THE TIP-OFF
Washburn women's basketball returns to Lee Arena on Wednesday to take on Nebraska-Kearney (10-5, 3-3 MIAA) with tip-off slated for 5:30 pm. The Ichabods (10-4) have won their last eight consecutive games are just one of three unbeaten teams in league play at 5-0.
Wednesday's match-up will be the only regular season meetings. In spite of splitting the season series in 2017-18, Washburn is 26-12 all-time against the Lopers and have won 10 of 12 meetings dating back to the 2001-02 campaign.
Wednesday's game will be streamed online through The MIAA Network (themiaanetwork.com/washburnichabods) with Jake Lebahn (play-by-play) and Dan Lucero (commentary) on the call. The contest can all be heard by turning your radio dial to KTPK 106.9 FM in Topeka or by visiting wusports.com/live for a streamed link for those outside the Topeka area, with Lebahn and Lucero calling the action.
THEY GOT HISTORY
» Wednesday will be the 39th meeting in the series history.
» Washburn leads the series, 26-12 and have won 10 of the last 12 meetings dating back to the 2001-02 campaign.
» Washburn is 12-6 all-time when playing host to the Lopers in Topeka.
» The Ichabods' last win against Nebraska-Kearney was a 57-39 victory last season (12/9/2017) at Lee Arena, prior to splitting the series with a 70-61 loss in Kearney (2/1/2018).
» For head coach Ron McHenry this will be his 13th meeting against the Lopers. McHenry is 4-1 against UNK head coach Carrie Eighmey.
PREVIEWING NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
» The Lopers visit Topeka on Wednesday carrying a 10-5 record on the year and wins in their last two outings against Central Oklahoma (74-58) and Northeastern State (80-72).
» Nebraska-Kearney is also 3-3 in the MIAA, where it tops the league in assists (1st/233), while listed second in steals (153), steals per game (10.2), turnover margin (+4.6), forced turnovers (18.9) and scoring margin (14.7).
» The Lopers are seventh in the MIAA in field goal (.435) and three-point (.327) percentage and 12th in free throw percentage (.684). The offense has the fifth in fewest turnovers (214) in the league.
» Defensively, UNK is seventh among the MIAA in defense rebounds per game (27), but fourth in field goal percent defense (.373) and three-point percent defense (.290).
» Kelsey Sanger leads the team in assists (46) and assists per game (3.1), and scoring (10.9 ppg) edging out Brooke Carlson's 10.7.
» Shiloh McCool is the team leader on the glass with 98 rebounds, while Klaire Kirsch has averages a team-high five defensive rebounds per game.
» UNK is led by Carrie Eighmey who's in her fourth season with the program.
ON THE GLASS
» The Ichabods have out rounded opponents in 11 of 14 games thus far, including six of their last seven contests.
» Against the MIAA, Washburn averages 38.0 boards while opponents are pulling down 35 per game.
» Hunter Bentley has team-bests in total rebounds (80) and per game average (5.7).
STUFFY DEFENSE
» Washburn's field goal defense (.348) tops the MIAA and is 17th among the Div. II leaderboard.
» Washburn MIAA opponents meanwhile are shooting .376 from the field, .259 from three-point distance and averaging 60 points a game, placing the Ichabods among the league's top three in each category.
» The Ichabods have tallied double-digit steals six times this season including a season-best 16 against Saint Mary (Kan.) on Dec. 31.
» Individually, Alexis McAfee is among the MIAA top five leaders in steals (5th/29) and steals per game (2nd/2.07), while Hunter Bentley is eighth in steals (27) and sixth in per game average (1.93).
PASSING THE ROCK
» Washburn has posted double-digit assists 13 times and recorded at least 20 assists in three of its last four outings, including a season-high 24 at Emporia State (1/5).
» Reagan Phelan is third among the NCAA Top 50 in assists (48th/58) and assists per game (42nd/4.6). Phelan posted a MIAA season-best 11 assists on Jan. 5 at Emporia State.
WHAT A WASHBURN WIN MEANS...
» ...improve to 11-5 overall, 6-0 in the MIAA.
» ...stretch the win streak to nine games for the first time since rattling off 10-straight during the 2012-13 campaign.
» ...Ron McHenry's 437th career victory.
AT THE LINE
» Thus far this season, Washburn has made 126-of-197 (.640) attempts from the free throw line.
» Prior to the holiday break, Washburn was shooting .605 (89-of-147)during its first 10 games, but since returning have made 37-of-50 (.740) in its last four contests.
» Washburn has shot .750 or better in three of its last four outings including a season-best 1.000 at Northwest Missouri (1/12) as it went 7-for-7.
» Hunter Bentley leads the team in free throw made (29) and attempts (43), while Taylor Blue leads in percentage (.813, 13-16).
» Since returning from the holiday break, Bentley has is 13-for-18 (.722), while Reagan Phelan has made 6-of-9 (.667).
BLOCKING BODS
» Washburn has registered 11 consecutive multi-blocks games. The streak began Nov. 23, and includes a season-high eight-block effort against at Northwest Missouri (1/12).
» Annette Warner is the team's leader in blocks, registering half of her season total in the last four contests. The junior is 10th on the MIAA charts in total blocks (16) and ninth in per game average (1.23).
IN TRANSITION
» Washburn has outscored opponents fast break points in 13 of 14 games.
» Through 14 games, the Ichabods are averaging 11.4 points on the break.
PPG PAINT
» Washburn has made a living in the paint this season, outscoring opponents in 10 times and is 8-0 when holding the advantage in paint points.
» More than 50 percent (.516) of all Washburn points scored this season have come from the painted area (492 of 953). Free throw attempts do not account for points in paint.
» The Ichabods average 35.1 paint points a game.
BALANCED ATTACK
» Washburn is averaging three double-figure scorers in its last four games and are netting an average 75 points a game.
» Hunter Bentley leads the scoring with 11.8 on the season with 16.5 a game since returning from the holiday break. During the last four games, Bentley is shooting .561 (23-for-41) from the field with 7-for-13 (.538) from three-point distance.
» Taylor Blue is averaging 10.4 points this season, however is well above that in her last four games, averaging 16.8 in that span. Blue is shooting .536 (30-of-56) from the field and has netted 5-of-13 (.385) from deep.
» Reagan Phelan is no stranger to double-figure totals as the junior was the team's scoring leader a season ago (14.9 ppg) and among third as freshman (11.2 ppg) and is on pace to eclipse 1000 career points this season. Phelan is averaging nearly a point better (11.5) than her season average (10.6) over the last four games.
» Alexis McAfee and Shelbe Piggie are additional scoring options. McAfee is averaging 8.5 a game thus far, while Piggie is coming off the bench to chip in with 7.5 per game.
HISTORY MAC-KER
On Dec. 18, with a decisive victory over Embry-Riddle (Fla.), head coach Ron McHenry surpassed Patty Dick as the all-time leader wins as he notched No. 432. McHenry's latest accomplishment comes nearly two seasons after notching his 400th career win. Now in his 19th season with Washburn, McHenry has eight MIAA titles with 12 trips to the NCAA Championship plus Washburn's only NCAA national title (2005).
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Washburn basketball has been listed among the NCAA Division II top 10 in attendance for 16 consecutive seasons. During the 2017-18 season, the Ichabods were ranked fifth nationally in overall attendance drawing 25,311, averaging 1,582 fans per home contest.
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY
The 2018-19 academic year marks the 50th season of women's athletics at Washburn University, which began with volleyball, basketball, softball, field hockey and gymnastics. Although, field hockey and gymnastics are no longer available, the offerings for female student-athletes has grown to eight sports with the addition of soccer, tennis, and cross country and indoor/outdoor track and field.
UP NEXT
» Washburn returns to action Saturday to face nationally-ranked Fort Hays State at home for a 1 pm tip-off. The 81st meeting will be featured as part of the NCAA Basketball Showcase and will be broadcasted on the NCAA Division II Facebook (NCAADivisionII) and Twitter (@ncaadii) pages.
