TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday to take on No. 20 Central Missouri at 1 p.m. in Warrensburg, Mo.
OPENING TIP
>> Washburn is 7-9 overall after falling at Northeastern State in a makeup game on Tuesday.
>> UCM also played on Tuesday and won a top-25 matchup at Emporia State, 79-72. The Jennies are 15-2 on the season.
>> Central Missouri is on an eight-game winning streak.
>> These two teams met earlier this season on Dec. 17 in Topeka where the Jennies picked up a 67-45 victory.
>> The Jennies are 7-1 this season when playing in the Multipurpose Building while the Ichabods are 3-5 in home contests.
>> UCM currently sits atop the MIAA standings and has clinched a place in the MIAA Tournament. WU is seventh in the standings.
>> The top-eight teams will take part in the MIAA Tournament which will be played on campus sites.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> Washburn shoots 38.9 percent from the field while averaging 61.8 ppg and allowing 60.0 ppg.
>> Hunter Bentley leads the Washburn offense and is fifth in the MIAA with 16.7 ppg.
>> She recorded her third double-double of the season on Tuesday night and has scored 20 or more points in six games.
>> Bentley also leads the league and ranks 12th in Division II in free throw percentage at 90.8%.
>> Nuria Barrientos contributes 10.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg (No. 4 in MIAA), 2.8 apg (No. 12 in MIAA), 1.4 bpg and 1.8 spg (No. 6 in both categories).
>> Macy Doebele scores 5.7 ppg and grabs 3.9 rpg.
>> Aubree Dewey (6.6 ppg) and Mackenzie Gamble (6.4 ppg) round out the Washburn starting five.
>> Off the bench, Lauren Cassaday adds 4.6 ppg and 4.1 rpg. Out of her 65 total rebounds, 35 have been offensive.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE THIS THIS
>> Barrientos is currently one of 16 players in all of Division II to have seven or more double-doubles this season.
>> She is tied with Kelsey Johnson from Central Oklahoma for the most in the MIAA.
BODS AND ENDS
>> Bentley continues to move up on the Washburn all-time scorers list. She has 1,103 career points and will be No. 13 on the list in nine points.
>> Washburn has out rebounded its opponents in eight-straight games.
>> The Ichabods continue to dominate in offensive rebounds. In Tuesday's game at Northeastern State, WU had 37 total rebounds with 15 offensive boards which it turned into 11 points.
ABOUT THE CENTRAL MISSOURI JENNIES
>> The Jennies won the MIAA regular season and tournament titles last year and were picked third in the 2020-21 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll.
>> UCM holds a 12.5 point scoring margin, averaging 71.6 ppg and holding its opponents to just 59.1 ppg.
>> Central Missouri has limited its opponents to 52 or fewer points in seven games this season.
>> The team ranks second in the MIAA with a 43.9 field goal percentage and is fourth in the conference when shooting the ball from deep with a 34.0 three-point field goal percentage.
>> Three-time MIAA Player of the Week Nija Collier leads the way for the Jennies averaging 15.3 ppg and 7.8 rpg to go with 1.3 bpg.
>> She is third in the MIAA with a 47.6 field goal percentage.
>> Three other Jennies average double-digits in scoring. Graycen Holden averages 13.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and shoots 58.3 percent from the floor.
>> Brooke Littrell (10.2 ppg) and Olivia Nelson (10.0 ppg) round out the UCM top-scorers.
HEAD COACH DAVE SLIFER
>> Dave Slifer is in his 17th season leading the Jennies and 32nd season coaching collegiately. He holds an overall record of 732-251.
>> Slifer has guided the Jennies to 10 NCAA Tournament selections, including an NCAA National Championship in 2018 and currently has a record of 338-150.
>> 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 13-21 when facing Washburn.
SERIES WITH CENTRAL MISSOURI
>> Washburn leads the all-time series 40-24, although Central Missouri has won 10 of the last 12 meetings.
>> WU is 15-12 when playing in Warrensburg.
>> The last time Washburn defeated Central Missouri in the Multipurpose Building was on Jan. 27, 2016.
>> Erika (Lane) Yoder, who is now an assistant coach for Washburn, played 38 minutes of that game and scored seven points to go with seven rebounds and six assists.
>> Coach McHenry is 27-15 against the Jennies.
LAST TIME AGAINST CENTRAL MISSOURI (DEC. 17, 2020)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team fell in its final game of the calendar year to Central Missouri on Thursday, 67-45. With the loss, the Ichabods are now 2-4 while the Jennies remain undefeated at 6-0.
Washburn scored the first point of the game on a made free throw by Macy Doebele and a layup by Nuria Barrientos put the Ichabods up 3-2, but that would be the last time Washburn held a lead in the contest as the Jennies quickly took control. Central Missouri took a 38-22 lead into the break and led by double-digits for the remainder of the game.
The Jennies finished the game making half of their shot attempts, going 24-for-48 from the field, and the Ichabods had a 32.3 field goal percentage (20-of-62). Behind the three-point line, UCM was 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) while WU struggled and made just 2-of-17 (11.8 percent). Central Missouri made 10 more trips to the free throw line than Washburn as the Ichabods went 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.
Barrientos was the top-scorer for the Ichabods with 14 points and added four rebounds. Bentley contributed six points and had a team-high eight boards. Oliver also had six points and had four rebounds to go with one block.
Charley Bovaird led four Jennies in double-figures with 15 points.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 21st season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 471-161 (279-115 MIAA).
>> His .745 winning percentage ranks 21st among active Division 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 952-442-1 (.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 are set to play three games next week starting at Northwest Missouri on Feb. 16 before coming home to take on Missouri Western (Feb. 18) and Northwest Missouri again (Feb. 20).
