TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team returns to the court for the first time in nearly two weeks and will travel to the Show Me State to take on Missouri Southern on Thursday evening.
GAME INFORMATION
Washburn (5-7, 3-3 MIAA) at Missouri Southern (8-5, 5-2 MIAA)
Thursday, Jan. 13 | 5:30 p.m. | Joplin, Mo. | Leggett and Platt Athletic Center
Watch: MIAA Network
Radio: 106.9 FM
Live stats: wusports.com/sidearmstats/wbball
OPENING TIP
>> Washburn is on a four-game winning streak and captured a 66-59 victory at Central Missouri on Dec. 31 and is now 5-7 overall with a 3-3 record in conference play.
>> Missouri Southern rolled past Northeastern State, 78-62, on Tuesday evening to improve its record to 8-5 (5-3 MIAA).
>> The Lions are 5-3 on their home court.
>> The Ichabods are 2-2 in true road games this season.
>> These two teams split the series last season as Washburn took the first victory in Lee Arena, 56-49, before a fourth quarter surge fell short in Joplin, 59-51.
>> Thursday's game will be the 84th all-time meeting between these programs.
>> Washburn leads the series, 53-30.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods average 59.1 ppg and have a 41.2 field goal percentage.
>> Washburn has finished with a 41 field goal percentage or higher in each of the last four games while achieving 50 percent against Rogers State and Central Missouri.
>> The Ichabods have outrebounded their opponents in eight of their 12 games and 451-385 overall.
>> Hunter Bentley leads Washburn's offense with 12.3 ppg this season. She has scored nine or more points in eight-straight games.
>> Abby Oliver is second on the team with 7.7 ppg to go with 4.6 rpg. She had nine points and seven boards at Central Missouri.
>> Off the bench, Macy Doebele (7.4 ppg and 4.0 rpg) and Shae Sanchez (6.7 ppg) have been helping the Ichabods.
>> Mackenzie Gamble averages 6.3 ppg and has made a three-pointer in 10 of 12 games this season.
>> Nuria Barrientos notched her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She averages 6.1 ppg and leads the team with 5.1 rpg. Barrientos is also fifth in the MIAA with 17 blocks.
>> In the post, Lauren Cassaday contributes exactly 4.8 in both ppg and rpg.
MILESTONE TRACKER
>> Bentley moved up to No. 9 on Washburn's all-time scorers list last week with 1,349 in her career and will pass Joy Benton at No. 8 in eight more points.
>> Bentley is also tied for the third-most minutes played while wearing a Washburn uniform. She has put in 3,697 minutes of work on the hardwood and will pass Reagan Phelan in second in 105 more minutes of playing time.
>> Cassaday is 13 points away from 200 career points as an Ichabods.
>> Oliver is 10 points shy of 300 points in her career.
>> Oliver and Doebele are nearing the 200 mark in rebounds. Oliver needs 12 and Doebele needs 28.
BODS AND ENDS
>> The Ichabods' victory on Dec. 31 marked the first back-to-back wins over UCM since WU defeated the Jennies on March 3, 2012 and then March 2, 2013.
>> The last time Washburn won back-to-back games in Warrensburg was in 2011.
>> With the win at UCM, WU is now 6-0 all-time in New Year's Eve games.
>> Washburn is an even 7-7 when playing on January 13.
WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- A strong defensive effort propelled the Washburn women's basketball team to a 66-59 road win over Central Missouri to wrap up the 2021 calendar year on a four-game winning streak.
The game got off to a slow start for both sides when Hunter Bentley scored five points during a 7-0 run to put Washburn on top 9-4 four minutes into the contest. The Ichabods (5-7, 3-3 MIAA) led by as many as seven in the frame before Central Missouri cut Washburn's lead to 15-13 at the end of the period.
The game remained close and the score stayed within four points for the entirety of the second quarter. Jennies (8-5, 4-2 MIAA) leveled the score at 15-all early in the second quarter when the Ichabods responded with four points to retake the lead. Central Missouri knotted up the score at 24 and then 26 before going up 28-26 on a pair of free throws with 47 left in the first half, taking its first lead since early in the opening quarter. Aubree Dewey hit a jump shot at the buzzer, but Central Missouri held a 31-29 advantage at the break.
The Jennies led 41-35 with 3:54 in the third period when the Ichabods started to chip away at the deficit with a 7-2 run. Trailing 47-44 with 36 seconds to go, Bentley converted on an old-fashioned three-point play to even the score heading into the final stanza.
A layup from Nuria Barrientos knotted up the score at 49 two minutes into the fourth quarter and started a 10-2 rally to push Washburn back in front, 57-51, with 3:54 in regulation. Central Missouri answered with a three-pointer to pull within three points, but Washburn tallied nine of the final 11 points scored in the last three minutes while making 7-of-8 at the free throw line to secure the win and hand UCM its first home loss of the season.
The Ichabods finished the game shooting 51 percent from the floor and held the Jennies to a 35.1 field goal percentage. From behind the arc, WU was 3-for-11 and UCM made 4-of-23 three-point attempts. Washburn outrebounded Central Missouri, 35-31, and scored 14 points off 11 UCM turnovers.
Bentley recorded a team-high 18 points and went a perfect 5-for-5 at the charity stripe. Barrientos notched her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with four blocks and three steals. Shae Sanchez rounded out Washburn's double-figure scorers with 10 points as she made 4-of-7 from the field with two three-pointers.
Brooke Littrell paced UCM with 23 points and Olivia Nelson added 18 points and seven rebounds. The Ichabods held the Jennies' Nija Collier, who averages 22.8 ppg and 13.0 rpg, to just four points and four boards.
ABOUT THE MISSOURI SOUTHERN LIONS
>> A season ago, the Lions went 9-14 (9-13 MIAA) and fell in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinal at Fort Hays State.
>> MSSU leads the MIAA with 4.08 blocks per game and is currently second in the conference with a 34.9 three-point field goal percentage.
>> True freshman Lacy Stokes has made an instant impact in many ways as she leads the team and is sixth in the MIAA averaging 17.1 ppg. She also tops the list in the league with 6.2 apg and 3.2 spg to go with 5.8 rpg, which ranks 13th in the MIAA.
>> Madi Stokes contributes 11.7 ppg and has a conference-best 60.2 field goal percentage and leads the MIAA with 1.8 bpg. Her 6.3 rpg also leads the team and is 10th in the conference.
>> Amaya Johns also averages double-figure scoring at 11.0 ppg.
HEAD COACH RONNIE RESSEL
>> Ronnie Ressel is in his sixth season at the helm of the Lions' bench and has compiled a record of 56-82 heading into this season. He is 1-6 against Washburn.
>> He has been a part of the Missouri Southern athletic department for 20 seasons, serving as an assistant for both the men's and women's programs.
>> Prior to joining the Missouri Southern coaching staff, he was the head coach at Rend Lake College and was named the Great Rivers Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1996.
>> Ressel was a two-time letterwinner for Missouri Southern and led the team in assists both seasons.
SERIES WITH MISSOURI SOUTHERN
>> Washburn's seven-game winning streak against Missouri Southern was snapped in the most recent matchup as the Lions won 59-51 at home on Feb. 25, 2021.
>> WU leads the all-time series, 53-30.
>> The Ichabods have won four of the last five games at Missouri Southern and are 20-18 when playing in Joplin.
>> Coach McHenry is 27-10 against the Lions.
LAST MEETING WITH MISSOURI SOUTHERN
Missouri Southern 59, Washburn 51 -- Feb. 25, 2021
JOPLIN, Mo. -- The Ichabods outscored the Lions 28-13 in the fourth quarter, but Washburn was unable to overcome a dismal second quarter as it fell at Missouri Southern on Thursday evening, 59-51.
Missouri Southern (8-13) began the scoring just over a minute into the game with the first of four three-pointers it would hit in the quarter. Trailing 10-2, Lauren Cassaday sparked a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to two points before the Lions responded with back-to-back triples. Cassaday got another layup to fall with 17 seconds in the opening frame to make it a 16-10 game in favor of Missouri Southern.
The Washburn (10-11) offense hit a complete wall in the second quarter and went 0-for-10 from the field and made just two free throws while the Lions made 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from the floor to push their lead to 35-12 at halftime. Missouri Southern put together a 25-4 scoring run in the final 12:58 in the opening half.
The two teams were closely matched in the third as both scored 11 points.
Down 56-32 with 5:22 left in regulation, Washburn found its fire and chipped away at the deficit with a 19-3 scoring run. Adyson Narber hit the third three-pointer of the quarter with three seconds on the clock to cut the Missouri Southern lead to single-digits.
Missouri Southern finished with a 47.8 field goal percentage (22-of-46) and made 7-of-14 from deep while Washburn had a 32.7 percentage (18-of-55) and hit 4-of-26 attempts from behind the three-point line. The Ichabods out-rebounded the Lions, 33-30, and scored 14 second chance points thanks to 13 offensive rebounds. WU attempted five more free throws than MSSU and finished 11-of-16 at the charity stripe.
Cassaday was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, tying a career-best 15 points and led the team with six rebounds. Nuria Barrientos also contributed 15 points and three boards.
Carley Turnbull paced the Lions with 16 points and Madi Stokes added 11.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 22nd season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 480-170 (287-120 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 962-452-1 (.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 closes out the road trip on Saturday at Pittsburg State. The game is slated for a 1:30 p.m. start time in John Lance Arena.
