<p><strong>Tip-off // </strong>Washburn starts the new year with its final non-conference game against Peru State. The Ichabods closed out the first half of the season with wins in four of its last five which was capped by a three-game streak. While the result and stats will count for the Ichabods, the game has been earmarked as an exhibition for the Bobcats. This is first meeting for the teams in 32 years and  third all-time. Washburn leads the series 2-0 and is 1-0 against Peru State at Lee Arena. </p> <hr /> <p><strong>Player Quick Facts</strong><br /> • Senior guard Erika Lane leads the team is two offensive categories including scoring (10.6 ppg), assists (39) while logging a team-best 31.8 minutes/game ... Lane is also third in rebounds (58 total, 4.8/gm) ... She is 2nd in the MIAA in minutes played while placing 10th in assists and 14th in assist/game.</p> <p>• Freshman guard Reagan Phelan is third on the team in scoring (9.6 pts/game) ... has reached double-figure scoring seven times this season including a career-best 20 on Nov. 14 ... she leads the team in steal (18) and is second in assists (34 total, 2.8/gm) ... Phelan has converted on 19 of 53 chances from 3-point range (.358) ... she finished 2016 among the conference leaders in assists (14th), 3FG made (17th) and 3FG attempts (13th).</p> <p>• Senior forward Alyxis Bowens is averaging 17.5 minutes off the bench ... she is WU's fourth-best scorer (9.3 ppg) and has tallied double-digits in five of the last six games ... Bowens is second in rebounds (67 total, 5.6/gm) ... she ranks fifth in MIAA in blocks (18) and blocks/game (1.5) and is among nation's leader in the respective categories at 48th and 71st. </p> <p>• Senior center Felisha Gibbs paces WU in rebounds (68 total, 5.7/gm) and leads all players with at least 60 minutes in FG shooting (.652) ... she is fifth on the team in scoring (7.6 ppg) and has 10 total blocks on the season to rank 11th in the conference ... on Dec. 17, Gibbs tallied WU's first  double-double of the season (12 pts, 14 rebs).</p> <p>• Senior guard Jharian Bowen is second in scoring (10.3 ppg) and has reached double-figure points seven of 12 games ... she leads WU in 3-pointers made and attempts  (20 of 63) and is 31.7 percent from behind the arc ... Bowen has also completed 81.8 percent of chances from the line (18 of 22) ... in the MIAA she ranks 9th in 3FG attempts and 13 in FG made. </p> <p>• Senior forward Erin Dohnalek per game averages shake out to 7.8 points, 1.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds ... Dohnalek has made a team-high 24 FTs and is shooting 80 percent (24 of 30) from the charity stripe.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Team Quick Facts</strong><br /> • Washburn has played the same starting five all season.</p> <p>• The Ichabods have benefitted from a balance offense having two or more double-figure scorers in 11 of its 12 games with the breakdown as follows: three games with two players; four games with three players and four games with four players.</p> <p>• As a team WU shoots .442 from the floor with a 3PT% of .311 compared to respective opponent shooting numbers of .347 and .347 ... from the free throw stripe WU is being edged out .672-.702</p> <p>• The Ichabods average just over 68 pts/game (68.3) to their opposition's 56.9 ... Washburn has outscored opponents by a combined 611-476 during the first three quarters and are tied in fourth quarter scoring at 202.</p> <p>• The last time a Ron McHenry coached team went to 2-2 to start was the 2013-14 season.</p> <p>• With McHenry at the helm, the Ichabods are 13-3 in their first game of a new year with a 4-1 mark with games on Jan. 2.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Last Season // </strong>Washburn's 2015-16 campaign with a three consecutive wins and a 4-2 mark through the first six games ... it closed the season 15-14 overall and finished tied for sixth in the MIAA at 11-11 ... The Ichabods entered the MIAA Tournament as the No. 7-seed and lost in the first round to No. 10-seed Central Missouri, 74-70 ... Erika Lane was named All-MIAA Third Team while Felisha Gibbs and Alyxis Bowens garnered Honorable Mention nods.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>MIAA Preseason Poll // </strong>Emporia State topped the preseason poll with 12 first-place votes and 168 total points ...  Pittsburg State followed with 156 points and two first-place votes ... Ichabods were third (132) ...  Fort Hays State was forth (127) and Missouri Western fifth (124) -- full poll on page six of attached Washburn game notes.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Washburn on the Radio // </strong>Washburn games will be broadcast on KTPK 106.9 FM radio with Jake Lebahn and Dan Lucero calling the action. Games will also be streamed live on wusports.com by following the listen live links on the women's schedule page.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>New Faces // </strong>Washburn has five new players on its 2016 roster, including one NCAA Division I transfer, one junior college transfer and three true freshmen ... Charisma Alexander joins the Ichabods after one season at Division I Stephen F. Austin. Alexander averaged 4.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 25.4 minutes while appearing in all 31 games for the LadyJacks and helping them win the Southland Conference championship ... Macy Myers joins Washburn following two seasons with Otero Junior College where she finished her career averaging 19 points/game for the Trojans ... the crop of true freshmen are made up of Cara Donley, Reagan Phelan and Jo Roepke ... Donley was multi-sport letterwinner at both Abilene and Scared Heart HS where she earned various individual accolades ... Phelan was also a multi-sport athlete during her time at Central Plains where she was named the 2015-16 KBCA Miss Kansas Basketball ... Roepke played for Valley Hieghts where she lettered in basketball, volleyball and track and was the 2016 Kansas 2A long jump champion.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Monthly Breakdown // </strong>Under Ron McHenry, Washburn has put together 25 perfect months, including a career-best 10-0 mark in February of the 2001-02 season. Aside from his first season, McHenry has never lost more than four games during January ... a month-by-month breakdown of the Ichabods under Coach McHenry can be found in the attached Washburn game notes.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Where Are They From? // </strong>Washburn's 2016-17 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 nine players from Kansas (Jharian Bowen, Alyxis Bowens, KayLee Farmer, Erika Lane, Reagan Phelan, Jo Roepke, Cara Donley and Madison and Makayla Vargo) ... Arkansas (Felisha Gibbs), Colorado (Macy Myers), Missouri (Erin Dohnalek), Texas (Charisma Alexander) 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.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>The Coach // </strong>Washburn's Ron McHenry ...is in his 17th season with the Ichabods ... during his first 16 season McHenry has amassed a 389-108 record ... was named the fifth coach in program-history in 2000 ... his .783 winning percentage to start the 2016-17 season is the best by any coach to lead the Ichabods/Lady Blues and listed him as the NCAA's 23rd winningest coach all-time in women's basketball across all divisions (based on percentage) ... he is also listed fifth in the all-time wins for Division II ... McHenry has 12 seasons with 20 or more wins and three seasons topping 30 ... in his first 16 years, McHenry has  coached 21 All-American selections, 42 All-MIAA nominees and one WNBA draft pick ... during the 2004-05 campaign McHenry steered the program to an NCAA Division II title ... McHenry also has a combined 15 MIAA regular-season and tournament championships ... McHenry entered the season 11 wins shy of 400 ... he now stands at 398 ... McHenry graduated from Washburn in 1984.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Last Time Out // </strong>Washburn 77, Lincoln 66 -- Dec. 19, 2016<br /> TOPEKA, Kan. --- Powered behind four double-figure scorers, the Washburn women's basketball picked up its third consecutive victory with a 77-66 final over Lincoln (1-9, 0-4 MIAA) at Schendel Court at Lee Arena. With the result, the Ichabods go into the holiday break at 9-3 overall and stand at 3-1 in league play. Monday's final was also win number 398 for head coach Ron McHenry who now is just two shy of reaching the 400 win plateau ... With the exception of about two and half minutes during the opening period Washburn dominated control early and often as it closed out the final three minutes of the first quarter with 12-0 run, 23-6 ... The pressure continued well into the second as the Ichabods accounted for 15 of the next 22 points pushing the score to 37-13 before Lincoln shaved the deficit to 20, as WU led at the half, 45-25 ... Washburn sprinted out of the gates in the third as Erika Lane, Felisha Gibbs and Cara Donley combined for six points in the opening minute of the period to help WU take its largest lead of the game, 51-25, with 8:54 to go ... The Blue Tigers then locked down on defense holding WU shooters to just four more points as they sliced the Ichabod advantage to eight thanks to a 22-10 third quarter ... Trailing 55-47 to start the fourth, Washburn regained it rhythm as it converted on 9 of 15 attempts, to shot 60 percent from the field. During the period the Ichabods turned to their bench, which netted 12 of their final 22 points and helped WU claim the victory ... Led by Alyxis Bowens' team-best 14 points WU received double-digit scoring contributions from four players for third time this season. Joining Bowens was Reagan Phelan and Erin Dohnalek had 12 points apiece while Jharian Bowen finished with 11. Dohnalek also had a game-best eight rebounds and chipped in with three assists, a block and a steal. Bowens and Charisma Alexander each pulled down seven boards while Phelan tallied a game-high six assists ... WU completed a season-high 10 of 33 attempts from distance while going 29 of 68 from the field. The Ichabods dominated LU on the glass, 51-30, as well as second-chance points, 24-4.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Scouting the Bobcats</strong><br /> • Peru State is 4-7 overall and 2-6 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC).</p> <p>• The Bobcats are Division I members of the NAIA.</p> <p>• Peru State has not played since a 69-57 win over Clarke Univ on Dec. 10, 2016.</p> <p>• Category leaders for the Blue Tigers: <br />     Points - Abigail Niebrugge (11.91/game)<br />     Assists - Brooke Maeda (3.1/game)<br />     Rebounds - Deandra Williams (7.6/game)<br />     Blocks - Jackie Beaugard (4)<br />     Steals -  Abigail Niebrugge (20)</p> <hr /> <p><strong>'Bods History // </strong>The 2016-17 marks the 48th season of Washburn women's basketball ... the Ichabods are 875-396-1 all-time ... the program has seen 23 seasons with at least 20 wins and had made 17 trips to the NCAA Division II Championship ... in 2004-05 Washburn won the NCAA Division II Championship and finished the season 35-2.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Before game day, this happened</strong><br /> • 1776 - First revolutionary flag is displayed</p> <p>• 1788 - Georgia is 4th state to ratify US constitution</p> <p>• 1839 - French photographer Louis Daguerre take the first photo of the moon</p> <p>• 1910 - First junior high schools in US opens in Berkeley, Calif.</p> <p>• 1922 - California tied Washington & Jefferson, 0-0, in the eight edition of the Rose Bowl</p> <p>• 1945 - Kentucky basketball begins 130-game home win streak (ends in 1955)</p>