OPENING TIP
>> The Washburn women's basketball team will close out 2019 and their non-conference schedule at home against the University of Saint Mary (Kan.) on Tuesday, Dec. 31. Tip-off in Lee Arena against the Spires is set for 2 p.m.
>> The Ichabods are 6-4 and on a three-game winning streak after adding two wins at the Cruzin' Classic in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last time out.
>> Washburn upset No. 6 Saint Anselm, 91-86, and defeated Harding, 74-69, the following day at the Classic.
>> Saint Mary is 2-12 on the season and has lost the last five-straight outings.
>> Tuesday's game will count as an exhibition game for the Spires.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> Washburn's victory against No. 6 Saint Anselm was the first victory against an opponent ranked in the top-10 since the Ichabods topped No. 7 Central Missouri in Lee Arena on Dec. 8, 2018.
>> The Ichabods lit up the net against the Hawks, going 29-of-57 (53.7%) from the field and were 12-for-16 from behind the arc for a 75% mark, the highest in Washburn program history.
>> Reagan Phelan has two points/assists double-doubles this season after dishing out 10 assists and scoring 25 points against Saint Anselm.
>> Phelan and Shelbe Piggie have tallied double-figure scores in four-straight games.
>> Phelan leads the team with 16.0 points per game while Hunter Bentley (13.2 ppg) and Piggie (13.0 ppg) are also averaging double-digits.
>> Several season-highs were reached in Florida as Alexis McAfee scored a season-best 22 points against Harding and Hayley Thompson netted a career-high 12 against Saint Anselm.
>> With 1,253 points in her career, Phelan is 58 away from entering the top-10 all-time scorers list for Washburn and is also eight assists from becoming fifth all-time in assists.
>> McAfee eclipsed 700 career points in the victory against Saint Anselm. She currently has 724.
ICHABOD LEADERS IN THE MIAA
>> Washburn has the fifth-highest scoring average in the MIAA at 76.9 points per game as well as the third-highest field goal percentage with 44.3%.
>> Three Ichabods are in the top-20 in the conference in scoring average. Phelan leads the way with 16.0 ppg for seventh in the league. Bentley (13.2) and Piggie (13.0) are back-to-back on the list at 19th and 20th.
>> Phelan leads the MIAA with 56 total assists with an average of 5.6 apg.
>> Bentley is 10th in the conference in rebounds per game as she averages 7.3.
>> Phelan has made 27-of-57 shots from behind the arc for a .474 three-point field goal percentage, which is the highest in the MIAA.
>> Piggie has the fifth-highest field goal percentage after making half of her shots (53-of-106).
>> Phelan's .481 field goal percentage is seventh in the conference.
>> Bentley has been on target from the charity stripe, making 29-of-33 attempts for an .879 percentage, which is the fourth-best mark in the MIAA.
>> Bentley has also been an iron man for the Ichabods this season as she has played in 351 minutes out of 400 total possible for a conference-leading 35.1 minutes per game average.
ABOUT THE SAINT MARY SPIRES
>> The Saint Mary Spires will make the short drive from Leavenworth, Kan., to take on the Ichabods in an exhibition game.
>> The Spires are 2-12 with wins against conference teams York College (W, 68-66) and Ottawa (W, 60-56).
>> The team is averaging 54.1 points per game with a 33.6 field goal percentage.
>> Danielle Cassady paces the team with 12.9 points per game and 4.5 assists per game.
>> Macy Walker is also averaging double-figures at 10.6 points per game and has a team-leading rebound average of 6.6.
>> Rebeca Gilpin has been the team's three-point specialist, making 24 shots from deep.
HEAD COACH BRETT SCHNEIDER
>> Brett Schneider is in his first season as the head coach at Saint Mary.
>> Schneider brings 20 years of coaching experience to the program as he was an assistant coach at several Division I teams, most recently being Texas Tech.
>> Schneider graduated from West Texas A&M with a Bachelor's in Sports and Exerceise Science and also earned his Master's Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.
SERIES WITH SAINT MARY
>> The Ichabods hold a 6-1 series lead against the Spires.
LAST TIME OUT FOR WASHBURN (Dec. 19, 2019)
WASHBURN 74 (6-4)
HARDING 62 (5-5)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Washburn women's basketball team held on for a 74-69 victory over Harding on Thursday evening in their final game at the Cruzin' Classic. The Ichabods are on a three-game winning streak and move to 6-4 on the season while Harding drops to an even 5-5.
The Ichabods came out cold in the first quarter, going 2-for-12 from the field and scoring six of their 11 points on free throws. Harding held a 14-11 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes of the game.
Trailing 23-15 with 6:11 left in the first half, a pair of free throws by Hunter Bentley ignited a 20-2 scoring tear for the Ichabods, who went into the intermission with a 10 point lead, 35-25.
A three-point shot by Reagan Phelan early in the third quarter gave Washburn its largest lead of the game at 42-27. The Lady Bisons slowly chipped away at the deficit, but the Ichabods regained a double-figure lead with a 4-0 run to end the period in front 59-49.
Harding continued to battle into the fourth quarter where it used a 13-6 run over the course of three minutes to cut the Washburn lead down to five, 67-62. With just under a minute left in regulation, the Lady Bisons drained a three point shot and followed that up with a made jumper with 31 seconds left to get within two, 71-69. With time running out, Harding was forced to foul and Phelan made three clutch free throws for the Ichabods to put the game out of reach at 74-69.
Washburn finished the game with a 44.1 shooting percentage (26-of-59) and went 6-of-21 from three-point land. Harding shot 38.1 percent 24-of-63 and was nearly even with Washburn from behind the arc, converting on 6-of-22 attempts. The Lady Bisons won the battle on the boards with a 44-33 advantage.
McAfee scored a season-high 22 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, and grabbed a team-best five rebounds. Phelan tallied 18 points and handed out four assists. Bentley and Shelbe Piggie chipped in 11 and 12 points, respectively, and each had four boards.
The Lady Bisons were led by Kennedy Cooper with 13 points. Jacie Evans pulled down 11 rebounds for Harding to go with her nine points.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 20th season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 452-144 (262-99 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 is in 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 is in 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 931-427-1 (.687) all-time and is in the 51st season of the program's history.
>> Washburn is tied for seventh 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.
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD
>> Washburn will settle into its conference schedule this Saturday (Jan 4) against No. 20 Emporia State. The game against the Lady Hornets will be held in Lee Arena at 5 p.m.
>> The Ichabods will continue their four-game homestand into next week as they host Missouri Western (Jan. 9) and Northwest Missouri (Jan. 11).
