PITTSBURG, Kan. --- The Washburn women's basketball slid to 13-5 on the season and 5-4 in the MIAA as it fell to Pittsburg State, 77-59, Saturday at John Lance Arena.

A strong opening period highlighted by a 10-point margin midway through looked like a promising day for the Ichabods which began the game with a 6-0 run during the opening 1:55. Washburn, which made 7 of 15 from the field in the first quarter, took a 14-4 advantage at 4:29 of the first as Reagan Phelan and Taylor Blue teamed for a 6-0 run.

The Gorillas (14-5, 7-3 MIAA) though quickly trimmed the margin to two before a three-pointer at the buzzer knotted the game at 19 as they closed the first period on a 15-5 run.

Despite shooting 6 of 14 in the second, Washburn found itself behind as PSU completed 5 of 8 from behind the arc to take a 38-35 lead into the break.

Cold shooting in the third period saw the Ichabods make just two of 2 of 12 allowing PSU to stretch its lead to 14, as it outscored Washburn, 18-7.

The Ichabod offense thawed in the fourth as they shot 6 of 12 from the field, however the effort was not enough as the Gorillas continued to knock down shots pushing their leading to as much 25. A late 10-2 rally from Washburn narrowed the margin 17 inside two minutes before settling at the 77-59 final.

Alexis McAfee led all Washburn scorers with 17 points as she pulled down eight rebounds. Axelle Bernard finished with a double-double as she tallied 11 points and had a game-highs with 11 rebounds and five blocks.

The Ichabods will return to action Wednesday when they host Southwest Baptist at Lee Arena, with tip-off slated for 5:30 pm.