OPENING TIP
>> The Washburn women's basketball team looks to halt a two game skid as they close out a four-game homestand against Northwest Missouri State (8-6, 3-2 MIAA) on Saturday, Jan. 11. The game in Lee Arena is set for a 1 p.m. start.
>> Washburn is now 7-6 overall this season and 1-3 in MIAA play after Missouri Western topped the Ichabods, 58-47, on Thursday night.
>> The Bearcats have won three of their last four games and are coming off a 79-66 loss to No. 16 Emporia State.
>> Northwest Missouri finished the 2018-19 campaign with a record of 8-20 (4-15 MIAA).
>> The Bearcats entered this season picked 10th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and 11th in the Preseason Media Poll.
>> Washburn was tabbed third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and fourth in the Media Poll.
>> The Ichabods are 3-2 this season when playing in Lee Arena.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> As a team, the Ichabods are shooting 43.5% from the field and 34.6% from behind the arc.
>> Reagan Phelan leads the Ichabods in scoring at 13.8 ppg and in assists with 69 total.
>> Also averaging double-figures for the Ichabods are Hunter Bentley (12.7 ppg) and Shelbe Piggie (12.4 ppg).
>> Alexis McAfee has finished in double-digit points in the past five-straight games.
>> Bentley leads the team with 7.2 boards per game, 11 blocked shots, and 20 steals.
>> Mia Castaneda is the leading scorer off the bench, averaging 7.1 ppg, and is eight points away from reaching 100 in a Washburn uniform.
>> Hayley Thompson is shooting 66.7%, making 34-of-51 from the field.
ICHABOD LEADERS IN THE MIAA
>> Washburn has the fourth-highest three-point field goal percentage in the league at 34.6% and averages 7.7 triples per game.
>> Phelan is second in the MIAA with 69 total assists with an average of 5.3 apg. Her average also rank her 20th in the nation.
>> McAfee rounds out the top-10 of MIAA's apg average at 3.1.
>> Bentley is 11th in the conference in rebounds per game as she averages 7.2 and McAfee sits at 15th with 5.8 rpg.
>> Bentley is third in the MIAA in free throw percentage, converting on 35-of-41 (.854) attempts from the charity stripe.
>> The junior has also logged a conference leading 35.1 minutes per game.
ABOUT THE NORTHWEST MISSOURI BEARCATS
>> The Northwest Missouri Bearcats have already matched their win total from last season as they are currently 8-6 (3-2 MIAA).
>> Last season, the Bearcats finished 8-20 overall and went 4-15 in MIAA games.
>> Currently, the Bearcats are shooting 39.6% from the field and 34.0% from three-point land.
>> The team leads the MIAA and is fourth in the nation in free throw percentage, making 135-of-167 attempts for an 80.8% success rate.
>> The Bearcats are also 13th in the nation in made three-pointers, draining 132 and averaging 9.4 per game.
>> Although NWMSU averages 62.4 ppg, 10 points fewer per game than WU, its defense has held its opponents to just 53.3 ppg this season.
>> Kendey Eaton leads the team with 14.6 ppg and is an 85.7% free throw shooter (35-of-41).
>> Jaelyn Haggard chips in 10.3 ppg and has made 74 triples for a 7.7 average.
>> Mia Stillman has pulled down a team-high 67 rebounds and averages 4.8 boards per game.
>> Jayna Green averages 4.6 rebounds and Erika Schlosser dishes out 4.0 assists per game.
HEAD COACH
>> Austin Meyer is in his second season leading the Northwest Missouri women's basketball team after being a full-time staff member of the Bearcats' men's team from 2008-18.
>> Meyer became the Northwest Missouri men's associate head coach in 2015. During his tenure, he helped the Bearcats to 215 victories, 10 total MIAA titles and one NCAA National Championship.
>> As a student-athlete, Meyer was a four-year letterwinner at Northwest Missouri and held the then-program career record with 215 made three-pointers.
>> Meyer is a native of the best hometown in America, beautiful Blue Springs, Mo.
>> He is 1-1 against Washburn as a head coach.
SERIES WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI
>> Washburn leads the all-time series, 55-11.
>> When playing Northwest Missouri in Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 32-3.
>> The two teams last faced each other on Feb. 28, 2019, where the Bearcats won 72-70 in Topeka.
>> Prior to that game, the Ichabods had won the last 11-straight games.
LAST TIME OUT FOR WASHBURN (Jan. 9, 2020)
MISSOURI WESTERN 58 (12-2, 4-1 MIAA)
WASHBURN 47 (7-6, 1-3 MIAA)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team struggled offensively Thursday night as the Ichabods fell to Missouri Western, 58-47, in Lee Arena.
Washburn finished with its lowest shooting percentage of the season at 30.4 percent (17-of-56) while Missouri Western finished slightly better at 39.6 percent (21-of-53). Neither team shot well from behind the arc as the Griffons were 4-for-12 (33.3 percent) and the Ichabods were 5-for-21 (23.8 percent).The Griffons finished with a 47-32 advantage in rebounds and grabbed 12 offensive boards to the Ichabods' seven.
It was a slow start to the game for both teams as the first basket wasn't scored until the 7:45 mark by the Griffons. Alexis McAfee answered with a jump shot 70 seconds later to knot up the score at 2-2, but Missouri Western broke the tie and took a lead it would hold for the rest of the game. The Griffons took a double-digit 30-20 lead into the locker room while holding the Ichabods to just 23.3 percent shooting.
Washburn came out in the second half on a 6-0 scoring run to cut the deficit to four points and a made triple by McAfee with 4:13 on the clock in the third quarter would get the score within four yet again, but that's as close as it would get for Washburn as Missouri Western added to its lead. The Griffons held a double-figure lead for most of the final period and led by as much as 14 before McAfee hit another three-pointer with seven seconds left in regulation to make the final score 58-47.
McAfee scored a team-high 13 points, going 5-for-12 from the floor, and also handed out four assists. Hunter Bentley added 10 points for the Ichabods and grabbed eight rebounds. Reagan Phelan finished with nine points and three assists.
Chris Wilson was 7-for-12 from the field and led the Griffons offensively with 15 points and also contributed eight rebounds.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 20th season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 453-146 (262-101 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 934-428-1 (.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 hits the road next week to take on Nebraska-Kearney (Jan. 16) and Fort Hays State (Jan. 18).
