OPENING TIP
>> The Washburn Ichabods will commence the New Year at home with a rivalry matchup against No. 20 Emporia State this Saturday, January 4. Tip-off in Lee Arena is set for 5 p.m.
>> Washburn (7-4, 1-1 MIAA) captured its fourth-straight victory after the 71-47 decision over St. Mary (Kan.) on New Year's Eve.
>> The Ichabods have two confence games under their belt already. They lost the conference opener to Pittsburg State (84-63) before topping Missouri Southern (83-76).
>> Emporia State is 9-2 and 2-0 in MIAA play. The Lady Hornets extended their six game winning streak with a 97-58 win over Missouri Valley College on Jan. 1.
>> The Lady Hornets defeated Nebraska-Kearney (70-49) and then-ranked No. 5 Fort Hays State (73-69) for their two conference wins.
>> Washburn and Emporia State squared off earlier this season in a non-conference game in which the Lady Hornets won 60-52.
>> The Ichabods were picked ahead of the Lady Hornets in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and the Preseason Media Poll.
>> Washburn was tabbed third in the Coaches Poll and fourth in the Media Poll while Emporia State landed at fifth in both.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> Three Ichabods are averaging double-figure scoring, led by Reagan Phelan with 14.9 ppg followed by Hunter Bentley (13.1 ppg) and Shelbe Piggie (12.7 ppg).
>> Piggie has scored double-digits in the past five games.
>> Phelan holds a .450 three-point percentage as she has made 27-of-60 shots from deep.
>> Bentley leads the team with 7.4 boards per game and has also blocked a team-best 10 shots.
>> Mia Castaneda is the Ichabods' leading scorer off the bench, averaging 7.6 ppg.
>> Hayley Thompson was 4-for-4 from the field against the Spires en route to nine points.
>> All 16 available Washburn players saw court time against Saint Mary.
>> Freshman Taylor Johnson made her Washburn debut and scored five points in seven minutes of play against Saint Mary.
>> With 1,253 points in her career, Phelan is 54 away from entering the top-10 all-time scorers list for Washburn and is also three assists from becoming fifth all-time in assists.
>> Bentley is 10 points away from 600 career points.
ICHABOD LEADERS IN THE MIAA
>> Washburn has the sixth-highest scoring average in the MIAA at 76.4 points per game as well as the fourth-highest field goal percentage with 44.4%.
>> The team is also second in three-point percentage at 36%.
>> Phelan leads the MIAA with 61 total assists with an average of 5.5 apg.
>> Bentley is ninth in the conference in rebounds per game as she averages 7.4.
>> Piggie's .496 field goal percentage is fifth 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.
>> The junior has also been an iron man for the Ichabods this season as she has played 381 minutes for a conference-leading 34.6 minutes per game average.
ABOUT THE EMPORIA STATE LADY HORNETS
>> The Emporia State Lady Hornets (9-2, 2-0 MIAA) are ranked at No. 20 in the most recent Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top-25 Poll.
>> The Lady Hornets are averaging 77.4 points per game and have the third-highest scoring margin in the MIAA with a 19.9 point spread.
>> The team is led by Tre'Zure Jobe, who holds the league's fourth-best scoring average at 16.7 points per game.
>> Three-point specialist Mollie Mounsey leads the MIAA with 3.4 triples per game and has the second-highest three-point percentage at 42.5%. She averages 13.0 points per game.
>> Jessica Wayne and Jobe are the top-two steal leaders in the conference. Wayne has snatched 49 total, averaging 5.4 per game while Jobe has grabbed 36 steals for a 3.3 average.
>> Wayne is also the team's leading rebounder with 5.0 boards per game with nearly half of those being offensive.
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
>> Wynn is 1-2 against the Ichabods.
SERIES WITH EMPORIA STATE
>> Washburn has faced Emporia State more times than any other team in its program history as this will be the 105th meeting.
>> The Lady Hornets lead the all-time series, 57-47.
>> The Ichabods have won three of the last four meetings.
>> When playing Emporia State in Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 21-28.
>> The two teams played each other in the first game of the 2019 calendar, with Washburn coming out on top in a double-overtime thriller over No. 23 Emporia.
LAST TIME OUT FOR WASHBURN (Dec. 31, 2019)
WASHBURN 71 (7-4)
ST. MARY (KAN.) 47 (2-12)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Four Ichabods finished in double-figure scoring to help the Washburn women's basketball team close out 2019 with a 71-47 victory over Saint Mary (Kan.) on Tuesday afternoon. Washburn extended its winning streak to four games and is now 7-4 on the season.
The Ichabods finished the game shooting 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from the field while holding the Spires to a 31.4 clip (16-of-51). Washburn out-rebounded Saint Mary, 41-31, and finished with a 10-2 advantage in steals. The home team was able to use its speed by scoring 20 fast break points and limiting Saint Mary to just two.
Shelbe Piggie got things started off on a strong note with a three-point shot 44 seconds in and the Ichabods never trailed in the game. Hunter Bentley ended the quarter the same way it started with a triple to give Washburn an eight point lead, 18-10. The Ichabods went into the break in front, 31-24.
Washburn came out in the second half firing on all cylinders as they opened the third quarter on a 17-2 scoring run and finishing with a 20 point lead, 54-34. The Ichabods were 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) from the field in the third period while the Spires were held to 4-for-14 (28.6 percent). Washburn maintained its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game and capped off the 24 point win with a Taylor Johnson three-point shot, her first points of her collegiate career.
Alexis McAfee achieved her second double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Bentley chipped in a dozen points to go with eight rebounds and three steals. Piggie and Mia Castaneda each totaled 10 points for the Ichabods while Reagan Phelan dished out a team-high five assists.
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST EMPORIA STATE (Nov. 29, 2019)
WASHBURN 52 (3-3)
EMPORIA STATE 60 (5-2)
EMPORIA, Kan. -- After a slow start, the Washburn women's basketball team had a two point lead early in the fourth quarter, but Emporia State pulled away to win the non-conference game, 60-52, Friday evening. With the loss, the Ichabods drop to 3-3 while the Lady Hornets improve to 5-2 on the season.
Both teams started out slow to start the game as the Lady Hornets held a 9-8 advantage at the end of the opening quarter. The Ichabods remained sluggish in the second quarter going 4-of-12 (33.3%) from the field while the Lady Hornets went 7-of-15 (46.7%). Hunter Bentley hit a shot from behind the arc as time expired in the second quarter to make the Lady Hornets' lead just six at 24-18. Bentley scored seven of the Ichabods' 10 points in the second period.
Emporia State made the first eight points of the second half to go up by double-digits, 32-18. Trailing 35-23 with 3:48 left in the third quarter, Bentley sparked a 7-0 scoring run with a pair of free throws followed by a three-point shot by Mia Castaneda and a layup by Abby Oliver to get Washburn within five, 35-30. The Ichabods ended the frame on a 6-0 scoring to make it a one point affair, 37-36, after a pair of made free throws by Reagan Phelan.
Just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter, Irene Sanz buried a triple to give Washburn its first lead (39-37) since the first points of the game. The Lady Hornets answered with back-to-back made jumpers to go up 41-39. Oliver made another crucial layup to tie up the game at the 8:15 mark, but Emporia State rattled off six-straight points to retake a lead it wouldn't give up again. The Lady Hornets went up by a dozen, 57-45, with 3:26 left before the Ichabods went on a 7-2 run to cut the lead down to single-digits, 59-52. Emporia State added one last free throw with 32 seconds left to make the final score 60-52.
The Ichabods finished the game 17-of-52 (32.7%) from the floor while the Lady Hornets were 23-of-63 (36.5%). Washburn made more three-point shots, going 7-of-28 from distance and Emporia State was 5-of-21. Both teams pulled down 37 rebounds.
Bentley played all 40 minutes and led the Ichabods in scoring and rebounds with 20 points and eight boards. She was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Shelbe Piggie added nine points and had one steal. Castaneda and Oliver contributed eight points apiece. Oliver was 4-of-6 shooting from the field and pulled down five rebounds.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 20th season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 453-144 (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 934-427-1 (.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 continues its homestand into next week as it hosts Missouri Western (Jan. 9) and Northwest Missouri (Jan. 11).
