Tipping Off
The Washburn Ichabods begin its final regular season weekend at home and will try to snap its first consecutive losing streak of the season on Thursday against No. 18 Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos lead the season series 1-0, but trail Washburn all-time 9-5. Thursday's game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start and will be Washburn's 1,288th game all-time.
Scouting the Bronchos
Central Oklahoma is coming off a 76-72 win against Fort Hays from last Saturday to snap a four-game losing streak. The Bronchos enter Lee Arena as the No. 24th-ranked team in the WBCA poll with an overall record of 21-5 and a MIAA mark of 12-5 and would currently enter the conference tournament as the fourth-seed. UCO is led by Melinda Murillo who's 14.7 points/game is ninth-best in MIAA. Jeshon Cooper meanwhile has the eighth-best blocked shot total in Division II (76) and is second in the MIAA in rebounds (226) and rebounds per game (8.7). Collectively, the Bronchos lead the conference in free throw percentage (76.5) and field-goal defense (34.7) while shooting 40.4 percent from the field for 11th in the MIAA.
Player Quick Facts
• Senior guard Erika Lane is fourth on the team in scoring (10.4 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.8/game) ... eclipsed personal single-season rebounding mark of 102 on Feb. 4 -- currently stands at 127 on the year.
• Lane has scored double-digit points 15 times and dished three more assists on 16 occasions ... on Jan. 12 she tallied her first career double-double (10 pts, 10 rebs).
• Lane ranks eighth in the MIAA for total assists (87), 10th in assists/game (3.4), and 11th assist-turnover ratio (1.2).
• Freshman guard Reagan Phelan is third in scoring (10.7 ppg) ... has reached double-figure scoring in 17 games including a career-best 25 points on Feb. 11.
• Phelan's is tied for 10th in the MIAA for steals (39) and steals/game (1.5).
• Senior forward Alyxis Bowens is the team's leading scorer (12.7 ppg) and has reached double-digit scoring 17 times with three games with 20+ ... on Jan. 2 Bowens tied a career-high when she scored 28 points against Peru State.
• Bowens paces WU in rebounds with 179, surpassing her single-season mark of 158 set last year ... she pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds on Jan. 28.
• Bowens' 39 blocks is the 12th-best total for a single season surpassing Carla Sintra who had 38 during the 2003-04 season ... her blocking numbers have her ranked third in the MIAA while also being listed nationally in the top 100 for both total blocks (64th) and blocks/game (71st; 1.5).
• Senior guard Jharian Bowen is the team's second leading scorer with 11.0 ppg ... she has reached double-figure points 18 times this season including a career-high of 20 on Jan. 2.
• Bowen is eighth in the MIAA with 49 made 3-pointers while putting up a team-high 135 attempts ... places second on team in FT percentage, 77.3.
• Senior forward Erin Dohnalek is fifth on the team in scoring with 9.2 ppg ... has reached double-digit scoring 12 times including a career-high of 18 points on Jan. 26.
• Dohnalek is shooting 71.9 from the charity stripe.
Team Quick Facts
Washburn is 16-10 overall and 9-8 in the MIAA ... WU has opened games with only two variations of its starting five this season ... The Ichabods have benefited from a balanced offense having two or more double-figure scorers in 25 of 26 games with the breakdown as follows: five games with two players; 10 games with three players; eight games with four players; two games with five players ... The Ichabods are in the top half of the MIAA rankings in FG% (6th/43.3), FG defense (4th/38.0) and rebound margin (5th/+6.1) ... The Ichabods shoot 71.8 percent of free throws while opponents shoot 73.7 ... WU's average scoring margin is +5.9 as it has outscored opponents 66.7 tot 60.8.
No Place like Lee Arena
Washburn has enjoyed playing at Schendel Court at Lee Arena this season where they have posted an 9-6 record Through 15 home dates, the Ichabods have welcomed 20,552 fans to Schendel Court at Lee Arena including a season-high 2,784 against Fort Hays on Feb. 4.
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 the final month of the season ... a month-by-month breakdown of the Ichabods under Coach McHenry available on bottom of page 5.
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 26 wins to past Patty Dick to become the winningest coach in program-history ... McHenry graduated from Washburn in 1984.
Last Time Out
Washburn 49, Central Oklahoma 69 • Jan. 14, 2017
EDMOND, Okla. --- The Washburn women's basketball ended it three-game road trip on a sour note as it fell 69-49 to No. 16 Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla ... Washburn was led by Reagan Phelan who netted a team-best 11 points and Jharian Bowen had 10. Alyxis Bowens registered eight points and pulled down nine boards. Cindy Demosthene finished with a game-best 11 rebounds while chipping in four points ... WU sprinted to a 6-3 advantage with early in the first period. UCO controlled from then on taking a 38-21 lead into the break ... Washburn struggled to net points in the third as it was held to just 11.8 percent shooting ... WU found the bottom of the basket in the fourth, outscoring UCO 20-11, but it was not enough to overcome the hefty Broncho advantage. ... WU out rebounded UCO, 47-42 and edged them out in second chance points, 14-11. As a team, the Ichabods shot 23.5 percent from the floor while UCO converted 40 percent of its chance.
