TOPEKA, Kan. -- A new era for Washburn women's basketball begins this weekend as first-year head coach Lora Westling and the Ichabods are set to play their only exhibition game of the 2022-23 preseason and will travel to No. 22 Nebraska on Sunday afternoon.

OPENING TIP

• Washburn's 2021-22 season came to an end in the second round of the MIAA Tournament, finishing with an overall record of 14-16.
• The Huskers went 24-9 last year and were a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Washburn returns nine from last year's team, four of whom started more than 50% of games in 2021-22.
• Nebraska welcomes back 10 from last season's roster and lost six. Additionally, three of those started all but three or fewer games.
• These two teams have faced each other only one other time back on Nov. 23, 1985 ... Nebraska won the matchup, 83-64.
• Nebraska has only played three other Division II teams since 1985, most recently Rogers State in 2019 and Nebraska-Kearney in 2018.
• After finishing the 2021-22 regular season in a tie for eighth place in the conference standings, Washburn was voted 10th in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and the Media Poll.
• Nebraska was picked fifth in the 2022-23 Media Big Ten preseason rankings.

GAME INFORMATION
Sunday, Oct. 30 - 1 p.m.
Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, Nebraska

• Tickets can be purchased online here or at the ticket office.
• Ticket costs are: $15 for reserved admission, $10 for general admission, $5 for youth & seniors, and $1 for children six and under general admission.
• The Pinnacle Bank Arena has a clear bag policy.
• For fans not able to make the trip up to Lincoln, they can purchase a pay-per-view to watch online on the B1G+ Network.
• Fans can also tune in to listen to Jake Lebahn's play-by-play call on 106.9 FM or streaming online here.

WASHBURN'S RECENT EXHIBITION HISTORY

• The Ichabods have not played an exhibition game outside of Kansas or Missouri since traveling to Texas to play Baylor in 2017.
• Since the 2016-17 season, Washburn has played exhibitions at Kansas State (2016, 2019, 2021), Kansas (2016, 2018), and Mizzou (2018).
• Washburn's last exhibition win was against the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Nov. 4, 2015 ... Washburn won by five, 61-56.

WASHBURN BY THE NUMBERS

• As a team last year, the Ichabods averaged 60.0 points per game and shot 41.0 percent from the floor and 29.8 percent from three-point range.
• WU also grabbed 37.5 rpg.
• The Ichabods' highest scoring quarter came in the fourth as they totaled 501 points in the frame across 30 games.
• Six of Washburn's losses last year were decided by five or fewer points with half of those being by two or fewer points.
• Washburn went 2-1 in overtime games.
• On Jan. 29, 2022 against Central Oklahoma, the Ichabods added a line in the program's record book and tied for the 13th-most points scored in a single game in the 98-93 overtime victory.
• Washburn hit at least one three-pointer in every game last season and has a three in 46-consecutive games going back to Jan. 16, 2021.
• The 14 player roster is Washburn's smallest roster since the 2015-16 season when there was also 14.

WELCOME BACK, RETURNERS

• Senior Abby Oliver looks to build on her sucessful year last season as she is the top-returner in scoring (9.0 ppg), assists (1.8 apg), blocks (1.0 bpg), and minutes (26.9 mpg) ... she earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention and started 17 of the 30 games. Oliver turned in 14 double-figure scoring games, including a career-high 20 points at Emporia State (Feb. 26).
• Macy Doebele started 23 of the 29 games she played and avaeraged 7.9 ppg while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor to go and returns as the top-rebounder at 5.0 rpg. She finished the year 71-of-91 from the free throw line (78.0%).
• In the post, Lauren Cassaday had the highest shooting percentage of any Ichabod last year as she made 48-of-103 attempts for a 46.6 percentage. She played in 28 games making 21 starts and averaged 4.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg, and 20.6 mpg.
• Last season, shooting guard Mackenzie Gamble made 22 starts in 26 games of action and contributed 4.5 ppg and 1.9 rpg. She was tied for the second-most three-pointers made with 29.
• Aubrey Dewey played in all 30 games in the 2021-22 season with four starts. The point guard chipped in 3.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, and 1.6 apg, to go with 15 steals.
• In her first year as an Ichabod after transferring from K-State, Emma Chapman made 22 appearances and tallied 27 points and 18 boards.
• Austin Broadie, Lakyn Schieferecke, and Jaden Newfarmer also return after seeing limited action last year.
• Dual-sport student-athlete Broadie will officially join and practice with the team at the conclusion of the volleyball season as she is currently a middle hitter for the Washburn volleyball team.

HELLO, NEWCOMERS

• Five freshmen join the team for this year: Gabi Artis (Shawnee, Kan.), Amaya Davison (Des Moines, Iowa), Natalia Figueroa (Madrid, Spain), Yiibari Nwidadah (Olathe, Kan.), and Lizzy Sanders (Suffolk, England).
• Artis, a 5-10 guard, helped the Bishop Miege Mustangs to three state titles (they did not have a chance to win the championship in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). She was an all-league and all-state selection all four years and named the Kansas 4A Player of the Year as a senior.
• A 5-7 guard, Davison improved on her stat numbers all four years she played at Theodore Roosevelt HS. As a senior, she helped the team to a undefeated conference season and hit the game-winning shot to send the team to the state tournament
• Figueroa is a 5-11 guard who averaged 20.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg this past spring for her club team. She was chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the 2022 three-point contest of the College Cup All-Star game.
• A 6-2 center, Nwidadah was an all-state honorable mention as a junior after averaging 11.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and 2.1 bpg.
• Checking in as a 6-1 forward, Sanders played for the County Upper club team in England and as a junior, she averaged 23.3 ppg.
• This season marks the first season before 2006-07 that Washburn has not had a newcomer in the form of a transfer student-athlete.

HUNTER BENTLEY HISTORY

• Among the seven letterwinners lost from last year, one major contributor was Hunter Bentley, the team leader in scoring, assists, steals, and minutes,
• She closed out her five-year career with the Ichabods with her name etched over Washburn's record book. She played every game since her freshman year and is currently first in games played (144) and in minutes (4.356), fourth in steals (201), fifth in three-pointers made (175), fifth in rebounds (757), sixth in scoring (1,645 points), and seventh in field goals made (573).

END OF AN ERA - COACH MCHENRY RETIREMENT

• Five days after the season ended in the MIAA Tournament, former Washburn women's basketball Head Coach Ron McHenry announced his retirement after leading the program for 22 years.
• He was the winningest head coach in program history with a 490-180 record. McHenry led the Washburn Lady Blues to an NCAA Division II National Championship title in 2005, the first NCAA national championship for Washburn athletics in any sport.
• He won eight MIAA regular season titles and seven MIAA tournament championships during his tenure. He was also a four-time MIAA Coach of the Year and a two-time region Coach of the Year.

A NEW ERA - HEAD COACH LORA WESTLING

• Former Washburn women's basketball student-athlete Lora Westling has returned to her alma mater and will begin her first season as head coach in 2022-23.
• Westling returns to her alma mater after six seasons at Western Colorado, where she compiled a record of 77-78 and led the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament selections – the first two in program history.
• Her overall victories is second on the Western all-time list and her 63 RMAC wins is tied for second in program history.
• Prior to Western Colorado, Westling spent three seasons as the head coach at the Division III program, Illinois College.
• Before accepting the head job at Illinois College, Westling was the top assistant at Truman State from 2010-13.
• Westling's first full-time position came at University of Missouri-St. Louis where she was the top assistant from 2007-10.
• She got her start in coaching at Washburn, where she served as a graduate assistant for the women's basketball and women's soccer teams.
• Westling was a standout member of Washburn's women's basketball team from 2001-05 and helped the Lady Blues to the school's first NCAA Division II national championship in 2005.
• She is currently sixth in games played (132), sixth in career three-pointers made (144), 10th in assists (299), and 14th in three-point field goal percentage (.363).
• She also played one season of soccer for the Lady Blues.

WASHBURN ASSISTANT COACHES

• Coach Westling brought in a new coaching staff for her first season and chose J'nae Squires-Horton and Will Marchino as her assistants.
• Squires-Horton served as a graduate assistant at the University of Colorado Springs-Colorado.
• As a student-athlete, Squires-Horton was a three-year member of the MSU Denver basketball team and earned all-RMAC second team honors twice.
• Following her graduation at MSU Denver with a degree in Journalism, Squires-Horton played one season in Latvia with the Latvian Basketball League's SBK Liepaja/LSSS.
• Marchino spend the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Seward County Community College where he oversaw recruiting and scouting.
• Prior to his time in Liberal, Kansas, Marchino was an assistant coach for Grand View University.
• Before making the jump to the college ranks, Marchino was the varsity girls basketball head coach at Iowa Christian Academy.
• Marchino is a 2008 graduate from the University of Iowa where he received his degree in Health and Sports Studies.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
Missouri Southern 62, Washburn 54 (March 3, 2022)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 9 seed Washburn women's basketball team battled to the end, but saw its MIAA postseason run came to an end in the quarterfinals with a 62-54 loss to the No. 1 seed Missouri Southern on Thursday. The Ichabods' season comes to a close with an overall record of 14-16.

The Lions (23-5) extend their winning streak to 16 games and will advance to the tournament semifinal on Saturday.

Missouri Southern jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the game before the Ichabods answered with eight points of their own to level the score with 4:15 on the clock. Lauren Cassaday hit a jumper to knot up the game again at 10, but the Lions made one more basket in the frame to lead 12-10 after the opening 10 minutes.

The Lions led by nine with 3:01 left in the second period when the Ichabods started to chip away at the deficit with a 6-0 spurt to pull within 23-20 at the break.

Washburn carried its momentum into the start of the second half with an 8-2 run and took its first lead of the contest after a jump shot by Nuria Barrientos to make it 28-27 at the 6:49 mark. Missouri Southern found its grove from three-point distance and came storming back with an 18-2 burst to take a 45-30 lead with 93 seconds remaining in the third. Barrientos added a spark for the Ichabods again as she scored all seven points of a 7-0 Ichabod run to close out the quarter to cut Missouri Southern's lead to 45-37.

Trailing 52-39 with 7:18 left in regulation, Washburn clawed its way back into the game with nine unanswered points to get within 52-48 with 4:32 on the clock. A Hunter Bentley jump shot with just under two minutes left made it a three-point affair, but the Ichabods were unable to score again as the Lions put the game away with a three-pointer with 28 seconds left to push their lead to 60-54 before hitting a pair of free throws.

Washburn finished the afternoon shooting 37.9 percent from the floor while holding Missouri Southern to a 35.7 clip. The Ichabods connected on 3-of-15 from three-point range and the Lions made 6-of-20 from deep. MSSU had the edge on the glass, outrebounding Washburn, 42-35.

Bentley led Washburn in scoring for the 21st time this season as she finished the game with 18 points. Barrientos made 6-of-11 from the field to total 14 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Lacy Stokes led all scorers with 22 points and added five assists.Hartman's 21 points.

ABOUT THE NEBRASKA HUSKERS

• Nebraska earned its 15th berth in the NCAA Tournament last year and finished the season 24-9 (11-7 Big Ten) after falling to No. 9 seed Gonzaga, 68-55, in the first round..
• Although the squad lost six players from last year, they return some crucial players including the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Alexis Markowski.
• Markowski led the team 8.0 rebounds per game and added 12.8 points per game (second on the team) while shooting 49.2 percent from the field.
• Also returning is Jaz Shelley, who was an all-conference second team pick after leading the team in scoring (13.1 ppg), assists (160), blocks (30), steals (56), three-pointers (82), three-point shooting percentage (40.6%), and was second in rebounds (6.3).
• A two-time All-Big 10 Honorable Mention, Isabelle Bourne started 31 of the 33 games last year and averaged 23.8 minutes of playing time while putting up 11.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg.

HEAD COACH AMY WILLIAMS

• Amy Williams is beginning her seventh year leading the Huskers and has a record of 96-84 while at Nebraska.
• She has coached a total of 15 seasons with 10 of those being at the Division I level ... her combined coaching record is 289-193 with nine postseason appearances.
• Williams began her career as the first-ever coach at now-MIAA program Rogers State when it was an NAIA team and was there for five years producing four winning seasons and an overall 97-65 mark.
• After her time at RSU, she coached at South Dakota for four years and went 96-44.
• In six seasons at Nebraska, she has to two NCAA postseason appearances.

SERIES WITH NEBRASKA

• According to Washburn's history book, WU has played Nebraska only one other time in its history.
• Washburn traveled to Lincoln to play Nebraska in an official game on Nov. 23, 1985.
• Nebraska came out on top, 83-64.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 971-461-1 (.680) all-time and will commence the 54th 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

• The 2022-23 season will officially kick off with the Washburn Crossover Classic on Nov. 11-12. The Ichabods will host Southwestern Oklahoma and Oklahoma Baptist in the tournament.