TOPEKA, Kan. -- Because of forecasted inclement weather, the Washburn women's basketball team will now play one day earlier and close out 2021 at Central Missouri on Friday at 2 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
Washburn (4-7, 2-3 MIAA) at Central Missouri (8-4, 4-1 MIAA)
Friday, Dec. 31 | 2 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. | UCM Multipurpose Building
Watch: MIAA Network
Radio: 106.9 FM
Live stats: wusports.com/sidearmstats/wbball
OPENING TIP
>> Washburn (4-7, 2-3 MIAA) is on a three-game winning streak after posting a 71-50 home victory over Bethany on Wednesday.
>> Central Missouri 8-4 (4-1 MIAA) and has won five of its last six games, including the last three in a row.
>> UCM last played on Dec. 18 at Pittsburg State and claimed a 70-61 win.
>> The Jennies are undefeated at home this season with five wins in the Multipurpose Building.
>> The Ichabods are 1-2 in true road games so far this season.
>> Washburn and Central Missouri have played each other 66 times since 1990 and WU leads the all-time series, 41-25.
>> These two teams met three times last season and Washburn went 1-2. The Ichabods won the most recent matchup with a 63-55 victory in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinal.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods average 58.5 ppg and have a 40.4 field goal percentage.
>> Washburn has scored 70 or more points in back-to-back games.
>> The Ichabod defense is fourth in the MIAA allowing 59.4 ppg.
>> All 17 available Ichabods played in Wednesday's game with 12 scoring at least two points.
>> Washburn had six three-pointers against Bethany, all from six different Ichabods. Four of those triples happened in the fourth quarter.
>> The Ichabods have had exactly 14 offensive rebounds in three of the last four games.
>> On the flip side, Washburn has not allowed any of its opponents to have more than 12 offensive rebounds and has limited them to four or fewer in the last three-straight games.
>> Hunter Bentley leads Washburn in scoring with 11.8 ppg, which ranks 15th in the MIAA. She led the Ichabods with seven rebounds against Bethany and averages 4.3 rpg.
>> Abby Oliver is second on the team with 7.5 ppg and has scored double-digit points in three-straight games. She had nine points in the first quarter against Bethany and finished with 11.
>> Mackenzie Gamble adds 6.9 ppg and has made a three-pointer in every game except one this season.
>> Macy Doebele tied a career-high 14 points on Wednesday. She has now scored 14 points in three games as an Ichabod and did so once earlier this season against Benedictine.
>> Doebele averages 7.3 ppg and 4.4 rpg.
>> Nuria Barrientos adds 5.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg for the Ichabods.
>> Lauren Cassaday averages a team-best 5.0 rpg. Out of her 55 total rebounds, 24 have been offensive and she has had three or more offensive boards in four-consecutive games.
>> Aubree Dewey leads the team with 25 assists.
>> Maddy Hutley and Jaden Newfarmer made their official Ichabod debuts on Wednesday.
>> Newfarmer's first career shot attempt was a successful three-pointer in the final minute of the game.
MILESTONE TRACKER
>> Bentley cracked the top-10 on Washburn's all-time scoring list and will move up to No. 9 in 14 more points. Crystal Walker (1999-2003) is currently ninth with 1,344 career points.
>> Bentley is also tied for the third-most minutes played while wearing a Washburn uniform. She has put in 3,667 minutes of work on the hardwood and will pass Reagan Phelan in second in 136 more minutes of playing time.
>> Cassaday is 19 points away from 200 career points as an Ichabods.
>> Oliver is 19 points shy of 300 points in her career.
>> Oliver and Doebele are nearing the 200 mark in rebounds. Oliver needs 19 and Doebele needs 28.
WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn women's basketball team closed out its non-conference schedule with a 71-50 victory over Bethany College in Lee Arena on Wednesday evening.
After Bethany (11-5) scored the opening basket 20 seconds into the game, Washburn responded with a 9-0 run over the next four minutes. The Ichabods (4-7) limited the Swedes to just five shot attempts in the first quarter while Washburn made 8-of-14 from the floor for a 57.1 field goal percentage. Mackenzie Gamble hit a pair of free throws to close out the frame with Washburn on top, 20-10.
Both offenses struggled in the second quarter as Washburn scored nine unanswered points and held Bethany scoreless until the 3:08 mark. Hunter Bentley snapped a 9-0 run by the Swedes with a three-pointer with just under a minute left in the first half. The Ichabods went into the break holding a 32-21 advantage.
Bethany put together an 11-4 run in the first four minutes of the second half to pull within four points, 36-32, but it would get no closer as a layup from Aubree Dewey sparked a 15-0 tear to push Washburn's advantage to 51-32 at the end of the third. During the run, Macy Doebele recorded seven points and Dewey tallied six.
Washburn led by double-figures for the remainder of the game and drained four of its six three-pointers in the frame, all from different Ichabods. Making her official Washburn debut, Jaden Newfarmer hit a three-pointer on her first career shot attempt to close out the home victory.
Washburn finished the night shooting 48.2 percent while Bethany was close behind with a 44.2 field goal percentage. The Ichabods won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Swedes by more than double, 36-17. WU also grabbed 14 offensive boards and made 18 second chance points. The two teams combined for 40 turnovers with 32 occurring in the first half. Washburn capitalized on Bethany's 22 miscues and turned those into 23 points with 14 happening in the first quarter.
Seventeen Ichabods competed in the game with 12 different players scoring at least two points. Doebele led team with 14 points and went a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Abby Oliver finished with 11 points and scored nine in the opening quarter. Bentley led the team with seven rebounds and added eight points.
Autumn Garrett led the Swedes with 10 points, shooting 3-for-3 from the field and making all four of her free throw attempts.
ABOUT THE CENTRAL MISSOURI JENNIES
>> The Jennies went 23-5 (19-3 MIAA) last season and reached the NCAA Final Four before falling to the eventual national champions, Lubbock Christian.
>> UCM is 8-4 (4-1 MIAA) and has faced high-level competition to start this season. The Jens currently have the second-toughest schedule in Division II based on their past opponents' combined winning percentage.
>> Central Missouri is also on a three-game winning streak and averages 73.9 ppg with an MIAA-leading 47.6 field goal percentage.
>> Nija Collier leads the MIAA in four categories as she averages a double-double with 22.8 ppg and 13.0 rpg to go with a 57.8 field goal percentage. The 2019-20 MIAA Defensive Player of the Year also has conference-best 22 total blocks for a 1.8 bpg average.
>> She has had a double-double in three-straight games and has 10 overall this season.
>> Brooke Littrell (17.8 ppg, 9.1 rpg) and Olivia Nelson (14.4 ppg) also contribute double-figure scoring.
>> Charley Bovaird leads the team from behind the arc with 22 triples for a 39.3 three-point field goal percentage.
HEAD COACH DAVE SLIFER
>> Dave Slifer is in his 18th season leading the Jennies and 33rd season coaching collegiately. He holds a career record of 741-256, ranking him as the fourth winningest active coach in Division II.
>> Slifer has guided the Jennies to 11 NCAA Tournament selections, including an NCAA National Championship in 2018 and has a record of 357-157 at Central Missouri.
>> 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.
>> Slifer is 14-22 when facing Washburn.
SERIES WITH CENTRAL MISSOURI
>> Washburn leads the all-time series 41-25.
>> WU is 16-13 when playing in Warrensburg, most recently picking up a win in the Multipurpose Building on March 3, 2021, in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinal.
>> Coach McHenry is 28-16 against the Jennies.
LAST MEETING WITH CENTRAL MISSOURI
Washburn 63, #15 Central Missouri 55 -- March 3, 2021
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The Washburn women's basketball team ended the second quarter on a 13-3 scoring run to take the lead and never looked back as the No. 7 seed Ichabods upset the No. 2 seed and No. 15 nationally-ranked Central Missouri Jennies on Wednesday evening in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals, 63-55.
The Ichabods (12-11) will travel to Hays, Kan. to take on the No. 3 seed Nebraska-Kearney in the MIAA Tournament semifinal on Saturday at 4 p.m. Central Missouri (19-4) will have to wait until Sunday evening to find out its NCAA postseason fate.
On the first possession of the game, Central Missouri's top-scorer and rebounder, Nija Collier, was called for an offensive foul and then again at the 6:13 mark, forcing her to sit out the remainder of the quarter and much of the first half. Hunter Bentley hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute and a half of the first quarter to keep the game within two points, 10-8, in favor of the Jennies.
The second quarter was back-and-forth scoring until a layup by Mackenzie Gamble ignited a 13-3 scoring run over the final 3:30 of the opening half to send Washburn into the break in front, 27-21.
After scoring just four points in the first half and all occurring in that late scoring run in the second quarter, Gamble was responsible for 14 of Washburn's 21 points in the third quarter as she made 5-of-7 from the field with four three-pointers. Central Missouri made 1-of-2 at the charity stripe in the final seconds of the third period to trail Washburn, 48-40.
Holding a 10 point lead with 6:36 left in regulation, Washburn found itself in a scoring drought over the next nearly four minutes while Central Missouri chipped away at the deficit with a 6-0 run. With 1:15 remaining and Washburn leading 56-51, the Jennies had a chance to make it a one possession game, but a steal by Macy Doebele was exactly what the Ichabods needed and the Jennies were forced to foul to stop the clock. The final points for both teams were on free throws as Washburn went 7-for-8 at the line to hold on for the upset victory.
Washburn held Central Missouri to its lowest shooting percentage of the season at 29.1 percent (16-of-55) while the Ichabods made 22-of-52 from the field for 42.3 percent. The Jennies made 11 more trips to the free throw line and were 18-of-25 and the Ichabods converted on 11-of-15 freebie attempts. On the glass, UCM out-rebounded WU, 37-35, and pulled down 15 offensive boards that turned into 21 points.
Just five Ichabods scored in the game, but that would be enough as four finished in double-figures. Bentley led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Gamble tallied 18 points and made 7-of-13 from the field with four triples. Nuria Barrientos had an efficient night shooting, going 6-for-8 from the floor and contributed 13 points. Doebele added 11 points, six boards, and drew eight of Central Missouri's fouls, including the first two against Collier.
Brooke Littrell led the Jennies with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 22nd season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 479-170 (286-120 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 961-452-1 (.680) 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 returns to Lee Arena next week for conference games against Northwest Missouri (Jan. 6) and Missouri Western (Jan. 8).
