THE TIP-OFF
Washburn women's basketball will look to notch its first seven-game win streak since the start of the 2014-15 season, as the Ichabods (8-4) travel to Missouri Western (7-6, 2-2 MIAA) on Wednesday for their second of a three-game road trip, with tip-off from MWSU Fieldhouse slated for 5:30 pm. The match-up will be the 54th meeting in series history and the first of two showdowns. 

Head coach Ron McHenry recorded MIAA victory No. 250 Saturday, as the Ichabods tallied a come-from-behind 96-88 win at Emporia State in double overtime and improved to 3-0 in conference play. 

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.

GAME RECAP » GAME 12  (at Emporia State)
» Washburn opened 2019 in fashion as it notched its second win over ranked opponent this season with a 96-88 double overtime victory at No. 23 Emporia State. 
» Hunter Bentley led all scorers with a career-best 29 points while Taylor Blue also posted a career-best with 27. Reagan Phelan meanwhile chipped in with season-best 17 points. Blue also pulled down 12 rebounds while Phelan dished out 11 assists. 
» Trailing by as much as 12 during the first half, Washburn surged in the third with 13-6 run to open and a 10-1 run to close to pull out to a 59-55 lead at the end of the frame.
» Emporia State lead 65-63 with 5:03 left in the fourth. Tied at 73, Blue hit a three-pointer with 0:07 remaining but a last second effort from ESU landed forcing only the fifth overtime game in the series' 40-plus year history.
» In overtime, the Washburn defensive was stout in its efforts as it held the Lady Hornets to shoot 0-for-6 from the floor in the second extra peropd and a combined 2-for-10 during both extra frames. The Ichabod offense meanwhile converted on a combined 7-for-11 chances, including a 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
» Washburn finished the evening shooting 40-for-79 from the field with 8-of-20 from long-range. In addition to the final scoreboard, the Ichabods outscored ESU, in the paint, 48-36, while tallying a 16-7 advantage in fast breaks. On the glass, Washburn out rebounded Emporia State, 40-35.

THEY GOT HISTORY
» Wednesday will mark the 94th meeting.
» Washburn leads the all-time series, 53-40.
» The Ichabods trail, 20-25, in games play in St. Joseph, but 4-1 in their last five trips dating back to the 2011-12 season. 
» Washburn is 8-2 in its last 10 games against Missouri Western, which includes a current two-game win streak for the Ichabods.  
» The last win at MWSU Fieldhouse for Washburn was a 57-55 result came on Feb. 8, 2017, it was also Washburn's last trip to St. Joe.
» For Washburn's Ron McHenry, this will be his 42nd time facing MWSU and eighth time coaching against MWSU's Rob Edmission. When facing Edmission, McHenry holds a 6-2 edge, dating back to 2012-13.

PREVIEWING MISSOURI WESTERN
» Missouri Western began the week at 7-6 on the year with 4-1 mark in its last five outings. The Griffons are 2-2 in MIAA action and are coming off a 63-49 victory at Northeastern State on Saturday.
» The Griffons are among the bottom half most major offensive categories such as scoring offense (12th/65.2), field goal percentage (13th/.404), offense rebounds per game (10th/11) and three-point shooting (.317).
» Aside from a three-place ranking in turnovers forced (19.1), the MWSU is also among the bottom half of the league leader board in defense including scoring defense (8th/62.2), field goal percentage defense (11th/.406) and defensive rebounds per game (13th/24).
» Katrina Roenfeldt is a two-way threat as she leads MWSU in steals per game (2.2) while being listed 15th in Division II from outside the arc in terms of three-pointers attempts (107) and three-pointers made (40), and as a result averages a team-best 15.3 points a game.
» KeShara Scott is the Griffons' top rebounder, averaging 5.4 per game. Roenfeldt follows at 4.9, while Cera Ledbetter and Jessica Davies each average 4.8 boards per contest.
» MWSU finished 13-18 with a 4-15 mark in league play last season, despite that the Griffons won the MIAA Tournament as the 12th-seed.
» The Griffons are led by Rob Edmission who's in his seventh season at the helm and began the year with 102-70 record.  

ON THE GLASS
» The Ichabods have out rounded opponents in 10 of 12 games thus far, including their last five contests. 
» Against the MIAA, Washburn averages 38.0 boards with opponents pulling down 36.7 per game.  
» Senior Taylor Blue has team-bests in total rebounds (62) and per game average (5.2), while also having a team-high 20 rebounds in three MIAA-specific match-ups.  

STUFFY DEFENSE
» Washburn's field goal defense (.350) tops the MIAA and is 24th-best among the Division II leader board. League opponents meanwhile are shooting .387 (67-for-173) in three MIAA contests.
» On the road, opponents are shooting .392 (49-for-125) from the field.
» The Ichabods have tallied double-digit steals seven times this season including a season-best 16 against Saint Mary (Kan.) on Dec. 31. 
» Junior Alexis McAfee has nine steals in MIAA play, and ranked second among league leaders in total steals (29) and per game average (2.42). McAfee's five-steal night at Emporia State (1/5) moved her up 45 spots on the Div. II national leader board where she's now 58th in total steals.

PASSING THE ROCK
» Washburn has posted double-digit assists 11 times and recorded at least 20 assists in its last two outings. On Jan. 5, the Ichabods notched a season-high 24 at Emporia State.
» Reagan Phelan is among the MIAA's Top 5 in assists (3rd, 54), assists per game (2nd, 4.5) and assist-turnover ratio (3rd, 1.46). Phelan is coming off a career-best 11-assist effort at Emporia State (1/5). As a result, Phelan began the week ranked 58th in Div. II in total assists (up-45 spots), 47th in assists per game (up-57 places) and 111th in assist-turnover ratio (up-58 spots).

WHAT A WASHBURN WIN MEANS...
» ...improve to 9-5 overall, 4-0 in the MIAA.
» ...stretch the win streak to seven games for the first time since the start of 2014-15 season.
» ...Ron McHenry's 435th career victory.

AT THE LINE
» Thus far this season, Washburn has made 104-of-170 (.612) attempts from the free throw line.
» Hunter Bentley leads the team in free throw made (22) and attempts (34), while Taylor Blue leads in percentage (.786). In the five games, Bentley has made 12-of-19 (.632) from the line, while Blue has converted on 5-of-6 (.833).
» Washburn has shot .647 (44-of-68) at the line in its five contests.

BLOCKING BODS
» Washburn has registered nine consecutive multi-blocks games. The streak began Nov. 23, and includes a season-high seven blocks against Southwest Baptist on Dec. 6.
» Annette Warner has a team-best 12 blocks, while guards Reagan Phelan and Alexis McAfee each have four. 

PPG PAINT
» Washburn has dominated the paint this season outscoring opponents 436-274, thereby averaging 36.3 paint points per game.

BALANCED ATTACK
» Hunter Bentley and Reagan Phelan are each averaging double-figures. Bentley leads the way with 11.3 points, while Phelan follows at 10.3. Taylor Blue is third with 9.3 while Alexis McAfee averages 8.8.
» Off the bench and fifth is Shelbe Piggie who's averaging 8.3 points per game.

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. Thus far during the 2018-19 season, Washburn is ninth in overall attendance (5,690) and 10th in average attendance (1,138) with only five home dates played. 

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. A ... 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 will wrap up its three-game MIAA road trip on Saturday when it takes on Northwest Missouri at 1:30 pm in Maryville.
» The Ichabods return action at Lee Arena next week when they host Nebraska-Kearney on Wednesday, Jan. 16 and nationally-ranked Fort Hays State, three days later on Saturday, Jan. 19, which will also be the ESPN Division II Game of the Week.