Tipping Off
The Washburn Ichabods look to snap its season-long three-game slide in its regular season finale on Saturday against Northeastern State. WU won the initial meeting of the season, 67-48, as head coach Ron McHenry earned career win No. 400 as the Ichabods extend the all-time series lead to 6-4. Tip is slated for 1:30 p.m. but will be proceeded by a ceremony as the team recognizes its six seniors.
Scouting the RiverHawks
Northeastern State comes to Schendel Court at Lee Arena with a 6-20 mark on the season and 2-16 record in conference play. Offensively, NSU is led by Rylie Torrey's 16.8 points/game while Cailyn Long follows with 13.0 points/game. Mary Jane Buschmann is the RiverHawks top rebounder with 5.6 per game. Collectively, NSU has the fewest fouls in the conference and is ranked 12th in Division II and is second in free throw percentage (76.2). Opponents out shoot NSU from the field, 41.6 to 38.6 percent.
Player Quick Facts
• Senior guard Erika Lane is tied for second on the team in scoring with 11.0 points/game ... having reached double-digit points 16 times including a 25-point effort on Feb. 23 to tie a career-high.
• Lane also paces WU in assists (3.4/game) and is second in rebounding (4.9/game) ... she has dished out three or more assists 17 times.
• Lane ranks eighth in the MIAA for total assists (93), 10th in assists/game, and 10th assist-turnover ratio (1.3).
• Freshman guard Reagan Phelan is 4th-best in scoring with 10.7 points/game and has reached double-figure scoring in 18 games including a career-best 25 points on Feb. 11.
• Phelan's is tied for 9th in the MIAA for steals (43) and 10th in steals/game (1.6).
• Senior forward Alyxis Bowens is the team's leading scorer with 12.7 points/game and leads the MIAA in field percentage (.585) ... her return to the lineup questionable.
• Senior guard Jharian Bowen is tied for second with 11.0 points/game ... she has reached double-figure points 19 times this season including a career-high of 20 on Jan. 2.
• Bowen is 11th in the MIAA with 51 made 3-pointers while putting up a team-high 143 attempts.
• Senior forward Erin Dohnalek is fifth on the team in scoring with 9.6 points/game and has reached double-digit scoring 13 times including a career-high of 21 points on Feb. 23.
• Dohnalek is third in rebounding with 4.6 ... pulled down a career-high 11 boards on Feb. 23 for her first career doubke-double.
THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Ichabods are eighth in the MIAA in free throw percentage with a mark of .724 with Erika Lane leading the way with 82.9 percent ... Jharian Bowen and Reagan Phelan are tied at 77.9 ... Washburn has made at least 90 percent of attempts three times this season including a 10-for-10 outing at Central Missouri.
Team Quick Facts
Washburn is 16-11 overall and seventh in the MIAA standings at 9-9 ... WU has opened games with three variations of its starting five this season ... The Ichabods have benefited from a balanced offense having two or more double-figure scorers in 26 of 27 games with the breakdown as follows: five games with two players; 10 games with three players; nine games with four players; two games with five players ... The Ichabods are in the top half of the MIAA rankings in FG% (6th/43.1), FG defense (4th/38.2) and rebound margin (5th/+6.7) ... WU's average scoring margin is +5.6 as it has outscored opponents 66.3 tot 61.7.
Lee Arena
Washburn is 9-7 at home this season ... the Ichabods have welcomed 22,524 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 ... month-by-month breakdown is available on the attached game notes.
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
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. --- The Washburn women's basketball team bounced back from its loss last Saturday to roll past Northeastern State at the NSU Arena on Thursday evening, 67-48 and give head coach Ron McHenry his 400th career victory ... For the fifth time this season Washburn (11-4, 4-2 MIAA) received double-digit contributions from three individuals as Jharian Bowen (18 points), Alyxis Bowens (14) and Erika Lane (10) led the way for the Ichabods. In addition to her scoring, Lane was also a force on the glass pulling down a career-high 10 boards for WU's second double-double of the season ... Trailing 10-5 in the opening 3:50 of the game Washburn pushed back with a 9-2 spurt to move out front (14-12) where it remained for the remainder for evening. The run, which stretched for about two minutes, was sparked by a long range attempt from Lane ... With a 16-12 advantage to start the second, Ichabod shooters began to heat up as Dohnalek knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to make it 22-18 ... Ichabod shooters were extremely proficient as they converted on 27 of 55 from the field with 12 of 26 from behind the arc.
