TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team begins its home schedule with a midweek matchup against Benedictine College on Wednesday. Tip-off against the Ravens in Lee Arena is set for 7 p.m.
OPENING TIP
>> The Ichabods went 1-1 in the season opening weekend at the MIAA/GAC Crossover Challenge in Weatherford, Okla.
>> Despite a fourth quarter surge, Washburn dropped the first game of the season at No. 16 Southwestern Oklahoma State, 70-54.
>> WU then went on to capture its first victory of the season with a 62-50 overtime win over Oklahoma Baptist.
>> The Ravens are 5-1 to start the season and have won each game by 10 or more points.
>> Wednesday's contest will be an exhibition for Benedictine while it will count towards Washburn's win-loss record.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
>> The 2021-22 season marks the 38th season of play in Lee Arena as the facility opened in the 1983-84 season.
>> Washburn is 431-108 all-time in Lee Arena.
>> WU is 33-5 in home openers since Lee Arena opened.
>> The Ichabods went 7-4 at home last season.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> Washburn is averaging 58.0 points per game and is shooting 37.1 percent from the floor through two games this season.
>> Mackenzie Gamble is averaging 12.5 ppg and was 5-for-10 from deep against Oklahoma Baptist.
>> Hunter Bentley has 12.0 ppg and led Washburn in scoring against the Bison, totaling 20 points with eight of those coming in overtime.
>> In her official Ichabod debut, Shae Sanchez knocked down 10 points and was 2-for-3 from behind the arc. She also pulled down seven rebounds.
>> It was a career day for Abby Oliver against Oklahoma Baptist as she played 40 minutes and had personal-bests in rebounds (13) and steals (three) to go with her nine points.
>> Macy Doebele is averaging 5.0 ppg and 2.5 rpg and went 4-for-7 from the field against No. 16 SWOSU.
>> Mya Johnson had eight points and six boards in her first official game as an Ichabod versus the Lady Bulldogs.
>> Katie Glatczak earned a start against the Bison and scored five points and grabbed a career-high five rebounds and four steals while handing out three assists.
ABOUT THE BENEDICTINE RAVENS
>> The Ravens closed out the 2020-21 campaign with a record of 17-9 while going 14-5 in conference play.
>> Heading into this new season, Benedictine received votes in the Preseason NAIA Top-25 Coaches Poll.
>> BC is off to a 5-1 start this fall and averages 75.7 points per game while averaging seven three-pointers per game.
>> Alleigh Kramer leads the Ravens' offense with 10.3 ppg and shoots 56.1 percent from the field. She also grabs 6.0 rebounds per game and dishes out a team-high 3.5 assists per game.
>> Aaliyah Raines has also started all six games so far and contributes 8.8 ppg to go with 3.0 assists per game.
>> Twilah Carrasquillo leads the team with 6.7 boards per game and in steals with 2.3 spg.
HEAD COACH CHAD FOLSOM
>> Chad Folsom is in his 22nd season leading Benedictine and began this season with a career record of 436-221.
>> He has been named the HAAC Coach of the Year twice.
>> During his tenure, the program has earned 69 All-Heart performers and has produced 13 NAIA All-American selections.
>> Folsom was a student-athlete at Grinnell College (Iowa) and earned a total of 12 varsity letters in basketball, indoor, and outdoor track.
SERIES WITH BENEDICTINE
>> These two programs first met in 1970 and Washburn leads the all-time series, 36-7, and has won the last 26 meetings.
>> WU is 25-4 when facing BC in Topeka.
>> The Ichabods last played the Ravens on Dec. 30, 2017 and won 77-52.
>> Washburn has won the last five in a row by 20 or more points.
LAST MEETING WITH BENEDICTINE COLLEGE
Washburn 77, Benedictine 52 -- Dec. 30, 2017
TOPEKA, Kan. --- Four double-figure scorers helped the Washburn Ichabods close out the 2017 calendar in winning fashion Saturday as it claimed a 77-52 decision over Benedictine. With the result, the women's basketball team climbed to 11-1 on the season and registered its second five-game win streak of the year.
A sluggish start from the Ichabods saw Benedictine account for six of eight points to open the afternoon contest. Washburn however quickly knocked off some of its rust from the holiday break converting 5-of-9 from behind the arc as it enjoyed a 16-4 run, taking a 18-10 lead with 3:44 left in the period.
Benedictine used a late 9-0 rally to close the first with a 19-18 lead. A made three-pointer early in the extended the Ravens' run to 12.
Washburn then clamped down on the BC offense as it held the Ravens to 3-of-13 shooting for period. The Ichabod offense took over beginning with a 12-0 rally of their own as they claimed a 32-24. The scoring spree consumed a little over four minutes of play and was led by six points from Axelle Bernard. The Ichabods closed the half with 5-0 run as they took 37-26 into the break.
Washburn wasted little time to resume scoring as Cara Donley knocked down a shot from deep just two seconds into the third period en route to finishing with a career-best 11 points. The Ichabod offense stumbled during the third as completed 6-of-23 from the field, however nonetheless, managed to extend its lead to as much as 20 before the end of the period.
In the fourth, the Washburn advantage was reduced to 12 as Benedictine opened the frame with eight unanswered making it 54-42 with 8:26 remaining. The Ichabods though remained posed as they used a 16-2 run to take a 26-point margin with 3:12 to go. A seven-point push from Taylor Blue fueled the run, and gave her a career-best 21 points. Madison Vargo netted the Ichabods 13th three-pointer of the night just before the buzzer as the team set a program record with 41 three-point attempts.
In addition to Blue and Donley, Bernard and Alexis McAfee also reached double-digit scoring as McAfee finished with 13 while Bernard had 11.
Collectively, Washburn narrowly outshot the Ravens, .378-.323, while making eight more three-pointers. From the line, the Ichabods made 8-of-12, snapping their four-game streak of making at least 80 percent.
On the glass, Washburn dominated Benedictine as it out-rebounded the Ravens, 57-36 including 22-9 on the offense boards. Mackenzie Loe paced the Ichabod effort as she collected 10 boards for the second time this season. Washburn finished the contest with seven players with at least five rebounds.
2021-22 PRESEASON POLLS
>> Heading into the new season, the Ichabods were picked sixth in both the 2021-22 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and the Media Poll.
>> Leading the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll was reigning regular season champion Fort Hays State with six first-place votes and 159 total points. Central Missouri was voted second with three first-place votes and earned 154 points. Nebraska-Kearney also received three first-place votes and was right behind with 153 points.
>> In the media poll, FHSU and UCM tied for first place with 118 points. UNK was third after tallying 112 points.
>> The Ichabods finished seventh in the MIAA standings and reached the MIAA Tournament semifinal game after defeating No. 15 nationally ranked and No. 2 seed Central Missouri on the road.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is entering his 22nd season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 476-164 (283-117 MIAA).
>> Brette (Ulsaker) Herber begins her ninth 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 starts her third 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 958-446-1 (.683) all-time and will commence the 53rd year of the program's history.
>> 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.
NEXT UP
>> Washburn will play next at its Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 26-27, hosting Winona State and Rockhurst.
