OPENING TIP
>> The Washburn women's basketball team continues its homestand this week taking on Missouri Western (11-2, 3-0 MIAA) this Thursday, Jan. 9. The game in Lee Arena is slated to tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
>> Washburn is 7-5 overall this season and 1-2 in MIAA action after falling to No. 20 Emporia State, 69-57, last time out.
>> The Griffons are coming off an 86-63 win over Northeastern State on Jan. 6 for their sixth-straight victory.
>> Missouri Western finished the 2018-19 campaign with a record of 14-16 (8-11 MIAA).
>> The Griffons entered this season picked 11th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and eighth in the Preseason Media Poll.
>> Washburn was tabbed third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and fourth in the Media Poll.
>> The Ichabods are 3-1 this season when playing in Lee Arena.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> Reagan Phelan leads the Ichabods in scoring at 14.2 ppg and in assists with 66 total.
>> Hunter Bentley is averaging 12.9 ppg with Shelbe Piggie close behind at 12.8 ppg.
>> Piggie has finished in double-digit points in the past six-straight games.
>> Phelan holds a .444 three-point percentage as she has made 28-of-63 shots from deep.
>> Bentley leads the team with 7.1 boards per game, 11 blocked shots, and 18 steals.
>> Hayley Thompson tied a career-high in points against Emporia State, tallying a dozen points on 6-of-8 shooting.
>> Phelan moved up to fifth all-time in Washburn's record book in assists with 371 total.
>> Bentley passed 600 career points in the game against Emporia State. She now has 601.
ICHABOD LEADERS IN THE MIAA
>> Washburn has the fourth-highest three-point field goal percentage in the league at 35.4% and averages 7.9 triples per game.
>> Phelan leads the MIAA with 65 total assists with an average of 5.5 apg. Her average also rank her 15th in the nation.
>> McAfee moved up to 10th in the MIAA's apg average at 3.0. Both she and Phelan are in the top-10 in the assists/turnover ratio.
>> Bentley is 11th in the conference in rebounds per game as she averages 7.1 and McAfee sits at 14th with 6.2 rpg.
>> Phelan is tied for fifth in three-pointers per game, averaging 2.3 per game.
>> Piggie has made half of her shot attempts for a .500 field goal percentage, sixth in the conference.
>> Bentley has been on target from the charity stripe, making 34-of-39 attempts for an .872 percentage, which is the fourth-best mark in the MIAA.
>> The junior has also seen plenty of court time for the Ichabods this season as she has played 421 minutes for a conference-leading 35.1 minutes per game average.
ABOUT THE MISSOURI WESTERN GRIFFONS
>> After falling in their season opener to Concordia-St. Paul, the Griffons have won 11 of their last 12 games as well as six in a row.
>> Missouri Western's offense averages 75.2 ppg as its defense limits its opponents to 58.9 ppg.
>> The team has the third-highest field goal percentage in the MIAA at 45.8%.
>> Chris Wilson paces the Griffon offense with 15.6 ppg, which is the eight-highest average in the league, and has a team-high and league's third-best 8.8 rpg.
>> Corbyn Cunningham is 10th in the MIAa in scoring and rebound averages at 15.1 ppg and 7.2 rpg.
>> Both Corbyn (57.2%) and Wilson (51.9%) are in the top-four of the conference in field goal percentage.
>> Katrina Roenfeldt also averages double-figure scoring with 10.8 ppg and leads the team with 3.4 apg.
HEAD COACH
>> Candi Whitaker is in her inaugural season with the Griffons after being named the ninth women's head basketball coach at Missouri Western in April of 2019.
>> Whitaker brings ample coaching experience to the program as she was most recently the head coach at Texas Tech (2013-18) and also led the UMKC women's team (2006-12).
>> She became one of the youngest head coaches in women's basketball, taking over the UMKC program at age 26 and winning 83 total games in her tenure to rank as the second-winningest coach in program history.
>> She also served as an associate head coach at Oklahoma State (2012-13) and started her coaching career as an assistant at Valparaiso (2002-04).
>> As a student-athlete, Whitaker played two seasons at Seward County Community College and then transferred to Texas Tech where she helped the Lady Raiders to back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.
>> She received her bachelor's degree in exercise sports science from Texas Tech in 2002 and earned her master's in sports administration from Valparaiso in 2004.
>> This will be her first meeting with Washburn.
SERIES WITH MISSOURI WESTERN
>> Washburn leads the all-time series, 55-40, and has won the last four-straight meetings.
>> When playing the Griffons in Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 28-15.
>> The last time the two teams faced, Washburn captured a 78-68 victory at home on senior day to close out the regular season.
LAST TIME OUT FOR WASHBURN (Jan. 4, 2020)
WASHBURN 57 (7-5, 1-2 MIAA)
EMPORIA STATE 69 (10-2, 3-0 MIAA)
TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 20-ranked Emporia State Lady Hornets shot 73.9 percent from the field and were 8-for-12 from behind the arc in the first half to quickly create a double-figure lead they would hold for the rest of the game in a 69-57 victory over Washburn on Saturday evening. With the loss, the Ichabods fall to 7-5 and are 1-2 in MIAA play while the Lady Hornets move up to 10-2 overall and an undefeated 3-0 in conference action.
The two teams exchanged buckets to start the game and a jump shot by Hayley Thompson tied up the game at 14-all at the 3:38 mark in the first quarter. The Lady Hornets broke the tie and quickly created a double-digit lead as they finished the opening period on an 11-0 run with three triples to lead 25-14.
Emporia State went up by 21 with 3:56 left in the first half when Washburn put together a 9-0 burst over the course of nearly a minute and a half to chip away at the Lady Hornets' lead. The visitors retaliated yet again to close out the quarter, going on a 7-0 run to carry a 46-27 advantage into the locker room. The Lady Hornets shot a scorching 73.9 percent from the field (17-of-23) while the Ichabods shot 42.3 percent (11-of-26) in the first half.
In the second half, the Washburn defense held Emporia State to just 25 percent shooting (7-of-28) and just 2-for-12 from deep as the Ichabods outscored ESU in the third (17-14) and fourth (13-9) quarters, but it was too late to overcome the early deficit. Reagan Phelan made it a 10 point game on two occasions as she hit a three-pointer with 4:07 in the fourth quarter and then a free throw a minute later, but that's as close as it would get for the Ichabods.
Shelbe Piggie paced four Ichabods in double-digit scoring with 13 points. Thompson chipped in a dozen points on 6-of-8 shooting and pulled down five rebounds. Hunter Bentley added 11 points and Alexis McAfee had 10 points to go along with five assists.
The Lady Hornets were led by Mollie Mounsey who finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.
Emporia State finished the contest with a 47.1 shooting percentage while Washburn was close behind with a 45.5 clip. The Ichabods won the battle of the boards with 27 rebounds to the Lady Hornets' 26 with both teams pulling down 10 offensive rebounds. Emporia State grabbed 10 steals to Washburn's nine while both teams scored 26 points off turn overs.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 20th season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 453-145 (262-100 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 caps off its four-game homestand against Northwest Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m.
