Scouting the Lady Hornets
Washburn's regular season finale is a rivalry matchup at Emporia State on Saturday, Feb. 27 with the Ichabods in a hunt for the No. 5 seed in the MIAA tournament, while Emporia State could sneak into the No. 3 seed with a Pittsburg State loss (if tiebreakers go in the Lady Hornets' favor) ... ESU took the first game of the regular season series with the Ichabods, 53-41, at Lee Arena on Jan. 23, and WU will be looking to snap an eight-game losing streak to ESU ... overall, Washburn trails the Lady Hornets, 52-44, in the all-time series ... Under McHenry, Washburn holds a 25-18 lead in the series ... ESU was the fifth seed in the latest Central Region rankings released last week after reaching the NCAA Elite Eight last season ... The Lady Hornets are scoring 77.5 ppg this season as a team and limiting opponents to a 60.1 ppg average (+16.4 scoring margin) ... four Lady Hornets are averaging double figure scoring numbers on the season: Kelly Moten (15.9), Sandra Ngoie (12.6), Kelsey Barnwell (10.4) and Kathryn Flott (10.3) ... Addie Lackey, the other Lady Hornet starter, is averaging 9.6 ppg ... more information on stat leaders and the series history can be found on page one of the game notes.

Last Time Out (Feb. 24, 2016)
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Washburn Women's Basketball's halftime lead on No. 7 Missouri Western didn't hold up after a third quarter rally as the Ichabods fell, 67-57, on Wednesday, Feb. 24 on the road ... WU shot over 50 percent for the fourth time in five games, finishing 21-of-41 from the field, but MWSU (which clinched at least a tie for the MIAA regular season championship with the win) scored 36 second half points in the win ... For Washburn, Erika Lane finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead the team and Haley Pfau just missed double-digits, finishing with nine ... Alyxis Bowens added seven points and six rebounds as part of a balanced scoring effort for WU that saw seven of eight players who logged minutes score at least five points ... Spurts of unanswered points throughout the opening two quarters told the story in the first half, as Missouri Western had two 7-0 runs and a string of six straight, while Washburn had a 9-0 run, a 7-0 run and two bursts of five straight ... WU trailed by five (9-4) early on, but responded with that 9-0 rally to lead 13-9 soon after ... MWSU, however, closed the quarter with a 11-5 scoring average over the final four minutes of play to lead by two, 20-18 ... Washburn outscored MWSU, 17-5, in the first nine minutes of the quarter to lead by 10 (35-25), but the Griffons scored six in the 30 seconds to cut the lead to four (35-31), at the half ... MWSU opened the third on a tear, and including the final 30 seconds of the second, outscored WU 18-4 in a stretch that lasted until 4:14 in the third when Haley Pfau hit a layup off a backdoor assist from Felisha Gibbs that made it 46-41 ... Still, the 23-8 advantage for MWSU put the Ichabods in a hole, 54-43, at the end of the third ... That double-digit deficit held up the rest of the way, as WU couldn't pull off the comeback in the fourth.

MIAA Tourney Outlook
With just one game remaining in the regular season, Washburn has clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament but finds itself in a fight for a position in the upper half of the MIAA Tournament seedings ... the tournament, held Feb. 29 and March 3, 5-6 at campus sites and at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, features the top 12 teams from the MIAA standings with the top four earning byes to the semifinal round ... seeds 5-8 earn first round home games against the 9-12 seeds ... The top four seeds have already been locked up (though seeding has not been decided) by Missouri Western, Pittsburg State, Fort Hays State and Emporia State, and WU is currently in a three-way tie for fifth in the standings with Central Oklahoma and Missouri Southern ... WU split its season series' with those two schools, and in the only meeting between UCO and MSSU this season, UCO won in overtime ... Southwest Baptist and Nebraska-Kearney are both one game back of fifth at 10-11 overall ...  the complete MIAA standings can be found on page six of the game notes ... Saturday's matchups between those four schools around WU in the standings are:
Missouri Southern vs Pittsburg State (No. 3)
Central Oklahoma vs Fort Hays State (No. 2)
Southwest Baptist at Northwest Missouri
Nebraska-Kearney at Northeastern State (No. 11)

Lighting Up The Nets
Washburn has been on a shooting tear in the month of February, as the Ichabods have shot 48.8 percent from the field (up from their season average of 42.6 percent) over the seven games this month ... additionally, WU has shot over 50 percent in five of the seven games ... for the season, WU has hit the 50 percent mark in eight games overall.

Tough Region
The second of three NCAA Central Region Rankings leading up to the NCAA Tournament were released this week, and though Washburn isn't listed in the Top 10, the Ichabods do have a chance to go dancing next month if they win the MIAA Tournament to secure an automatic bid ... the 10 teams ranked from the Central Region (in ranking order) are: Pittsburg State, Fort Hays State, Winona State, Missouri Western, Emporia State, Arkansas Tech, Northern State, MSU-Moorhead, Sioux Falls and Augustana ... automatic bids to the NCAA Central Regional are given to the three teams that win their conference tournament, and the other five spots are awarded on an at-large basis ... Washburn last made the NCAA Regional in 2012-13.

Achilles Heel
Washburn began February in the midst of some bad luck that led to a four-game losing streak  to open the month... despite shooting 44.6 percent as a team (and breaking the 50 percent mark in back-to-back games), WU faced teams that shot equally well, if not better on those occasions ... over those four games, opponents shot 50.7 percent from the field and were unrealistically hot 52-of-86 from three-point range (60.5 percent) against the Ichabods ... Washburn shot 36.6 percent from long range in that span,  above their season average of 32.8 percent as a team.

Ichabods set school record for MIAA games
Washburn's 85-27 win over Northeastern State on Feb. 17 as not only the Ichabods' largest win of the season, but it also was the lowest scoring total for an opponent in an MIAA game for the Ichabods ... WU allowed just 11 points through the first three quarters before NSU finished the game with 27 ... the MIAA conference record for fewest points allowed in a conference game is 23 (Missouri Rolla vs Truman, 1/23/02) ... WU's  school record during the shot clock error was 19 (Nov. 14, 2011 against Tabor, WU won 111-19) ... prior to the shot clock (which came into effect in 1986-87), the school record for fewest points allowed was 15 (Feb. 23, 1973) when WU won, 56-15 against Marymount.

Pacing the Bods
Alyxis Bowens has stood as the team's leading scorer all season and paces the Ichabods with 11.3 points per game and 306 total points for the year ... the junior post player has started 16 games on the season and played an average of 20.0 minutes per contest, sharing time with Felisha Gibbs and Cindy Demosthene in the paint for WU ... Bowens is first on the team  in double-digit scoring efforts on the season (14) and has scored at least 10 points in seven of the last 12 contests ... dating back to games played after the New Year, Bowens has 10 double-digit scoring efforts in the 16 games played during that span ... Bowens also leads the team in blocks (30) and blocks per game (1.1) ... she also recorded her first career double-double on Feb. 17 against Northeastern State, grabbing 10 rebounds to go with 15 points in the win.

Double Down 
Washburn has had three player - Felisha Gibbs, Jayna Smith and Alyxis Bowens - combine for five double-doubles this season ... Smith has two on the year and now has three for her career, Gibbs has two in the season and for her career and Bowens has one ... Gibbs put together her first two career double-doubles and nearly averaged a double-double over three games the week of Jan. 4-9, leading the team in points (13.3 ppg) while averaging 9.7 rebounds per game ... Gibbs grabbed 29 total rebounds and scored 40 total points and had double-digits in all three games while shooting 56.7 percent from the field (17-of-30) and hitting 6-of-7 on free throws ... Gibbs swatted three shots as well while coming up with two steals ... The junior had an impressive 14-point, 13-rebound (career-high) double-double in WU's win over Lincoln as she shot 77.8 percent ... Against Northeastern State, Gibbs had 12 points with four rebounds and finished the weekend with her second career double-double of 12 rebounds and 14 points ... Smith joined the double-double club for 2015-16 against Missouri Western on Jan. 13, dropping 12 points to go with 10 rebounds for her second career double-double ... she notched her second of the year on Senior Day (Feb. 20) with 13 rebounds and 11 points against Central Oklahoma ... Smith also had one last season against Emporia State when she finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Post Presence
In addition to her two double-doubles on the year, Gibbs has been a go-to player down low for the Ichabods this season ... Gibbs has been close to double-doubles on three other occasions while starting 17 of 21 games she has appeared in ... she ranks third on the team with 9.4 points per game and second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game ... Gibbs is also second in blocks on the team with 22 for the year ... she missed four games to end January and open February, but has scored in double digits in three of the five game since returning.

Road Warriors
Washburn played nine road games in its first 11 of the season, and is 8-7 in road games this season ... the 2015 portion of the schedule featured three games on the road against ranked opponents and only one home conference game in that span ... Washburn has five home games in January (out of nine total games) and five home games in February (out of eight total games) ... WU has one remaining road game 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
Six times this season, Washburn has held its opponent to 49 or less points, including a stifling effort against Northeastern State at home on Feb. 17 where the RiverHawks scored just 27 points (and 11 points through the first three quarters) ...  WU has also held Missouri Southern (42), Northwest Missouri (43), Lincoln (44), Newman (46) and Northeastern State (46) under that mark ... for the season, Washburn has held opponents to 59.8 points per game, which ranks second in the MIAA.

Crashing The Boards
Washburn has outrebounded its opponent in 21 games this season, holding a +8.0 rebounding margin per game on the year ... nationally, the Ichabods rank 13th in rebound margin and second in the MIAA (as of Feb. 22 stats release) ... Jayna Smith (9.3 rpg) leads the team (and MIAA) in rebounds per game while Felisha Gibbs (5.9 rpg) and Alyxis Bowens (5.3 rpg) are also above the 5.0 mark on average ... the team has 14 40-plus rebounding efforts on the season and reached that mark in eight straight games from Dec. 5 to Jan. 9, including a 55-rebound effort against Lincoln on Jan. 4 and a 59-rebound effort against Northeastern State on Feb. 17.

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 10-1 in games that it makes more three-pointers than its opponent and 5-11 in games that the opponent has a better mark (or tied) in that category ... as a team, the Ichabods are shooting 34.2 percent from beyond the arc on the year while opponents are shooting 31.6 percent 

Zero to 60
A trend has played out thus far for the Ichabods in 2015-16, as Washburn is 12-3 in games that it scores 60 or points and 11 of its 12 losses have come when an opponent reaches that mark (5-11 overall) ... when holding opponents under 60, Washburn is 9-1, and when the Ichabods score less than 60, they've won just three times (losing nine games).

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 and has two double-doubles), but she has proved vital towards the team success this season ... the senior nursing major leads the team in rebounds (250) and rebounds per game (9.3) thru 27 games while also dishing out 70 assists (second-best on the team) ... Smith had a career-high 20 rebounds on the road at Northeastern State (Jan. 7) ... 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 ... Smith leads the MIAA in rebounds and rebounds per game as well ... earlier this season she reached double-digit rebounds in six consecutive games and has hit the mark on 13 occasions this season ... as her career winds down, Smith is currently looking at joining the career rebounding average list (min. 50 games), where she currently has the No. 5 spot on the list (No. 1 is Kelly Jennings with a 9.6 rpg average) ... she is also currently in line to have the No. 5 spot on the WU single-season rebounding list with 9.3 per game (No. 1 is Terri Lasswell with 10.6 rpg).

Quick Lane
With 14 double-digit scoring efforts this season, Erika Lane is first in that category while sitting second in scoring average (9.9 ppg) and total points (266) ... the guard had a career-high 25 points in WU's second game of the year (at Minot State) and had three double-digit scoring games over the final five contests in 2015 ... Lane's quickness has also been felt away from the hoop, defensively and offensively ... her 3.0 assists per game (and  81 total assists) is highest on the team and she is fourth on the team in steals (17), rebounds (101) and rebounds per game (3.7) ... the point guard has started all 27 games this season and played 40 minutes on five different occasions this season.

Clutch Off the Bench
Division I transfer Erin Dohnalek has made her mark in several games this season, taking over on the offensive end when needed on her way to sitting fourth on the team in scoring (8.3 ppg) ... the junior guard has appeared in all 27 games and earned her first career start on Feb. 13 at Lindenwood, playing 22.1 minutes per contest on average off the bench ... from long range, Dohnalek has hit 21-of-62 attempts (33.9 percent) to rank third on the team in three-pointers made ... she has 10 double-digit scoring efforts for the year and has also dished out 62 assists (2.2 per game) ... over the final two home games of the regular season, Dohnalek achieved a career-high in rebounds (10 vs UCO) and assists (seven against NSU and UCO).

Run Away Win
Washburn's 89-44 win over Lincoln on Jan. 4 was the first 40-plus margin win for the Ichabods since Dec. 31, 2014 (93-42 over Saint Mary) ... The last time Washburn won by 40-49 points was Nov. 16, 2014 against Southwestern (108-60).

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 three of the Top 25 teams in the nation ... In conference games, WU has faced No. 5 Fort Hays State, No. 10 Missouri Western and No. 12 Emporia State (rankings at the time) and in non-conference matchups, WU has faced No. 11 Drury and No. 3 Nova Southeastern ... WU is 1-4 against ranked opponents on the season with a win over Nova Southeastern and a near-win against FHSU, during a game they lead for a majority ... WU went 1-6 against ranked opponents last season and is 49-39 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.

No. 400
Head Coach Ron McHenry is just 11 victories away from No. 400 in his career  and at Washburn with 389 wins thus far in his career ... he entered the season 26 wins away.

McHenry's Home Court Edge
The Ichabods have been dominant in years past inside Lee Arena under the direction of Ron McHenry, going 197-35 (.856) 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.

Noting the WBCA Poll
Though Washburn has not been ranked nationally this season, several 2015-16 opponents and MIAA foes are listed in the Feb. 23 version of the WBCA Poll ... Missouri Western (No. 7), Winona State (No. 8) and Fort Hays State (No. 9) are all Top 10 teams from the NCAA Central Region, while Arkansas Tech (No. 15), Pittsburg State (No. 19) and Emporia State (No. 22) are also in the Top 25 from the regional picture ... Sioux Falls is receiving votes in the poll ... 2015-16 non-conference opponents in the poll are Drury (No. 11) and Nova Southeastern (No. 18) ... the complete WBCA poll is on page three of the game notes.

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. 

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.