81 percent of Washburn's scoring and 79 percent of the individual rebounding. Six of those seven juniors are back this year as seniors. A junior led the team in scoring every game last year and in rebounding in all but two games.
Up next for WashburnThe Ichabods will wrap up the regular season February 28 against No. 10 Pittsburg State in Lee Arena.
