OPENING TIP
>> The Washburn women's basketball team carries a four game winning streak into its final homestand of the season and will host No. 20 Central Missouri (21-4, 15-1 MIAA) on Thursday, Feb 20. Tip-off in Lee Arena is set for 5:30 p.m.
>> The Ichabods have won seven of their last eight games and are 15-9 (9-6 MIAA).
>> With their win against Rogers State, the Ichabods secured a place as one of the 10 teams who will play at the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City March 4-8.
>> The Jennies have won three in a row and are coming off a 74-45 victory against Lincoln.
>> These two teams met in Warrensburg at the beginning of this month with UCM claiming an 83-68 win.
>> UCM currently leads the MIAA standings while WU is in a tie for seventh alongside Fort Hays State.
>> The Ichabods have played well in Topeka, winning their last five-straight home contests and are 8-2 overall this season in Lee Arena.
>> Central Missouri is 7-3 on the road.
>> Thursday's contest will also be Washburn's annual Pink Game.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods average 69.8 ppg and have a 42.7 field goal percentage.
>> Bentley leads the team in scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounds (7.3 rpg), free throw percentage (77.4%), blocks (0.6 bpg), and steals (2.0 spg).
>> Against the Hillcats, she dished out a career-best seven assists.
>> Shelbe Piggie averages 12.5 ppg and is five points away from reaching the 500 career point mark in just two seasons at Washburn.
>> Reagan Phelan also averages double-figures with 12.4 ppg and leads the team in assists with 4.7 per game.
>> Phelan finished with three assists against Rogers State to pass Brenda Shaffer-Dahl in Washburn's record book for career assists and is now fourth all-time with 418.
>> Bentley and Phelan are first and third in the conference for minutes played as Bentley logs 35.0 mpg while Phelan averages 33.6 minutes on the hardwood.
>> Alexis McAfee handed out eight assists against Rogers State, tying a career-best she set earlier this season.
>> McAfee helps the team with 9.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 3.1 apg.
>> Hayley Thompson led the Ichabods in scoring against RSU and made 8-of-12 for a career-best 16 points. She scored 10 of those in the fourth quarter.
>> This season, Thompson is shooting 68.3% from the field (71-of-104).
>> Mia Castaneda is the leading scorer off the Washburn bench, averaging 6.7 ppg. She tallied eight points against the Hillcats.
>> The Ichabods have not lost a game when holding a lead at the end of a quarter.
>> When playing on a Thursday this season, Washburn is 5-3.
ABOUT THE CENTRAL MISSOURI JENNIES
>> The Jennies sit atop the MIAA standings at 15-1 in conference play with their only MIAA loss of the season coming at Missouri Western, 67-57, on Feb. 8.
>> UCM's defense has held 14 of its 25 opponents to 60 or fewer points and has the second-lowest opponent scoring average in the MIAA at 57.5 ppg.
>> The Jennies are also fourth in the league in field goal percentage (43.3%) and free throw percentage (75.7%).
>> The Jennies' defense has blocked the second-most shots in the MIAA this season and averages 4.44 per game. They also have the most defensive rebounds with 31 per game.
>> Megan Skaggs (16.8 ppg) and Morgan Fleming (15.8 ppg) are fourth and fifth in the MIAA for scoring.
>> Nija Collier contributes an average of 13.4 ppg. She also leads the conference in rebounds (9.6 rpg) and is second in blocked shots (1.8 bpg).
>> Off the bench, Kim Crown averages 6.5 ppg and holds a team-best free throw percentage of 82.5% (47-of-57).
HEAD COACH DAVE SLIFER
>> Dave Slifer is in his 16th season leading the Jennies and 31st season coaching collegiately.
>> Slifer has guided the Jennies to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, including a NCAA National Championship in 2018 and currently has a record of 326-150.
>> Prior to his tenure at UCM, Slifer spent nine seasons at Missouri Western where he compiled a record of 206-69 (115-33 MIAA).
>> His coaching career started at Mt. Mercy College in Iowa, where he went 178-30 in six seasons.
>> He is a two-time WBCA Regional Coach of the Year and a four-time MIAA Coach of the Year.
>> Against Newman on Jan. 6, 2020, he became the 36th coach in NCAA women's basketball to reach 700 career wins and the fifth in Division II.
>> Slifer is 10-21 when facing Washburn.
SERIES AGAINST CENTRAL MISSOURI
>> Washburn leads the all-time series 40-21, although Central Missouri has won seven of the last nine meetings.
>> In Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 21-8 when playing the Jennies.
>> Washburn upset then-ranked No. 7 UCM, 62-57, in Topeka on Dec. 8, 2018.
>> In that game, Bentley led the Ichabods with 15 points and McAfee added 12.
>> Coach McHenry is 27-12 against the Jennies.
LAST TIME OUT FOR WASHBURN (Feb. 15, 2020)
WASHBURN 80 (14-9, 8-6 MIAA)
ROGERS STATE 53 (4-21, 2-14 MIAA)
CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Washburn women's basketball team cruised in the second half to an 80-53 win at Rogers State on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Ichabods improve to 15-9 (9-6 MIAA) and clinch a place as one of the 10 teams who will advance to the MIAA Tournament next month.
Rogers State (4-21, 2-14 MIAA) scored the first points of the game on a jump shot, but Washburn responded by scoring the next 11 points and holding the Hillcats scoreless for over five minutes of play. The Washburn defense played well, limiting Rogers State to shooting just 2-of-11 from the floor and forced nine turnovers. At the end of the opening 10 minutes, Washburn led by a dozen at 21-19.
The Ichabods came out in the second period making six of the first eight points scored to go up by 16, 27-11. Rogers State found its groove midway through the frame and finished out the half on a 13-7 run. A triple by Alexis McAfee with five seconds left in the quarter put Washburn back up by double-digits at 36-26.
The Hillcats stayed in the game to start the second half as they got within seven points twice in the third quarter, but a big three-pointer by Hunter Bentley started an 11-1 burst for the Ichabods that included three made shots from deep for a double-figure lead they would hold for the remainder of the game.
Leading 53-36 to start the final stanza, Washburn poured in 27 points to finish out the game. Hayley Thompson was 5-of-5 in the fourth and made three-straight buckets for the Ichabods in the midst of an 8-3 run. Eight different Ichabods scored at least two points in the fourth quarter.
The Ichabods shot 44.9 percent from the floor in the contest while the Hillcats finished at an even 38 percent clip. Defensively, Washburn forced 24 RSU turnovers and converted those into 17 points. The Ichabods used their speed in transition throughout the game and scored 23 fast break points while the Hillcats had just two fast break points. The Hillcats finished with a 26-20 advantage on the glass and both teams finished with 12 offensive rebounds. At the charity stripe, the Ichabods were a perfect 10-of-10.
Thompson led four Ichabods in double-figures as she tallied a career-high 16 points after making 8-of-12 field goal attempts. Bentley added 14 points and handed out a career-best seven assists. Doing a little bit of everything on the hardwood today was McAfee, who finished with 11 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and four steals. Phelan rounded out the top-four scorers with 10 points.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 20th season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 461-149 (268-104 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 942-430-1 (.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's final home game of the season will be this Saturday, Feb. 22 against Lincoln starting at 1 p.m. The six Ichabod seniors will be recognized at the conclusion of the game.
