TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team will face its second opponent ranked in the top-15 this week as the Ichabods are set for the MIAA Tournament semifinal against the third seed and No. 14-ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Hays, Kan.
OPENING TIP
>> This season, the MIAA Tournament semifinal games and championship game will be held at the site of the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals, which was the top-seed Fort Hays State.
>> The Ichabods (12-11) are coming off a huge 63-55 upset quarterfinal win at No. 15-ranked and second seed Central Missouri on Wednesday evening.
>> The Lopers (20-3) cruised in their quarterfinal game against Pittsburg State, 66-50.
>> Washburn faced Nebraska-Kearney in its season-opener back on Nov. 21, 2020, with the Lopers taking the 62-52 victory.
WASHBURN IN THE MIAA TOURNAMENT
>> Washburn has competed in the MIAA Tournament every year since it was eligible starting in the 1990-91 season.
>> Washburn has won nine MIAA Tournament titles.
>> WU is 41-21 all-time in MIAA postseason play and 11-7 in semifinal games.
>> When playing as the No. 7 seed and including Wednesday night's game, Washburn is 2-6.
>> When facing the No 3 seed, WU is 5-4.
>> This season will mark the first time since 2002 that the tournament will not be played at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
>> Washburn has never faced Nebraska-Kearney in the MIAA postseason.
>> The Ichabods last reached the semifinal game in the 2018-19 season when they took on Fort Hays State and fell, 75-48.
>> WU is 26-6 in MIAA Tournament games held at neutral sites, but has never played a postseason game in Hays.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> Washburn shoots 39.3 percent from the field while averaging 60.0 ppg and allowing the second-lowest opponent scoring average in the MIAA at 57.5 ppg.
>> Hunter Bentley has scored 10 or more points in all but three games this season and led the Ichabods with 19 points in the upset win at No. 15 Central Missouri on Wednesday.
>> She is eighth in the MIAA with 15.7 ppg and her 90.5 free throw percentage is best in the league and ranks sixth in Division II.
>> Bentley and Nuria Barrientos have logged over 790 minutes of playing time this season and Bentley ranks second in the nation in minutes played (828:57) while Barrientos is fourth in DII (791:01).
>> Barrientos has done a little bit of everything during her time on the court as she averages 10.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.7 sp, and 1.3 bpg.
>> Mackenzie Gamble has drained four or more three-pointers in the past two games to boost her scoring average to 7.7 ppg. She hit all four triples in the third quarter at UCM and totaled 14 points in that frame.
>> Macy Doebele averages 5.9 ppg and 4.2 rpg. She scored 11 points against the Jennies and grabbed six rebounds, including three offensive boards.
>> Aubree Dewey rounds out the starting five with 5.7 ppg and 2.1 apg.
>> Adyson Narber played a career-high 26 minutes at Central Missouri and grabbed a career-high five rebounds and led the team with four assists.
LAST TIME OUT
>> Just five Ichabods scored in Wednesday's upset win at No. 15 Central Missouri, but that was all they needed as four finished in double-figures in the 63-55 win.
>> Washburn held UCM to its lowest shooting percentage of the season at 29.1 percent (16-of-55).
>> Washburn finished the first half on a 13-3 scoring run to take the lead and never trailed again.
>> Wednesday's game marked the first win in Warrensburg for the Ichabods since Jan. 27, 2016, and just the fifth time overall Washburn had won a game in the MIAA Tournament as the lower seed.
ABOUT THE NEBRASKA-KEARNEY LOPERS
>> The Nebraska-Kearney Lopers went 26-6 last sesason reached the MIAA semifinals, but fell to Emporia State.
>> UNK has lost just three games this season, two against Fort Hays State and once against Central Missouri.
>> The Lopers boast the a solid defense as they hold opponents to the lowest-scoring average in the MIAA at 52.8 ppg.
>> Offensively, they have the best field goal percentage in the conference at 44.5 percent.
>> Elisa Backes averages 13.3 ppg and has blocked 23 total shot attempts.
>> Also averaging double-figures is Brooke Carlson with 10.2 ppg to go with 5.8 rpg.
>> The top-rebounder on the team, Klaire Kirsch, averages 9.3 rpg and adds 7.4 ppg.
HEAD COACH CARRIE EIGHMEY
>> Carrie Eighmey is in her sixth season leading the Lopers and holds a record of 110-60.
>> The Lopers have reached the MIAA Tournament all six seasons since Eighmey took over.
>> Prior to joining UNK, Eighmey was the head coach at her alma mater, Hastings College. In three seasons (2012-15), she compiled a record of 68-31 including an NAIA Final Four and an NAIA Elite Eight appearance.
>> She was also an assistant at Fort Hays State (2008-12) and started out as an assistant at Hastings (2004-08) right after she graduated.
>> As a student-athlete at HC, she was named a first team All-American her senior year and finished with program records for career assists and steals. She was also a part of back-to-back NAIA National titles in 2002 and 2003.
>> Eighmey is joined on the UNK bench by her husband, who has been an assistant coach since 2015.
>> She is 3-5 when coaching against Washburn.
SERIES WITH NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
>> Washburn holds a 28-15 series advantage over Nebraska-Kearney.
>> Coach McHenry is 11-4 when facing the Lopers.
>> These two teams have never played at a neutral site.
>> The Lopers have won three of the last four meetings.
LAST TIME AGAINST NEBRASKA-KEARNEY (NOV. 21, 2020)
KEARNEY, Neb. – Despite a late offensive push, the Washburn women's basketball team fell in its season opener Saturday afternoon at Nebraska-Kearney, 62-52. With the win, the Lopers improve to 2-0 on the season while the Ichabods are now 0-1.
Washburn got on the board first as Nuria Barrientos scored on her first shot attempt as an Ichabod. Hunter Bentley knotted up the game at 9-all with a jumper at the 4:36 mark and Barrientos followed that up with a jump shot of her own to give the Ichabods an 11-9 lead. Those were the last points Washburn would score in the opening quarter, though, as Nebraska-Kearney closed out the frame on a 7-0 run to make it 16-11 and held Washburn scoreless in the final 3:53.
The Ichabods struggled offensively in the second period, shooting just 29.4 percent from the field (5-of-17) while the Lopers shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the floor and went 3-for-4 from behind the arc. The Lopers pushed their lead to double-figures and went into halftime in front, 35-23.
Nebraska-Kearney held its greatest lead of the game at 19 points midway through the third and led 51-36 at the end of the quarter.
Trailing by 15 to start the final stanza, freshman Lauren Cassaday got things going for Washburn with back-to-back layups and then Hunter Bentley converted on a Loper turnover and got a layup to fall to cut the deficit to 51-42 with 7:59 on the clock. Macy Doebele extended the Washburn scoring run to 8-0 with a jumper to get the Ichabods within seven, 51-44. The Lopers scored their first basket of the quarter at 5:46 with a big three-pointer to push their lead to double-digits again. Washburn chiseled the deficit down to seven points on two different occasions, but the push was too late as the Lopers held on for the win.
UNK finished the day shooting 46 percent from the field (23-of-50) while WU shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51). The Ichabods were 8-of-10 from the floor in the fourth quarter. The Lopers hit 6-of-16 from deep while the Ichabods made 4-of-11 from three-point land. Washburn attempted just two free throws in the game and made both and the Lopers were 10-for-15 at the charity stripe. Nebraska-Kearney won the rebound battle, 32-27.
Doebele made 5-of-7 from the field and led the Ichabods with 12 points. Aubree Dewey started in her Washburn debut and chipped in nine points. Hunter Bentley added seven points, six rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Barrientos, Sanz, and Abby Oliver all contributed six points.
Three Lopers finish in double-figures, led Broke Carlson and Trinity Law, who both scored 13 points.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 21st season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 476-163 (283-117 MIAA).
>> His .744 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 957-445-1 (.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
>> If the Ichabods win on Saturday, they will play in the MIAA Tournament Championship on Sunday in Hays, Kan.
