KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- In spite of trailing for more than 39 minutes, Washburn women's basketball improved to 2-0 on Saturday as it outlasted Mary, 78-67, in an overtime thriller at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
The Ichabods grabbed their first lead of the contest with 2:32 left in the fourth as
Alexis McAfee buried a three-point to give Washburn a 59-58 advantage before Mary (0-2) used a 5-0 spurt to regaining a 63-59 lead with 35 seconds to go.
Reagan Phelan then cut the deficit to one, 63-32, with 16 ticks left on the clock. The Marauders then converted 1-of-2 attempts from the line with 0:11 left. With time for one shot, Washburn turned to Phelan who quickly moved the ball up the floor before driving to line to sink a layup in traffic to tie the contest at 64 and force overtime.
With momentum squarely in their corner the Ichabods controlled the overtime period outscoring Mary, 14-3. The Marauders led once during the extra frame as three-pointer gave nudged them out front, 65-64, with 4:30 remaining. Phelan then powered Washburn to victory as she registered nine of the final 14 points.
Mary dictated the tempo early in the first quarter jumping out to a 7-0 run en route to winning period, 21-9, as it completed 64.3 percent from the, topping Washburn's 26.7 percent effort.
Washburn shooting improved to 57.1 in the second to but it was not enough as UMary led 38-30 at the half.
The Washburn offense produced four double-digit scorers with Phelan posting a team-best 20 points. McAfee followed with 15, while
Taylor Blue and
Mackenzie Loe chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively.
McAfee also a team-high nine rebounds with Blue and
Axelle Bernard pulling down eight boards each. Bernard had game-highs with six assists and two blocks.
Collectively, the Ichabods shot 39.4 percent from the floor as completed 28-of-71 attempts with 9-of-25 from distance, good for 36 percent. The Marauders meanwhile shot 43.6 percent from the floor and was 3-of-15 from behind the arc. The Washburn bench outscored Mary's reserves, 13-7, while WU won the rebound battle, 46-36.
Washburn returns action with its home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 15 as it plays host to upstart, Nebraska Christian. Tip-off from Lee Arena is slated for 5:30 p.m.
