TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Ichabods are set to stay at home and host the Pittsburg State Gorillas on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 1 p.m. in Lee Arena.
OPENING TIP
>> Washburn has won two games in a row after posting a 56-49 victory over Missouri Southern on Thursday night. The Ichabods are now 4-4 on the seasons.
>> The Ichabods look to end the Gorillas' (7-3) six-game winning streak on Saturday.
>> Pittsburg State knocked off Emporia State, 69-64, on Thursday.
>> This will be the 89th all-time meeting between these two programs.
>> Washburn went 1-1 against Pittsburg State last season and won the last meeting in a 82-75 decision in Lee Arena on Feb. 8, 2020.
>> In the 2020-21 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, Pittsburg State was picked to finish fourth and Washburn was tabbed eighth.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods are averaging 61.4 ppg and hold a 40.8 field goal percentage.
>> Hunter Bentley leads the team with 15.1 ppg and 8.1 rpg. She recorded her sixth double-digit game of the season with 15 points scored against Missouri Southern.
>> Nuria Barrientos is averaging 11.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and also leads the team in steals (1.8 spg) and in blocks with 10 total.
>> Barrientos recorded her third double-double of the season on Thursday, making her one of 10 players in Division II to achieve that feat so far this season.
>> Abby Oliver set a new career-high and was the top-scorer on Thursday with 19 points. She is now averaging 9.0 ppg to go with 4.1 rpg.
>> Macy Doebele is contributing 6.5 ppg and added seven points to the winning cause against Missouri Southern.
>> Free throws played a major role in Washburn's 56-49 victory over Missouri Southern on Jan. 14, as the Ichabods made 15 more trips to the charity stripe than the Lions and finished the night 26-for-36 on foul shots.
>> Washburn did not make a three-pointer against Missouri Southern, breaking a 169-game streak of hitting at least one triple.
>> The last time Washburn did not hit a three-pointer and still won the game was on Jan. 18, 2014. The Lady Blues went 0-for-6 from deep and posted a 70-60 victory at home over Pittsburg State.
>> Washburn is undefeated in 2021.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
>> The 2020-21 season marks the 37th season of play in Lee Arena as the facility opened in the 1983-84 season.
>> Washburn is 426-106 all-time in Lee Arena.
>> The Ichabods are 2-2 at home this season.
ABOUT THE PITTSBURG STATE GORILLAS
>> The Pittsburg State Gorillas finished the 2019-20 campaign with a record of 17-11 (13-6 MIAA) and finished fourth in the league regular season standings.
>> After dropping three of its four first games this season, the Gorillas have rolled to six-straight wins.
>> PSU is 3-2 in away games this season.
>> The team holds the second-best scoring average in the MIAA with 73.0 ppg and they lead the league with an 83.8 free throw percentage.
>> Two Gorillas rank in the top-seven in scoring for the conference as Kaylee DaMitz is fifth with 17.0 ppg and Tristan Gegg is seventh averaging 16.3 ppg.
>> Maya Williams also averages double-digits with 11.2 ppg and leads the team with 4.3 rpg.
>> In addition to leading the team in scoring, DaMitz also tops the list with assists (5.5 apg) and steals (1.8 spg).
>> Gegg was named the MIAA Player of the Week on Dec. 14 after scoring a career-high 31 points over Lincoln.
>> In Thursday's victory over Emporia State, Four Gorillas finished in double-figures led by DaMitz with 15.
HEAD COACH AMANDA DAVIED
>> Amanda Davied is in her third season as the head coach of the Gorillas.
>> Prior to earning the head coaching position, Davied served as an assistant coach for her alma mater Pittsburg State for 14 seasons.
>> She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant for PSU after being a three-time all-MIAA awardwinner for the Gorillas as a player.
>> She is 1-2 against Washburn.
SERIES WITH PITTSBURG STATE
>> The Ichabods hold a 54-34 series advantage over the Gorillas and are 30-14 against PSU when playing in Lee Arena.
>> The two-game series last season was split as the Gorillas claimed the first win on their home court, 84-64, and the Ichabods won 82-75 in Topeka.
>> Coach McHenry is 26-11 against Pittsburg State.
LAST TIME AGAINST PITTSBURG STATE (Feb. 8, 2020)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team won their fifth-straight home game on Saturday afternoon with a 82-75 decision over Pittsburg State. The Ichabods improve to 13-9 overall and 7-6 in MIAA action while the Gorillas fall to 12-9 (8-5 MIAA).
Pittsburg State scored the first four points and quickly jumped out to an 11-3 lead three minutes into the game. Trailing 14-7, Shelbe Piggie ignited the Washburn offense with a three-pointer that started an 18-3 scoring tear that put Washburn in front, 25-17. Hunter Bentley closed out the opening quarter with a made free throw to put Washburn in front, 26-19. The Ichabods shot 62.5 percent from the field (10-of-16) and hit three triples in the quarter.
Washburn led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter before Pittsburg State went on a 6-0 run in the final minute of the second quarter to get within one, 41-40. With two seconds left in the first half, Bentley was fouled attempting a three-pointer and made two of the three free throws to give Washburn a a 43-40 advantage at the break.
Washburn opened the second half on a 10-2 scoring run with points scored by four different Ichabods to lead 53-42 at the 7:19 mark. The Gorillas stayed in the game by going on a 12-5 run to close out the third period trailing by six, 63-57.
The Ichabods started the fourth frame going 3-for-3 from deep with triples from Piggie, Bentley, and Reagan Phelan. With 18 seconds remaining, Pittsburg State was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to make it a five point game, 80-75, but it was too late as Phelan scored the last two points of the game on free throws for the seven point victory.
Both teams shot fairly even as the Ichabods finished with a 48.3 field goal percentage (29-of-60) and shot at a 45 percent clip (9-of-20) from behind the arc while the Gorillas shot 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the floor and 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from three-point land. Washburn out rebounded Pittsburg State, 34-28, and pulled down 13 offensive boards that the Ichabods turned into 18 points. The Ichabods also forced 17 turnovers for 23 points.
Bentley led the Ichabods with a season-high 22 points after shooting 7-for-14 from the field and going 6-for-9 from the charity stripe. Bentley also led the team with eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals while also blocking one shot. Piggie, Phelan, and McAfee all contributed 13 points. Mia Castaneda was 3-for-6 from behind the arc.
For Pittsburg State, Tristan Gegg and Athena Alvarado combined for 52 of the Gorillas' 75 points.
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 467-156 (275-110 MIAA).
>> His .749 winning percentage ranks 14th among active Division II coaches and 17th all-time among D-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.
WASHBURN HISTORY
>> Washburn women's basketball is 949-439-1 (.683) 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
>> Washburn closes out its three-game homestand on Tuesday, Jan. 19 as the Ichabods host the Lincoln Blue Tigers in a makeup game that was rescheduled from Dec. 19. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Lee Arena.
