TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team will play the first of three games this week starting at Hays, Kan. to take on the Fort Hays State Tigers on Tuesday, Dec. 1 in a makeup game that was originally scheduled for Nov. 19.
OPENING TIP
>> The original game was postponed on Nov. 19 due to COVID-19 protocols at FHSU.
>> The Ichabods lost their season opener at Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 21 by the score of 62-52.
>> Tuesday's game will mark the season opener for the Tigers.
>> Heading into the 2020-21 season, Fort Hays State was tabbed fifth in the MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll while Washburn was picked eighth.
>> The Tigers defeated the Ichabods, 74-61, in their last meeting on Jan. 18, 2020.
>> This will be the 83rd meeting between the two teams with Washburn holding a 47-36 advantage.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> Macy Doebele came off the bench and led the Ichabods in scoring against the Lopers, setting a career-high with 12 points.
>> Freshman Aubree Dewey made her first collegiate start on Nov. 19 against UNK. She played 30 minutes and was 4-for-9 from the field totaling nine points.
>> In her Ichabod debut, Nuria Barrientos did a little bit of everything. She scored six points, grabbed six rebounds, had four assists, three steals, and two blocks.
>> Hunter Bentley chipped in seven points and had six boards against the Lopers.
>> Abby Oliver and Irene Sanz also started and both contributed six points apiece.
>> Washburn shot 45.1 percent from the field (23-for-51) and went 4-for-11 from behind the three-point line.
ABOUT THE FORT HAYS STATE TIGERS
>> The Fort Hays State Tigers finished the 2019-20 season 23-7 (13-6 MIAA) and earned their third-straight bid to the NCAA Tournament before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
>> They were tabbed as the No. 7 seed in the Central Region when the season came to an abrupt end.
>> Last season, FHSU was second in the conference in scoring (75.2 ppg) and allowed the third-lowest points scored, holding its opponents to 58.1 ppg.
>> Although the Tigers graduated three of their starters, including Belle Barbieri and Kacey Kennett who were both all-MIAA selections last season, FHSU returned eight and added six freshmen.
>> Jaden Hobbs returns as the team's top-scorer and earned an all-MIAA third team selection last season after averaging 12.6 ppg (20th in the MIAA), 4.7 apg (second in the MIAA), and had an .874 free throw percentage (second in the MIAA) making 104 from the charity stripe out of 119 total attempts.
>> Whitney Randall also returns after starting in 20 of 30 games and chipping in nine ppg and four rpg.
HEAD COACH TONY HOBSON
>> Tony Hobson is in his 13th season leading the Tigers and is the winningest coach in program history at 260-101.
>> He holds quite the resume as he enters his 29th season coaching with a record of 673-207. Additionally, he ranks 10th in winning percentage among active coaches at the Division II level with a .770 (471-141) percent success rate.
>> He has led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament five of the last six years, including a trip to the NCAA Regional Championship game in 2019.
>> Prior to joining Fort Hays State, Hobson won three NAIA National Championship titles in seven years as the head coach at Hastings College.
>> He also coached at Hastings College, Barton County Community College, and Cloud County Community College.
>> Hobson is 11-12 against Washburn.
SERIES WITH FORT HAYS STATE
>> Washburn holds a 47-36 series advantage, but has lost nine of the last 10 meetings.
>> When playing in Hays, Washburn is 20-19.
>> Washburn's last win in Hays was on Jan. 10, 2013 with a 63-60 triumph.
>> The Ichabods and Tigers last played each other on Jan. 18, 2020 in Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers came away with a 74-61 decision.
MILESTONE WATCH
>> Bentley is 21 rebounds away from 500 in her career.
>> Abby Oliver is nearing 100 career points and needs just 12 more. She is also 20 rebounds shy of hitting the 100 mark.
'BODS AND ENDS
>> After three steals against Nebraska-Kearney, Bentley moved up on the all-time steals list for Washburn. She is now No. 19 with 132.
>> The Ichabods made just two trips to the free throw line against the Lopers. Doebele successfully made both attempts for Washburn.
>> Last season, WU went 5-7 in away games and averaged 65.8 ppg.
2020-21 MIAA COACHES PRESEASON POLL
>> Heading into the new season, Washburn was tabbed eighth in the MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll and earned 79 total points.
>> Emporia State was voted the conference favorite, earning four first-place votes and 153 total points.
>> Nebraska-Kearney, Central Missouri, Pittsburg State, and Fort Hays State rounded out the top-five.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 21st season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 464-153 (272-107 MIAA).
>> His .752 winning percentage ranks 14th among active Division II coaches.
>> Brette (Ulsaker) Herber begins her eighth season on the Ichabod bench as a 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 second season as an assistant coach for Washburn. She also played for McHenry from 2014 to 2017 and was a two-time all-MIAA selection.
LAST TIME AGAINST FORT HAYS STATE (Jan. 18, 2020)
HAYS, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team finished out the first quarter on a 6-0 run to tie up the game, but were held to just five points in the second quarter as the No. 13-ranked Fort Hays State Tigers took control of the game and never looked back as they claimed the 74-61 decision Saturday afternoon.
The Ichabods finished the game shooting 43.4 percent (25-of-53) from the field and 41.2 percent from deep (7-of-17) while the Tigers shot slightly better at 45.3 percent (24-of-53) and went just 4-for-14 from behind the arc. Fort Hays State made 16 more trips to the free throw line than Washburn and converted on 22 of 29 attempts while the Ichabods were 8-for-13 from the charity stripe. Both teams grabbed the exact same number of rebounds, 32, as well as nine offensive boards each. Turnovers plagued the Ichabods as they committed 18 which the Tigers turned into 24 points.
In the first quarter, the Ichabods fought back from being down 13-3 at the 6:25 mark to tying up the game at 21-all thanks to six-straight points to end the period. Washburn was 8-for-9 from the field and 4-for-5 from three point land in the first and missed their first shot of the quarter with just six seconds remaining.
The Tigers used a 6-0 burst to start the second quarter to break the tie and go in front, 27-21. The Ichabods responded with a Hannah Willey three-pointer, the first of her career, followed by a made jumper by Hayley Thompson to trim the deficit down to one, 27-26. Those would be the only points of the quarter for Washburn, though, as the Ichabods went scoreless for the final 6:31 of the first half while the Tigers added to their lead with 10 unanswered points and lead 37-26 at the break. As on target as the Ichabods were in the first quarter, they were quite the opposite in the second, making just 2-of-17 from the field.
Fort Hays State added two free throws to their score to start the second half, but layup by Abby Oliver followed by five-straight points by Mia Castaneda put the Ichabods back in the game, trailing 39-33. The Ichabods cut the deficit down to five at 42-37 with 6:19 on the clock, but were unable to get any closer despite outscoring the Tigers, 22-20, and shooting 69.2 percent (9-of-13) in the quarter.
The Tigers went up 59-48 early in the fourth and led by double-digits for the remainder of the game. Similar to the second quarter, the Ichabods struggled to score, going just 4-for-14 from the floor, and adding four points on free throws. Hunter Bentley hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining for the final points of the 74-61 game.
Bentley led three Ichabods in double-digit scoring, totaling 13 points and pulling down five rebounds. Oliver was 6-for-8 from the floor en route to scoring a career-best 12 points and Shelbe Piggie finished with 10. Reagan Phelan had a team-high seven rebounds, seven assists, and chipped in eight points.
WASHBURN HISTORY
>> Washburn women's basketball is 945-436-1 (.684) all-time and will commence the 52nd year of the program's history.
>> Washburn is sixth 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
>> The Ichabods will open their homestand on Dec. 3 against the Central Oklahoma Bronchos. The Newman Jets will come to Topeka on Dec. 5 to close out Washburn's busy week.
