OPENING TIP
>> The Washburn women's basketball team will make the short trip to Emporia, Kan., on Black Friday (Nov. 29) for a non-conference game against the Lady Hornets. The game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start.
>> Washburn is 3-2 on the season after falling to Rockhurst, 86-79, last time out on Nov. 23.
>> Emporia State is coming off a dominant 114-42 victory over Bethel College and are now 4-2.
>> The Ichabods last faced the Hornets on March 8, 2019, in the MIAA quarterfinal where Washburn won 61-53.
>> Washburn was picked third in the MIAA Preseason Coachces Poll and Emporia State was tabbed fifth on the list.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods have shot 40 percent or better in the last four-straight game.
>> Washburn has been powerful on the glass. In four of five games played, the Ichabods have either out-rebounded or pulled down the same amount of rebounds as their opponents. Oklahoma Baptist narrowly won the battle of the boards against Washburn earlier this season, 34-32.
>> Reagan Phelan leads the team in scoring with 15.8 points per game as well as assists (4.6 apg) and steals (1.8 spg).
>> Her .536 three-point percentage leads the MIAA, as does her assists average.
>> She dished out eight assists at Rockhurst.
>> Hunter Bentley notched her second double-double of the season against Rockhurst as she led the team with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
>> Bentley's 7.6 rebounds per game is 10th-best in the league.
>> Shelbe Piggie has reached double-figure scoring in four of five games this season and is averaging 13.4 points per game.
>> She achieved a new career-high in scoring with 19 points against Rockhurst.
>> Freshman Abby Oliver has seen 92 minutes of playing time off the bench, adding 39 points, 28 rebounds, and four blocks.
>> Both Phelan and Bentley set career-bests against Emporia State last season in the double-overtime victory at White Auditorium on January 5, 2019. Phelan handed out a career-high 11 assists while Bentley racked up 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
ABOUT THE EMPORIA STATE LADY HORNETS
>> The Emporia State Lady Hornets are 4-2 with three of their four wins coming by an 18+ point margin.
>> ESU is averaging 77.3 points per game while limiting its opponent to just 59.0 points per game.
>> As a team, the Lady Hornets are shooting .411 from the field and are at a .355 clip from behind the arc.
>> Against Bethel, Emporia State went 19-of-35 from three-point land, one shy of tying its program record.
>> The Lady Hornet defense has forced 157 total turnovers for an average of 26.2 per game.
>> Tre'Zure Jobe leads the team in scoring with 88 total, averaging 14.7 points per game.
>> Mollie Mounsey is the team's three-point specialist as she has made 20 on 48 attempts to lead the MIAA. She was 6-of-12 from distance against Bethel.
>> Five Lady Hornets have pulled down more than 20 rebounds, led by Jalyn Harris who has 27 boards, 12 of which have been offensive.
>> Jessica Wayne leads the team and conference in steals (31) and has a team-high 15 assists.
HEAD COACH TOBY WYNN
>> Toby Wynn is in his second season with the Lady Hornets and led the team to an NCAA appearance last season and finished with a record of 22-9.
>> Prior to joining ESU, Wynn was the head coach at Seward Community College (Liberal, Kan.) for 13 seasons where he went 349-84.
>> He also coached at the high school level for several seasons.
>> Wynn played one season of basketball at Northwestern Oklahoma State before transferring to Oklahoma State where he earned his Bachelor's in Business Education.
SERIES WITH EMPORIA STATE
>> Washburn has faced Emporia State more times than any other team in its program history as this will be the 104th meeting.
>> The Lady Hornets lead the all-time series, 56-47, although the Ichabods have claimed the last three-straight.
>> Washburn is 18-26 when playing at White Auditorium.
LAST TIME OUT FOR EMPORIA STATE (Nov. 25, 2019)
EMPORIA STATE 114 (4-2)
BETHEL COLLEGE 42 (6-3)
EMPORIA, Kan. -- The Lady Hornets started Feast Week with a 114-42 win over Bethel in a game where Emporia State just missed the school record for three pointers.
The Lady Hornets jumped out to a 10-3 lead to open the game but the Threshers played them even the rest of the quarter to take a 22-13 lead into the second quarter.
Emporia State turned up the defense in the second period, holding Bethel to just one of ten shooting from the field as the Lady Hornets led 44-20 going to the locker rooms. Emporia State forced 25 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes as they had a 33-5 advantage in points off turnovers at the break.
The offense caught up with the defense in the third quarter as the Lady Hornets shot .778 from the field and went eight of ten from beyond the three-point arc. Grace Gordon hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Emporia State an 83-36 lead going to the fourth quarter.
The Lady Hornets used an 18-0 run from the end of the third quarter into the fourth to take a 95-36 lead with 6:49 left in the game. They would end the game on an 11-0 run as they recorded their 73rd 100 point game in school history and went over 110 points for the 30th time.
All ten Lady Hornets that were suited up scored with six reaching double figures. Grace Gordon had a career high 19 points and was matched by Mollie Mounsey for game high honors. Karsen Schultz and Tre'Zure Jobe each scored 16 points while Fredricka Sheats had 14 and Kali Martin scored ten points. Mounsey hit six three-pointers while Gordon was five of five from beyond the arc. The Lady Hornets forced 39 Bethel turnovers that led to 60 points.
LAST TIME OUT FOR WASHBURN (Nov. 23, 2019)
WASHBURN 79 (3-2)
ROCKHURST 86 (2-2)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Ichabods got within three points with 3:09 left to play, but could not complete the comeback after trailing by 15 after the first quarter and fell to Rockhurst 86-79 on Saturday night. Washburn is now 3-2 on the season while the Hawks improve to 2-2.
The Hawks got off to a hot start in the opening period as they were 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) from the floor with five three-pointers on six attempts and led 31-16 after the first 10 minutes. The Washburn defense was able to slow down Rockhurst some in the second quarter to a 35.7 percent (5-of-14) clip, but the Hawks still led by double-digits at the half, 48-35.
Shelbe Piggie started the charge of Washburn's second half comeback as she hit a jump shot with 5:06 left in the third quarter to start a 9-2 scoring run for the Ichabods to trail by single digits at 60-54. Washburn shot 58.3 percent in the third frame and trailed by eight (64-56) leading into the final stanza.
Little by little, the Ichabods chipped away at the Hawks' lead. A 6-2 scoring run that included four made free throws by the Ichabods made the score a five point affair with 6:20 left in regulation. Rockhurst answered with five unanswered points to extend their lead once again. The Ichabdos scored the next seven points as Hunter Bentley got a layup to fall and then the Ichabods capitalized on a Rockhurst turnover as Irene Sanz burried a three-point shot. Abby Oliver pulled down an offensive board and put the ball back up for the made layup to get Washburn within one posession at 76-73 with 3:09 remaining.
Rockhurst responded and scored seven of the next nine points. Reagan Phelan hit a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining to make the score 84-79, but that would be the last points of the game for Washburn as the Hawks added two free throws of their own to close out the 86-79 victory.
Hunter Bentley led the team in scoring with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Shelbe Piggie contributed 19 points and was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Reagan Phelan chipped in 16 points and dished out eight assists and made two steals. Abby Oliver had nine points and five boards.
LAST TIME AGAINST EMPORIA STATE (Mar. 8, 2019)
WASHBURN 61 (20-8)
EMPORIA STATE 53 (22-8)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- For the first time since six seasons, the Washburn Ichabod women's basketball team advanced to the semifinal round of the MIAA Tournament as they pulled out a 61-53 victory over rival No. 5-seed Emporia State on Friday night at Municipal Auditorium.
With the result, Washburn improved to 6-2 over the Lady Hornets in the MIAA postseason, while notching back-to-back 20-win seasons.
Trailing 43-41 at the end of the third, Washburn (20-9) rallied in the fourth as it converted 8-of-12 from the field with 3-of-6 from three-point distance. Reagan Phelan drained a three to open the period, sparking a 9-0 run with contributions from Alexis McAfee and Nicole Murugarren.
With 3:13 remaining, Emporia State (22-8) pulled within four points, but that was the closest it came as the Ichabods pushed their advantage to as much as nine during the final 60 seconds.
Murugarren paced a quartet of double-figure scorers for Washburn, finishing with 15 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting. Hunter Bentley followed with 14 points, while McAfee and Phelan registered 12 and 10, respectively. McAfee also finished with 10 rebounds, for her second double-double of the season.
The Ichabod defense however was the difference maker as it held Emporia State to a season-low 17 field goals and tied a season-low as it finished below .275 shooting for just the second-time all season.
Washburn 15-13 after the first, before rattling off an 11-2 run to begin the second. The Lady Hornets answered with a 5-0 spurt before a late layup with 25 seconds left in the half gave them a 26-25 lead. Makayla Vargo though hit a last second runner nudging the Ichabods to a 27-26 advantage at the break.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is entering his 20th season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 449-142 (261-98 MIAA).
>> McHenry, a national champion and the WBCA Division II Coach of the Year in 2005, is a four-time MIAA Coach of the Year as well as a two-time region Coach of the Year.
>> He has led the program to eight MIAA regular season titles and seven MIAA tournament titles as well as to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances.
>> His .761 winning percentage is 16th-best in Division II.
>> He was the quickest head coach to record 400 career victories in NCAA Division II women's basketball as he reached the milestone in just 512 games.
>> Became the winningest coach in Washburn women's basketball history on Dec. 18, 2018, when he earned his 432nd victory to surpass the record of his predecessor, Patty Dick (1977-2000).
>> McHenry played basketball and golf at Washburn University, where he graduated in 1984.
>> Brette (Ulsaker) Herber begins her seventh season on the Ichabod bench as an assistant coach. Herber played for McHenry for three seasons (2007-10) and was named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.
>> Erika (Lane) Yoder starts her first season as an assistant coach for Washburn. She also played for McHenry from 2014 to 2017 and was a two-time all-MIAA selection.
WASHBURN HISTORY
>> Washburn women's basketball is 930-425-1 (.687) all-time and will commence the 51st year of the program's history.
>> Washburn is sixth all-time in Division II in victories
>> Washburn claimed the 2005 NCAA National Championship over Seattle Pacific with a 70-53 win to cap off a 35-2 season.
>> Washburn has made 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and is 26-16 all-time in those postseason games.
>> The program has won 18 total MIAA Championships, earning nine regular season conference titles and winning nine MIAA Tournament championships.
>> There have been 30 All-American awards given to Washburn players, with 11 of those coming from the WBCA.
>> Washburn has finished 14 seasons with 25 wins and four seasons with 30 victories.
NEXT UP
>> The Ichabods start MIAA action next week on a road swing south. Washburn will play at Pittsburg State on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 5:30 before heading to Missouri Southern on Saturday, Dec. 7 for a 1:30 tip-off.
