OPENING TIP
>> The Washburn women's basketball team kicks off the regular season with two games this weekend at the MIAA/GAC Conference Challenge hosted by Pittsburg State.
>> The Ichabods will first take on last season's NCAA National runner-up Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m.
>> The following day, Washburn will face Oklahoma Baptist at 5 p.m.
>> The Ichabods are coming off a 75-59 loss in exhibition play to Kansas State (Oct. 29).
>> Southwestern Oklahoma won both of its exhibition games, defeating Science and Arts (94-62) and Division I Tulsa (76-73).
>> The Bulldogs, who reached the NCAA National Championship game last season and finished with a record of 35-2 (22-0 GAC), will start the 2019-20 season ranked 20th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Poll and are receiving votes in the D2SIDA Poll.
>> The Oklahoma Baptist Lady Bison went 10-18 (6-16 GAC) last season and will see their first action of the season at the MIAA/GAC Challenge as the team did not compete in any exhibition games.
>> Washurn returns three starters from last season's 20-10 (14-5 MIAA) team.
>> The Ichabods have an even mix of returners and newcomers as there are 10 players from each category on Washburn's 2019-20 squad.
>> Head coach Ron McHenry enters his 20th season leading the Washburn women's basketball program and holds an all-time record of 446-140.
WASHBURN RETURNERS
>> Two-time all-MIAA second-team selection Reagan Phelan returns for her senior season after starting all 30 games last year. She averaged 10.7 points per game and led the MIAA in assists (142) and assists per game (4.7).
>> Alexis McAfee, a senior, started all 30 games on her way to earning an all-MIAA Honorable Mention nod with 277 total points (9.2 PPG) and was third in the league with 59 steals (2.0 SPG). She also registered a career-high in assists (89), assists per game (3.0), and blocks (13).
>> Senior Shelbe Piggie appeared in all 30 games scoring 6.5 points per game and handed out 37 assists.
>> Senior forward Hayley Thompson appeared in 10 games before sitting out the rest of the season due to injury. She netted 20 points and pulled down 16 boards.
>> Hunter Bentley, a guard, is coming off a solid sophomore season as she started all 30 games and averaged team-bests in minutes per game (32.8) and rebounds per game (5.9) and received all-MIAA honorable mention accolades. She also finished second on the team in scoring (11.0 PPG), steals (52), and tied for the second-most blocks (13).
>> Kaylee Stevens and played in 17 games scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds and fellow junior Adyson Narber made six appearances for 13 total minutes and made two steals and two assists.
>> Shay Tanking appeared in seven games and drained three triples her freshman year before sitting out due to injury.
>> Primarily a member of the JV team, Kenya Medlock made her varsity debut against Central Missouri on Feb. 6, 2019, and had two rebounds in her two minutes played.
>> Redshirt freshman Katie Glatzcak rounds out the returners for the Ichabods. She sat out last season due to injury.
FRESH FACES
>> Washburn welcomes seven freshmen to this season's squad. Five of the seven freshmen (Hannah Willey, Taylor Johnson, Abby Oliver, Macy Doebele, and Rachel Frakes) are from Kansas while Maddie Hema represents Colorado (Castle View HS) and Kambree Rhodes is from Nebraska (Lincoln Northeast HS).
>> Oliver was named the Sports in Kansas 2A Player of the Year and a Kansas Basketball Coaches Association all-star selection as a senior at Wabaunsee HS.
>> Johnson was a four-year letterwinner at Manhattan HS where she helped the team to a Kansas 6A state title her sophomore season.
>> Willey averaged 17.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a senior at Abilene HS en route to being a Kansas 4A Player of the Year finalist and all-state selection.
>> Doebele helped the Hanover Wildcats to a combined 85-15 record during her four seasons and recorded 1,000 points by her junior season and surpassed 1,500 points overall in her career. Twice named a state finalist for Kansas in the Wendy's Heisman Award ... two-time KSHAA Class 1A-Division I champion, and runner-up in 2018-19.
>> Frakes played at Valley Falls HS in Kansas.
>> Hema comes to the Ichabods as a four-time letterwinner at Castle View HS (Castle Rock, Colo.) where she finished her junior season tied for first in Colorado 5A in blocked shots (3.6/game). Was a member of the U17 New Zealand National Team that participated in the 2018 World Cup in Belarus.
>> Rhodes rounds out the freshman class after being a four-year letterwinner at Lincoln Northeast ... helped the Rockets to 13-7 record during her senior season.
A TRIO OF TRANSFERS
>> In addition to adding seven freshmen, three transfer players will round out the 10 newcomers on this season's team.
>> Two seniors join the team in Mia Castaneda (Hereford, Texas) and Sabela Reigosa (Barcelona, Spain).
>> Castaneda played two seasons at Clarendon College in Texas before transferring to Texas Tech for the 2018-19 season. At Clarendon College, Castaneda racked up 1,051 total points and started all 60 games and was towards the top of the NJCAA Division I leaderboard in many statistical categories. At Texas Tech, she appeared in 16 games and made five starts for 141 total minutes played.
>> Prior to playing last season at Oral Roberts, Reigosa put in two seasons at Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa. Saw limited action while at Oral Roberts, averaging 4.6 minutes per game in seven appearances. As a sophomore at NOCT, she averaged 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.
>> Irene Sanz, a junior guard from Vilassar de Mar, Spain, comes to the Ichabods after two seasons at Northeast Community College (Norfolk, Neb.) where she averaged 11.6 points per game with 4.9 rebounds per game after starting 24 of 25 games her sophomore season en route to earning first-team all-Region honors and was recognied as an NJCAA All-American honorable mention.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is entering his 20th season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 446-140 (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).
>> 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.
2019-20 PRESEASON POLLS
>> Heading into the new season, the Ichabods were picked third in the 2019 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll with 134 total points and fourth in the media poll, tallying 217 points.
>> Leading the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll was reigning champion Fort Hays State with 10 first-place votes and 166 points. Central Missouri was voted second with four first-place votes and earned 160 points.
>> In the media poll, WU trailed Fort Hays State, Central Missouri, and Pittsburg State.
BASKETBALL IN BRAZIL
>> This past summer, Alexis McAfee was selected to the USA Sports D-2 women's basketball team and played four games against professional club teams in Brazil. McAfee was one of three MIAA players chosen as Amber Buch from Missouri Southern and Kim Crown from Central Missouri were also members of the 10 player team. This was the second year in a row a Washburn player was selected to represent USA as Reagan Phelan was named to the team in 2018.
2018-19 SEASON IN REVIEW
>> Washburn finished the 2018-19 campaign with a record of 20-10 for the second season in a row and went 14-5 in MIAA play.
>> Head Coach Ron McHenry recorded his 14th season of 20 or more wins and also became the winningest coach in Washburn women's basketball history when he surpassed Patty Dick (1977-2000) with his 432nd victory on Dec. 18, 2018.
>> On February 6, 2019, Reagan Phelan became the 23rd player in Washburn program history to eclipse 1,000 career points and the first since Laura Kinderknecht accomplished the feat in the 2012-13 season.
>> The Ichabods were the four-seed in the MIAA Tournament and advanced to the semifinal game to face the top-seed Fort Hays State. The Tigers, who went on to win the conference title, defeated the Ichabods 75-48. Washburn finished fourth in the conference standings.
>> Four Ichabods were all-MIAA selections, which was the most since the 2004-05 season. Reagan Phelan earned second-team honors for the second-consecutive year while Hunter Bentley, Taylor Blue, and Alexis McAfee received honorable mention accolades.
>> Senior Taylor Blue was named the team's Most Valuable Player. She led the team in points (371) and points per game (12.4) with an impressive .471 shooting percentage. She also had the second-most rebounds (158) and three-pointers made (40).
>> The Ichabods said goodbye to five seniors at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. Makayla Vargo, Taylor Blue, Nicole Murugarren, Denesia Smith, and Olivia Montague played their final game in Lee Arena on Mar. 2 against Missouri Western in a 78-68 victory.
ABOUT THE SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE LADY BULLDOGS
>> The Southwestern Oklahoma State Lady Bulldogs return three starters and 10 total players from the 35-2 (20-0 GAC) team last season that reached the NCAA National Championship.
>> The 2018-19 Lady Bulldogs fell in the national title game to Lubbock Christian, 95-85, in double overtime.
>> Four freshmen join this season's squad.
>> The Lady Bulldogs were picked to finish second in the 2019-20 GAC Preseason Coaches Poll and start the season ranked 20th in the WBCA poll and are receiving votes in the D2SIDA poll.
>> Tyra Aska is the top-returner in scoring and assists as she averaged 12.0 PPG and 2.7 APG.
>> Bethany Franks, a junior, led the team last year in rebounds (306/8.7 RPG) and steals (104/3.0 SPG).
>> Behind the arc, Aska was 53-of-142 (.373).
>> The Lady Bulldogs lost four seniors from last season who made significant contributions to the program's success.
>> Hailey Tucker was a two-time GAC Player of the Year and the first four-time all-GAC first-team selection in conference history. She averaged 18.6 PPG in 2018-19.
>> Hayden Priddy was a three-time GAC first-team selection and the league's player of the year in 2019, averaging 17.1 PPG and made 91 total three-pointers (.389).
HEAD COACH KELSI MUSICK
>> Kelsi Musick is entering her 11th season with the Lady Bulldogs and holds a career record of 191-108.
>> She has led SWOSU to two-consecutive GAC regular season titles and four total NCAA tournament appearances.
>> Musick has coached 26 players who have earned all-conference recognition and three players to four GAC Players of the Year awards as well as one GAC Freshman of the Year and one GAC Defensive Player of the Year.
>> Prior to being named the head coach at Southwestern Oklahoma, Musick was an assistant coach at Freno State.
>> She has never coached against the Ichabods.
SERIES WITH SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
>> The two teams have played each other four times and Washburn holds an overall 3-1 lead in the series and are 2-1 when playing them in neutral site games.
>> Southwestern Oklahoma won the very first meeting in 1984 by the score of 64-57.
>> Since then, the Ichabods have won three-straight and the last two have been by 40+ points.
>> Washburn last played Southwestern Oklahoma on Nov. 17, 2006 and won 81-40.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA BAPTIST LADY BISON
>> The Lady Bison wrapped up the 2018-19 campaign with a record of 10-18 (6-16 GAC) and went 4-2 in non-conference games.
>> In the 2019-20 GAC Preseason Coaches poll, OBU was picked ninth.
>> The team saw quite a bit of change as it lost five seniors from last year and welcomed eight newcomers.
>> Although much of the team will be playing together for the first time this season, only four of the 14 players on the roster are underclassmen.
>> Charissa Price is the top-returner in scoring (256/9.1 PPG), three-pointers (54-165/1.9 3PPG), rebounds (96/3.4 RPG), and assists (48/1.7 APG).
>> Mikayla Shulanberger also comes back as one of the top-returners for the Lady Bison. She averaged 8.7 PPG and had the second-most steals last season with 56 (2.8 SPG).
>> The Lady Bison averaged 69.8 points per game last season were .709 from charity stripe.
HEAD COACH CASI BAYS
>> Casi Bays is starting her eighth season at the helm of the Lady Bison basketball program and has an overall record of 118-94 since 2012-13.
>> In 2013-14, she was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 28-6 record and won the conference tournament.
SERIES WITH OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
>> This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
WASHBURN HISTORY
>> Washburn women's basketball is 927-423-1 (.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.
