Kansas City, Mo. — A hot first half was enough to propel the Washburn women's basketball team to a 69-49 victory Friday at Rockhurst, ending a two-game skid as it moved to 1-2 on the year.

Washburn trailed by as much as seven during the opening three minutes as the Hawks (2-1) used a pair of three-pointers to jump out to a 10-3 lead with 2:54 into the first period. The Ichabods bounced back with an 9-0 run which was capped with a three-ball from Taylor Blue who finished with 14 points. From there it was all Washburn as it closed the stanza with a 6-2 run as Reagan Phelan netted four of her nine on the night.

Leading 18-12 to start the second, Washburn cruised as Shelbe Piggie pushed the margin to six as she pulled up and sank a three to make it 21-15 with 8:48 till half. Piggie finished with a career-high 14 points. From there, the Ichabods cruised as they stretched the advantage to double-figures following back-to-back threes from Blue and Piggie en route to taking a 41-23 advantage into the break.

Washburn continued to vibe in the third as it opened with a 12-2 run with four points from Nicole Murugarren and Alexis McAfee before eventually a Mackenzie Loe layup at 4:25 pushed the gap to 55-25.

Rockhurst outscored WU, 21-10, in the fourth but by that point the game was well out reach.

The Ichabods were an efficient 14 of 29 shooting from the field during the opening 20 minutes with 6 of 10 from three-point range. In the second, Washburn converted 11 of 29 from the floor and 1 of 7 from distance.

Comparatively, Washburn out shot RU, .431 to .290, in addition to controlling the boards, with a 43-32 advantage in rebounding. The Ichabods paced the Hawks in points in the paint, 32-12, while they also converted for 16 second-chance points.

Blue and Piggie tied for the team lead in scoring, while McAfee with 10 points. Phelan dished out a game-best six assists, while McAfee connected with four. Murugarren had a career-high seven rebounds, with Loe and McAfee pulling down six each.

Washburn returns to action Friday, Nov. 23 in its home opener against Montevallo as it hosts the Parrish Hotels Thanksgiving Classic. Tip off is slated for 4 pm.