Tipping Off
• As the season continues to wind down Washburn looks to gain momentum on against cross-state rival Fort Hays as part of the ESPN/NCAA Division II Game of the Week with tip off slated for 5:03 p.m.
• The Ichabods fell to the Tigers in overtime (67-64) to open their conference schedule.
• This will be the 78th all-time meeting with WU leading the series 46-31 and have a 23-13 record against FHSU at home.
• Saturday's game can be seen WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.

Scouting the Tigers
• Fort Hays comes to Lee Arena at 16-6 overall and seventh in the MIAA standings at 6-6.
• The Tigers are dropped four of their five games following a season-high eight-game win streak.
• Jill Faxon leads the FHSU offense with 11.9 ppg while Emma Stroyan is the team's top rebounder with 5.9 a game.
• As a team FHSU is shooting 41.9 percent from the field while holding opponents to 37.1. 
• Opponents edge out the Tigers is shooting from distance, .306 to .298, and from the charity strip, .732 to .680.
• FHSU though recovers some ground as it out rebounds opponents, 44 to 36.

Player Quick Facts
• Senior guard Erika Lane leads the team in assists (71 total, 3.4/gm) and minutes (32.1/game) ... Lane is also third in scoring (10.6 ppg).
• Lane has scored double-digit points 12 times and dished three more assists on 13 occasions ... on Jan. 12 she tallied her first career double-double (10 pts, 10 rebs).
• Lane ranks ninth in the MIAA in both total assists and assists/game and 12th in assist-turnover ratio (1.25).
• Freshman guard Reagan Phelan is fifth on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg) ... has reached double-figure scoring 12 times this season including a career-best 20 points on Nov. 14.
• Phelan leads the team in steals (29), sits at second in assists (58 total, 2.8/gm).
• Senior forward Alyxis Bowens is the team's second leading scoring (11.2 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 including nine of the last 11 games ... paces WU in rebounds (147 total, 7.0/gm).
• Bowens ranks third among league leaders in total blocks (37) and blocks/game (1.8) and is listed nationally at 41st and 46th, respectively.
• Senior guard Jharian Bowen is the team's leading scorer with 11.3 ppg ... has reached double-figure points 14 times this season including a career-high of 20 against on Jan. 2.
• Bowen leads WU in 3-pointers made and attempts (43-of-111) and is 38.7 percent from distance ... places second on team in FT percentage, 78.0.
• Senior forward Erin Dohnalek is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.5 ppg ... also averages 1.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
• Dohnalek has a team-high 62 free throw attempts and is shooting 72.6 from the charity stripe ... she has reached double-digit scoring 10 times including a new career-high of 18 points on Jan. 26.

Team Quick Facts
• Washburn carries a 14-7 overall record and 7-5 mark in the MIAA where it is in sole control of sixth-place in the standings.
• WU has only opened games with two variations of its starting five this season.
• The Ichabods have benefited from a balanced offense having two or more double-figure scorers in 19 of 20 games with the breakdown as follows: five games with two players; seven games with three players; seven games with four players; one game with five players.
• Collectively, WU shoots 43.2 percent from the floor while holding opponents to 36.6.
• Despite being perfect from the line against Central Missouri on Jan. 28, the 'Bods have otherwise been inconsistent from the charity stripe making only 69.6 percent of free throws while opponents shoot 73.5.
• WU's average margin is +7.6, as it outscores opponents 66.9 to 59.3.

Home Sweet Home
• Washburn has enjoyed playing at Schendel Court at Lee Arena this season where they have posted an 9-3 record ... at home, the Ichabods average 73.1 points a game with a scoring margin of +13.4.
• The comforts of home extend to shooting where the 'Bods are good for 45.5 percent from the field and have been able to hold opponents to a mark of 37.5.
• Individually, Alyxis Bowens (12.1), Erika Lane (11.5), Reagan Phelan (11.2) and Jharian Bowen (11.2) have thrived as they average double-figure points while in front of the home crowd.
• Through 12 home dates, the Ichabods have welcomed 15,222 fans to Schendel Court at Lee Arena.

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.

TV TIME
• Saturday's contest will mark the second time in the program-history and first time since the 2005 NCAA Division II Championship game (March 26) that the Ichabods will appear on the ESPN family of networks. 

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).

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 is available in the attached Washburn 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 29 wins to past Patty Dick to become the winningest coach in program-history ... McHenry graduated from Washburn in 1984.

Last Time Out | Fort Hays 67, Washburn 64 (OT) • Dec. 7, 2016 
HAYS, Kan. --- The Washburn women's basketball dropped a hard luck 67-64 overtime loss to Fort Hays State in its MIAA opener Wednesday. With the result the Ichabods see the end of a four-game win streak and slide to 6-3 on the year. This is the first time since the Nov. 26 1993-94 that Washburn and FHSU played and overtime game and the fifth time in the history of the series ... Despite converting over 50 percent of its attempts from the floor in the second half including 63.6 percent in the fourth the Ichabods saw an 11-point lead slip away early in the fourth thanks to a Tigers (7-2, 1-2 MIAA) 13-2 run to tie the game at 47 with about eight minutes to play ... Control of the game then alternated hands as neither team lead by more than three and played to five of the night's nine ties ... As the clock crept inside the final two minutes Washburn trailed 55-52 until an Erin Dohnalek three-pointer and layup by Felisha Gibbs bumped the Ichabods to 57-55 with 1:05 remaining. The lead was short-lived as FHSU scored the next three points as it took a slim 58-57 lead with 23 ticks left on the clock ... With eight seconds left in regulation, Erika Lane was then sent to the line where she converted 1 of 2 attempts knotting the game at 58. The Tigers tried a last attempt but it was no good as time expired ... In the extra frame Fort Hays State grabbed control early behind a 7-0 spurt pushing the score to 65-58.  Lane and Gibbs then combined for the next four points to help Ichabods get within three with 2:10 to play ... Down the stretch the sides traded free throw attempts allowing Lane to trim the Tigers' advantage to 66-64 with 28 seconds. The Washburn rally was then snuffed out as another FHSU free throw bumped the margin to three with 12 seconds as the last ditch effort by the Ichabods was no good as the final buzzer sounded ... After trailing 15-10 in the opening period the Ichabods claimed a 28-25 at the break. During the middle two frames Washburn stunted the Tiger attack as it held them to a combined 3 of 31 shooting for nine percent ... Individually,  Washburn had four players with double-figure points with Jharian Bowen leading the lineup with 17. Lane followed with 12 points and distributed game-high seven assists as Gibbs and Alyxis Bowens had 10 apiece. Gibbs, Lane and Bowen also shared a team-high seven boards each. Reagan Phelan chipped in with five points, five assists and three steals.

'Bods History
• The 2016-17 marks the 48th season of Washburn women's basketball ... the Ichabods are 884-398-1 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.