OPENING TIP
>> The Washburn Ichabods will travel to Missouri's capital city on Wednesday, Jan. 29, to take on the Lincoln Blue Tigers. Tip-off in Jason Gym is set for 5:30 p.m.

>> Washburn is 10-8 overall and 4-5 in MIAA play after picking up two home victories last week against Central Oklahoma and Newman.

>> The Blue Tigers are looking for their first conference win of the season as they are on a seven-game losing streak and are 3-15 (0-9 MIAA).

>> Lincoln was picked 14th in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and the Media Poll.

>> Washburn was tabbed third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and fourth in the Media Poll.

>> The Ichabods are 1-5 in away games while the Blue Tigers are 3-5 when playing on their home court.

WASHBURN NOTES
>> Hunter Bentley leads the Ichabods in scoring with 13.0 ppg as well as rebounds (7.0 rpg), steals (1.9 spg), and blocks (0.7 bpg). 

>> Her 84.1 free throw percentage is third in the conference.

>> She has scored 10 or more points in 15 of the 18 games this season and is 20 points away from totaling 700 in her career.

>> Reagan Phelan is averaging 12.8 ppg and leads the team in assists with 5.1 per game, which is second in the MIAA.

>> With 396 career assists, she is 21 away from moving up to fourth all-time in Washburn's record books. 

>> After her 12 points against Newman, Phelan passed Washburn Hall of Fame member Jennifer Harris on the all-time scorers list and is now ninth with 1,322. She is 23 points away from becoming the eighth-highest scorer in Washburn history.

>> In the past five games off the bench, Shelbe Piggie has chipped in 11.0 ppg. Overall this season, she is averaging 12 ppg and is shooting 48.3 percent from the field.

>> Alexis McAfee averages 9.3 ppg and surpassed 800 career points in the game against Newman. She also pulls down 5.6 boards per game.

>> McAfee dished out a career-high eight assists against Newman.

>> Hayley Thompson has made 46 out of her 70 attempts from the field for a 65.7 percent success rate.

>> Washburn has the third-highest three-point field goal percentage at 34.6 percent and the team averages 7.4 triples per game.

>> The Ichabods are 8-1 when scoring 70 or more points. 

ABOUT THE LINCOLN BLUE TIGERS
>> The Blue Tigers went 10-18 (2-17 MIAA) in the 2018-19 season.

>> They are currently 3-15 overall with wins over MacMurray College, Hannibal-Lagrange, and Eureka.

>> The team averages 61.9 ppg and is shooting 38.2 percent from the field.

>> Kaloni Pryear has the fifth-highest scoring average in the league with 16.3 ppg and is shooting 46 percent.

>> Vivian Chigbu contributes 11.3 ppg and 8.7 rpg, which ranks third in the MIAA.

>> Kyessence Collins leads the team in assists with 2.9 per game to go with 6.9 ppg.

HEAD COACH AYANA MCWILLIAMS

>> Ayana McWilliams is in her fourth season as the head coach for the Blue Tigers and has a record of 22-77.

>> Last season, she coached the team to its best start in program history as Lincoln won its first seven games and nine of their first 11 games. 

>> Prior to being named Lincoln's head coach, she spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Division I University of South Carolina Upstate.

>> She was also an assistant at Elizabeth City, Livingstone, and Winston-Salem State

>> As a student-athlete, McWilliams played two seasons at East Carolina before transferring Brevard College where she became the all-time leader in assists and steals.

>> McWilliams is 0-4 when facing Washburn.

SERIES WITH LINCOLN
>> These two teams have met 29 times since 1980 and Washburn has come away with 29 victories.

>> Washburn is 13-0 when playing in Jefferson City.

>> The Ichabods claimed an 80-70 road victory last season on Feb. 23, 2019, as well as a 79-73 decision in Lee Arena on Jan. 31, 2019.

>> Coach McHenry has never lost to the Blue Tigers as he is 13-0 when playing them.

LAST TIME OUT FOR WASHBURN (Jan. 25, 2020)
NEWMAN 53 (9-11, 4-7 MIAA)
WASHBURN 70 (10-8, 4-5 MIAA)

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team led from start to finish in the first-ever MIAA matchup against Newman in a 70-53 victory in Lee Arena Saturday afternoon. The Ichabods posted their third-straight home win and improve to 10-5 (4-5 MIAA) while the Jets drop to 9-11 (4-7 MIAA).

Reagan Phelan got things started in a hurry for the Ichabods as she connected on a three-pointer just 22 seconds into the game. Washburn continued to add on in the frame as it shot 52.9 percent from the field (9-for-17) and went 4-for-9 from three point land and led 22-10 at the end of the opening quarter.

To start the second quarter, it was Mia Castaneda's turn to hit a three-pointer right away followed by two made free throws by Hunter Bentley to make it a 17 point lead. Newman put together two separate 6-0 scoring runs, but still trailed 35-26 at halftime. Both teams finished the first half shooting 40 percent from the field while the Ichabods held an advantage from behind the arc, going 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) to the Jets' 1-for-9 (11.1 percent).

Newman got within seven points, 51-44, early in the fourth quarter, but another three from Phelan at the 8:09 mark put Washburn up by double-figures again and they would keep that it above that mark for the remainder of the game. Washburn shot 47.1 percent (8-of-17) in the final frame and finished with the 70-53 victory after Sabela Reigosa added a layup in the final minute of play.

Washburn finished the game shooting 41 percent from the field (25-of-61) while Newman shot at a 40.5 clip (17-of-42). The Ichabods held a resounding advantage from three-point distance, making 11-of-25 three pointers (44 percent) to the Jets' 18.8 percent (3-of-16). Washburn was 9-for-10 from the charity stripe and the Jets made 21 trips to the foul line and made 16 of those attempts. Washburn edged Newman in rebounds, 34-30, and also grabbed seven offensive boards off the glass. Turnovers proved costly for the Jets as the Ichabods converted 22 turnovers into 21 points.

Piggie led all scorers with 18 points and was 7-for-13 from the floor and 3-for-5 from behind the arc. Bentley contributed 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Phelan moved up to ninth on Washburn's all-time scorers list after adding 12 points on four triples in the game. She now has 1,322 points in her career. Alexis McAfee handed out a career-high eight assists and also reached a career milestone of over 800 points as she scored six tonight and now has 805 total.

WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 20th season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 456-148 (263-103 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 937-429-1 (.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 head to Warrensburg, Mo., on Saturday, Feb. 1, to take on the Central Missouri Jennies.