Tipping Off
• Washburn returns to Schendel Court at Lee Arena on Thursday to wrap up its season series with Nebraska- Kearney. Tip off is slated for 5:30 p.m.
• The Ichabods claimed the initial meeting with a 57-48 result as they pushed their all-time series lead to 25-12.

Scouting the Lopers
• Nebraska-Kearney enters at 7-12 overall and 3-8 in league play where they are tied for 10th in the standings.
• UNK is riding a two-game win streak with victories in three of its last five games.
• Michaela Barry leads the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and steals (32) and is second in rebounds (4.6/game) to Kelsey Fitzgerald who is averaging 5.1 a game.
• As a team, UNK is shooting 39.8 percent from the field with a mark of 31.2 from 3-point distance and 69.1 percent from the charity stripe.
• Opponents shot 41.9 percent from the floor and 35.4 from distance while converting 72.7 percent from the line.

Player Quick Facts
• Senior guard Erika Lane leads the team in assists (68 total, 3.4/gm) and minutes (31.9/game) ... Lane is also third in scoring (10.4 ppg) and second in rebounds (96 total, 4.8/gm).
• Lane has scored double-digit points 11 times and dished three more assists on 12 occasions ... on Jan. 12 she tallied her first career double-double (10 pts, 10 rebs).
• Lane is eighth in the MIAA in assists, ninth in assists/game and 13th in assist-turnover ratio (1.24).
• Freshman guard Reagan Phelan is fifth on the team in scoring (9.1 ppg) ... has reached double-figure scoring 11 times this season including a career-best 20 points on Nov. 14.
• Phelan leads the team in steals (27), sits at second in assists (53 total, 2.7/gm) and 3FG made (23).
• Senior forward Alyxis Bowens is the team's scoring leader (11.4 ppg) ... on Jan. 2 Bowens tied a career-high when she scored 28 points against Peru State also set a career mark with 12 rebounds on Jan. 28
• Bowens has reached double-digit scoring 13 times this season, nine of the last 10 games ... paces WU in rebounds (140 total, 7.0/gm).
• Bowens ranks third among league leaders in total blocks (31) and blocks/game (1.6) and is listed nationally at 56th and 65th, respectively ... at 59 percent shooting Bowens is also the MIAA leader in FG% and ranked ninth nationally. 
• Senior guard Jharian Bowen is the second leading  scorer with 11.1 ppg ... has reached double-figure points 13 times including a career-high of 20 against on Jan. 2.
• Bowen leads WU in 3-pointers made and attempts (41-of-104) and is 39.4 percent from distance ... places second on team in FT percentage, 77.1.
• Senior forward Erin Dohnalek is fourth on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg) ... also averages 1.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
• Dohnalek has a team-high 60 free throw attempts and is shooting 71.7 from the charity stripe ... she has reached double-digit scoring nine times including a new career-high of 18 points on Jan. 26.

Team Quick Facts
• Washburn carries a 13-7 overall record with a 6-5 mark in the MIAA where it is tied for sixth with Fort Hays. 
• WU has started games with only two variations of a starting five this season.
• The Ichabods have benefited from a balanced offense having two or more double-figure scorers in 18 of 19 games with the breakdown as follows: five games with two players; seven games with three players; six games with four players; one game with five players.
• Collectively, WU shoot 43.4 percent from the floor while holding opponents to 36.5.
• Despite being perfect from the line against Central Missouri on Jan. 28, the 'Bods have been otherwise inconsistent from the charity stripe making only 69.2 percent of free throws while opponents shoot 72.9.
• WU's average scoring margin victory is +7.5, as it outscores opponents 66.8 to 59.4.

Home Sweet Home
• Washburn as enjoyed playing at Schendel Court at Lee Arena this season where they have posted an 8-3 record ... at home, the Ichabods are averaging 73.5 points a game with a +13.7-point margin of victory.
• The comforts of home extend to shooting where the 'Bods are good for 46 percent from the field ... they consequently have been able to hold opponents to a mark of 37.5.
• Individually, Alyxis Bowens (12.5), Erika Lane (11.2), Reagan Phelan (11.1) and Jharian Bowen (10.7) are all averaging double-figure points while in front of the home crowd.
• Through 11 home dates, the Ichabods have welcomed 13,253 fans to Schendel Court at Lee Arena.

Last Season
• Washburn's 2015-16 campaign opened with 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.

MIAA Preseason Poll
• 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).

Washburn on the Radio
• 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.

Monthly Breakdown
• 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 is available on the attached game notes.

Where Are They From?
• Washburn's 2016-17 roster has a wide mix of hometowns geographically, with its 13 players hailing from two countries (United States, France and Denmark) and three different states within the US ... There are eight players from Kansas (Jharian Bowen, Alyxis Bowens, Erika Lane, Reagan Phelan, Jo Roepke, Cara Donley and Madison and Makayla Vargo) ... Colorado (Macy Myers), Missouri (Erin Dohnalek) and 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.

The Coach
• 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 ... the mark is also 17th-best for active NCAA women's basketball coaches across all divisions and 23rd all-time ... amongst the Division II ranks, McHenry's winning percentage is fourth-best for active coaches and fifth-best all-time, while his 389 victories to open the season placed him 23rd for active coaches in 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 has a combined 15 MIAA regular-season and tournament championships ... the Ichabod bench boss entered the season 11 wins shy of 400 ... on Jan. 12, 2017, McHenry became the fastest active coach in NCAA Division II women's basketball to reach 400 career wins while joining a list with 23 of his peers ... McHenry now needs 30 wins to past Patty Dick to become the winningest coach in program-history ... McHenry graduated from Washburn in 1984.

Last Time Out
Washburn 57, Nebraska-Kearney 48 •• Dec. 10, 2016 (Kearney, Neb.)

KEARNEY, Neb. --- Highlighted by 53.8 percent shooting, the Washburn women's basketball team used a strong second half to rally past Nebraska-Kearney 57-48 Saturday evening to claim its first conference win of the season. With the result, the Ichabods improved to 7-3 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA, while head coach Ron McHenry now stands four shy 400 career victories ... Despite taking a 13-11 lead late into the opening quarter, the Ichabods struggled during the first half as they completed 6 of 25 attempts from the floor including a 1 for 10 effort during the second stanza allowing Nebraska-Kearney (3-8, 0-4 MIAA) to take a 27-18 lead into the break ... Washburn started the third quarter quickly as it accounted for 15 of 20 points to take a 33-32 lead with 5:31 remaining. The run was started by an Erin Dohnalek layup and maintained with points from Erika Lane, Jharian Bowen and Reagan Phelan. During the stretch, Washburn were 6-of-6 shooting including three 3-pointers. Phelan lead the way six points ... UNK then took its final lead of the game at the 5:19 mark with shot from distance to make it 35-33 ... Before the end of the period, Washburn reclaimed the lead with a jumper from Charisma Alexander to make it 39-37 ... In the fourth, Washburn bumped the margin to four early until Nieka Wheeler helped UNK to knot the contest at 43 with 6:46 left. The UNK comeback was then stifled as the WU defense did not allow the Lopers a shot from the field for the remainder of the contest ... Washburn then cruised to its 57-48 final following the go-ahead basket from Makayla Vargo ... The 'Bods were led by Phelan and Lane as the both carded double-digit scoring efforts with 13 and 12 points respectively. Vargo accounted for nine of the Washburn's 18 bench points. Bowen finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Phelan also distributed a game-high five assists and four rebounds. Felisha Gibbs pulled down nine boards to lead all players ... For the game, Washburn shot 39.2 percent while making 4 of 17 from attempts from 3-point distance and 13 of 19 from the charity stripe. The Ichabods also outscored UNK 26-12 with points in the paint.

'Bods History
• The 2016-17 marks the 48th season of Washburn women's basketball ... the Ichabods are 883-398-1 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.

Before game day, this happened:
• 1653 - New Amsterdam becomes a city, later renamed to New York City.
• 1948 - Mexican War comes to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; U.S. acquires Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona for $15 million
• 1876 - Baseball's National League forms with teams in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, OH, Hartford, CT, Louisville, KY, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
• 1887 - In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.
• 1913 - New York City's Grand Central terminal opens.
• 1954 - Bevo Francis of Rio Grande College scores 113 points in a basketball game.