TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Ichabods are set to play their third home game in six days as the Lincoln Blue Tigers come to Lee Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 19. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. tip.
OPENING TIP
>> The two teams were originally scheduled to play on Dec. 19, 2020, but it was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols by the Blue Tigers.
>> This will be the only meeting between these two programs this season.
>> The Ichabods are 4-5 on the season and are coming off a 69-61 overtime loss to Pittsburg State.
>> Lincoln is looking for its first win of the season, sitting with a record of 0-9.
>> WU and LU have met 31 times since 1980 with Washburn winning all 31 contests.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods average 61.3 ppg and allow just slightly more to their opponents at 62.0 ppg.
>> Hunter Bentley leads the Washburn offense with 15.2 ppg which ranks 10th in the MIAA. She has finished in double-figures in seven of the nine games the Ichabods have played this season.
>> She is also fifth in the conference averaging 7.6 rpg and second in the league in minutes played with 36.8 mpg.
>> Nuria Barrientos is second on the team in scoring as she adds 11.7 ppg. She is also the team leader in rebounds (8.0 rpg), assists (2.9 apg), steals (1.6 spg), and blocks (1.3 bpg).
>> In the post, Abby Oliver is coming off three-straight double-digit games and averaged 14.3 ppg over those three games.
>> For the season, Oliver averages 9.3 ppg and 4.9 rpg.
>> Macy Doebele contributes 6.6 ppg and 3.1 boards per game.
>> Off the bench, Lauren Cassaday averages 3.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg.
>> After scoring 11 points on Saturday, Barrientos surpassed the 100 point mark in her nine games as an Ichabod.
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 426-107 all-time in Lee Arena.
>> The Ichabods are 2-3 at home this season.
ABOUT THE LINCOLN BLUE TIGERS
>> The Blue Tigers went 3-25 (0-19 MIAA) a season ago and are 0-9 so far in 2020-21.
>> The team averages 63.7 ppg, but allows 81.1 ppg to their opponents.
>> Niyah Jackson averages a team-best 15.2 ppg and is fourth in the MIAA with a 46.6 field goal percentage.
>> She also leads the team with 2.9 assists per game.
>> AJ Bradley contributes 10.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg.
>> Forward Vivian Chigbu averages 5.3 rpg in eight games played with nearly half of her 42 total being offensive boards (19).
>> Ashtin Ingram has blocked 14 shot attempts, ranking fourth in the conference at 1.6 bpg.
>> Haylie Holloway, Deija Jackson, Niyah Jackson, and Ingram join the Blue Tigers after having played for Lincoln's new head coach Andrea Mize while at College of Central Florida.
HEAD COACH ANDREA MIZE
>> Andrea Mize is in her inaugural season with the Blue Tigers.
>> Prior to joining Lincoln's staff, she was the head coach at the College of Central Florida for two seasons. She was also an assistant coach at Martin Methodist College for three seasons.
>> She began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Martin Methodist College for three seasons.
>> Mize played three seasons at Indiana University and graduated in 2015.
SERIES WITH LINCOLN
>> The Ichabods have played 31 games against Lincoln and have won all of them.
>> Fifteen of those victories have been in Topeka.
>> Coach McHenry is 15-0 against Lincoln.
LAST TIME AGAINST LINCOLN (Feb. 22, 2020)
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn women's basketball team scored 58 points in the first half as they cruised to an 85-56 victory over Lincoln on Saturday's senior day. The Ichabods close out their home schedule going 9-3 in Lee Arena and improve to an overall record of 16-10 (10-7 MIAA) while the Blue Tigers fall to 3-23 (0-16 MIAA).
Three-pointers were the theme of the first half for Washburn and Alexis McAfee hit one in the Ichabods' first possession. The two teams traded buckets for the first four minutes until a jump shot from Hayley Thompson started a 14-0 run to give the Ichabods a 19-9 lead. The Blue Tigers made a jumper to stop the scoring streak, but Reagan Phelan started one of her own for Washburn and scored eight unanswered points and hit four three-pointers in the quarter. Washburn closed out the opening stanza on a 6-0 run to take a 33-14 lead into the second.
The Ichabods outscored the Blue Tigers, 25-15, in the second quarter. Hunter Bentley hit two three-pointers and Phelan added another while Shelbe Piggie added eight points of her own. Washburn led 58-29 at the half and shot 67.7 percent from the field and went 9-of-14 from distance.
Washburn led by 20 or more for the entire second half. Another three by Bentley gave Washburn its largest lead of the game, a 34 point advantage of 83-49, at the 4:30 mark in the fourth quarter. Adyson Narber added the final points for the Ichabods on a made free throw.
Washburn finished 54.5 percent from the field while Lincoln shot at a 34.9 clip. The Ichabods were 11-of-22 from behind the arc and the Blue Tigers hit 6-of-18. Washburn's defense forced 19 turnovers and turned those into 23 points. The home team also scored 29 points off of fast breaks.
The six Ichabod seniors of Phelan, Piggie, McAfee, Thompson, Reigosa, and Mia Castaneda were recognized at the conclusion of the game for their contributions to Washburn women's basketball.
Phelan led all scorers with 23 points and went 6-for-7 from three-point land. She also handed out six assists to move up to No. 3 in all-time career assists at Washburn with 428. Piggie added 17 points and dished out a career-high five assists. Bentley was 5-of-8 from the field and hit three triples to finish with 14 points. She and McAfee led the team with eight rebounds apiece. Sabela Reigosa rounded out the double-figure scoring for Washburn with 10 points, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor. Seniors Castaneda and Thompson added seven and six points, respectively.
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 467-157 (275-111 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 949-440-1 (.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
>> The Ichabods will hit the road for the next three games starting at Emporia State on Saturday, Jan. 23.
