THE TIP-OFF
Washburn (12-5, 7-1 MIAA) returns to road action on Saturday as it faces another ranked Sunflower State opponent in No. 23 Pittsburg State (15-3, 7-2 MIAA). The matchup set for a 1:30 tip and will be the 86th meeting in series history. Saturday's meeting between the Ichabods and Gorillas will be the only regular-season showdown.
Saturday's game will be streamed online through The MIAA Network (themiaanetwork.com/washburnichabods) or on The MIAA Network app available on Apple TV, Roku and GooglePlay. The contest can also 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. Jake Lebahn (play-by-play) and Dan Lucero (commentary) will call the action with the pregame show starting 20 minutes prior to tip-off.
THEY GOT HISTORY
» Saturday will be the 86th meeting all-time.
» Washburn leads the series, 52-33, although has dropped the last eight.
» The last time these teams met was in Kansas City during the MIAA Championship in quarterfinal round (3/1/18), Washburn loss 71-63.
» The Ichabods last win in Pittsburg was a 65-51 decision on Jan. 11, 2012.
» For Washburn head coach Ron McHenry this will be his 37 time facing the Gorillas since 2000-01. Since then, he's 24-12 all-time with a 22-11 mark in MIAA regular season play.
PREVIEWING PITTSBURG STATE
» Following a 77-71 loss to Emporia State on Wednesday, the Gorillas head into the weekend at 7-2 in the MIAA and 15-3 on the year, though began the week ranked 23rd in the WBCA poll.
» PSU has won four of its last five and a resolute 9-1 at home this season.
» The Gorilla defense is fourth in Division II three-point defense (.251) and 33rd in blocked shots (73).
» Pittsburg State offense meanwhile leads the MIAA in three-point efficiency (.371) and is third in the MIAA in scoring (75.2) and margin (11.7) .
» Kaylee DaMitz paces the team and the MIAA in assists (85) while listed second in per game average (4.7). She is also fourth in among league leaders in free throw percentage (.857) while averaging 9.3 points.
» Shelby Lopez averages a team-best 12.8 points and is third in the MIAA with 38 made three-pointers.
» Athena Alvardo has team-highs in rebounds (7.1) and total blocks (24), while listed second on the lineup in scoring (11.2).
» The Gorillas are lead by first-year head coach Amanda Davied assisted predecessor Lane Lord for 14 seasons.
WHAT A WASHBURN WIN MEANS...
» ...improve to 13-5 overall.
» ...move to 8-1 in the MIAA.
» ...Ron McHenry's 439th career victory.
SHARED SCORING
» Washburn is averaging approximately 68 points in its last four games with three double-figure scorers in Taylor Blue, Alexis McAfee and Reagan Phelan.
» Blue leads the trio averaging 14.8 points in the last four outings behind 23-of-55 (.418) shooting from the field and 9-of-22 (.409) from three-point range.
» Phelan is averaging 10.6 points for the year, with 12.3 points per game in her last four. During that span she's shooting at .450-clip (18-of-40) from the floor and is 9-of-20 (.450) from distance.
» McAfee is converting roughly 42 percent (16-of-38) of chances from the field in her last four outings and is 5-for-5 from the line.
» Nicole Murugarren has finding the bottom of the netting of late, averaging 9.3 in the four contests, nearly three-points better than her season average.
» Hunter Bentley is third is season average with 10.7 points.
AT THE LINE
» Washburn is 142-of-220 (.645) from the free throw line this season and have converted 23-of-30 (.767) in their last four contests.
» Washburn has shot .750 or better in five of its last seven games including a season-best 1.000 at Northwest Missouri (1/12) as it went 7-for-7.
» Since returning from the holiday break, Bentley has is 18-for-27 (.667), while Reagan Phelan has made 11-of-14 (.786).
THE PURSUIT OF 1000
» Reagan Phelan enters the weekend 47 points shy of becoming the 23rd player in program-history to reach 1000 career points.
» In her first two seasons Phelan amassed 772 points, averaging 386 per season and has been among the team's top three scorers each season.
» The last Washburn player to reach the 1000-point mark was Laura Kinderknecht during the 2012-13 season.
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).
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 Lee Arena for its next two MIAA contests as it plays host to Lincoln (Thurs., Jan. 31) and Lindenwood (Sat., Feb. 2).
