TOPEKA, Kan. -- For the first time in over three weeks, the Washburn women's basketball team is finally back in action and will play its first game of 2021 on Saturday, Jan. 9 at Missouri Western. The game in St, Joseph, Mo., is set to begin at 5:30 p.m.
OPENING TIP
>> The Ichabods played last on Dec. 17 in a loss to Central Missouri, making their record 2-4 on the season.
>> The past three originally schedule games for the Ichabods have been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols by the opponents.
>> Missouri Western is on a four game losing streak and holds a record of 2-5. They played last on Dec. 19 at Missouri Southern (L, 67-56).
>> Saturday's game will mark the 98th all-time meeting between these two teams with Washburn leading the series, 55-42.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods are averaging 62.3 ppg and are shooting 41.2 percent from the field.
>> Hunter Bentley leads three Ichabods in double-figure scoring with 13.2 ppg. She has scored 12 or more points in four of the six games played.
>> Bentley also leads the team in rebounds at 8.8 rpg, which ranks third in the MIAA, and is second in the conference in minutes played (36.3 mpg).
>> Nuria Barrientos does a little of everything for Washburn as she contributes 12.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 spg, and has six total blocks.
>> Rounding out the top-three scorers for Washburn is freshman Aubree Dewey at 10.2 ppg. She leads the team in assists (3.7 apg) and steals (1.8 spg).
>> In the post, Abby Oliver averages 6.8 ppg and nearly half of her 25 rebounds are offensive boards (13).
>> Off the bench, Hannah Willey adds 4.3 ppg. She is 10-for-18 (55.6%) from the field and 6-of-11 from behind the three-point line.
LAST TIME OUT FOR WASHBURN
>> The Ichabods lost the home contest against Central Missouri (6-0) on Dec. 17 by the score of 67-45.
>> Washburn struggled offensively, shooting just 32.3 percent for the game while UCM finished at 50 percent.
>> The Jennies held the Ichabods to just eight points in the second quarter and seven points in the fourth.
>> Barrientos was the leading scorer for Washburn, going 7-for-13 from the floor to total 14 points.
>> Bentley and Oliver each had six points while Bentley grabbed a team-best eight boards.
ABOUT THE MISSOURI WESTERN GRIFFONS
>> The Missouri Western Griffons went 21-8 (13-6 MIAA) last season and were picked sixth in the 2020-21 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll.
>> After graduating six players, the Griffons brought in nine newcomers, including three transfers, to the 2020-21 squad.
>> The Griffons have been off to a slow start with a record of 2-5, posting victories over Rogers State (W, 83-81) and Lincoln (W, 62-55).
>> They are 1-2 when playing in St. Joseph this season.
>> The team averages 64.0 ppg and holds a .401 field goal percentage.
>> Camille Evans is the team leader in scoring (9.4 ppg), FG% (.509), rebounds (6.4 rpg). assists (2.7 apg), and steals (1.1 spg).
>> In six games played, Mary Fultz has contributed 8.2 ppg.
HEAD COACH CANDI WHITAKER
>> Candi Whitaker is in her second 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 is 2-0 against Washburn.
SERIES WITH MISSOURI WESTERN
>> Washburn leads the all-time series, 55-42.
>> The two teams met twice last season with Griffons coming away with both wins.
>> When playing in St. Joe, WU is 21-26.
>> Coach McHenry is 31-14 against Missouri Western.
LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI WESTERN (Feb. 29, 2020)
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Washburn women's basketball squad struggled against Missouri Western and fell, 69-39, on the road Saturday afternoon. The Ichabods closed out the regular season with an overall record of 17-11 while going 11-8 in MIAA play.
Both teams were held scoreless for the first two minutes of the game until Hunter Bentley converted on an old-fashioned three-point play. The Griffons answered with a three-pointer to start a 7-2 scoring run. Back-to-back layups by Alexis McAfee and Bentley put Washburn back in front, 9-7, midway through the period. Missouri Western, however, ended the opening quarter on an 8-0 burst to take a 15-9 lead into the second.
A 9-2 run by Washburn got the game within three, 21-18, with 4:46 left in the opening half, but the Ichabods would score only one more basket in the half while the Griffons put up 10 points in that time. Missouri Western took a 31-20 lead into the break shooting 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the field and 3-for-11 from three-point land while Washburn shot 34.8 percent (8-of-23) and made 1-of-7 from deep.
Washburn opened the second half with two baskets in a row to cut the deficit to single-digits at 31-24. Missouri Western didn't score their first bucket of the second half until the 6:38 mark, but they went on to score eight unanswered points to retake a double-figure lead they would hold for the remainder of the game.
The Griffons outscored the Ichabods, 17-7, in the final quarter for the 30 point win.
Missouri Western finished the day shooting 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the floor and 7-of-21 from beyond the arc. Washburn had a 31.3 field goal percentage (15-for-48) and made just one three-pointer, going 1-for-14. The Griffons forced 22 Ichabod turnovers and converted those into 20 points. Washburn won the rebound battle, 38-35.
Piggie paced the Ichabods with 11 points. Bentley added nine points and had eight rebounds. McAfee grabbed a team-high 10 boards and dished out all three Washburn assists.
Four Griffons finished in double-figures, led by Corbyn Cunningham's 17.
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 466-156 (274-110 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.
'BODS AND ENDS
>> Bentley is 85 points away from hitting the 1,000 career point milestone.
>> Washburn has outscored its opponents 120-81 in the third quarter this season.
>> Since Coach McHenry took over the program in the 2000-01 season, WU is 16-4 in the first game after Christmas break.
WASHBURN HISTORY
>> Washburn women's basketball is 947-439-1 (.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 is scheduled to return home for the next three games starting on Jan. 14 against Missouri Southern.
