TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team (2-2) will finish its five-game homestand hosting Central Christian College on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Lee Arena.

OPENING TIP

• The Ichabods went 1-1 last weekend at the Washburn Classic, defeating Southern Nazarene, 65-63, before falling to Rockhurst, 52-47.
• The Tigers, who compete in the NAIA, are looking for their first win of the season as they are 0-6.
• Wednesday's game will be an official game for Washburn, but will count as an exhibition for Central Christian.
• Central Christian will play an exhibition at Newman on Tuesday before traveling to Topeka.
• Washburn has one more non-conference game left in its schedule as it is slated to host another NAIA team in Bethany College on Dec. 29.
• The Ichabods' 2021-22 season came to an end in the second round of the MIAA Tournament, finishing with an overall record of 14-16.
• Central Christian College went 1-29 last season.

WASHBURN BY THE NUMBERS

• Washburn is averaging 56.0 ppg and has a 38.3 field goal percentage.
• In each of the Ichabods' four games so far, they have led in rebounds and three-pointers over their opponents.
• Washburn has outscored opponents 59-39 combined in the second quarter.
• The Ichabods have held a lead at halftime in all four games.
• All 11 Ichabods who have played more than five minutes have at least two points this season.
   

THREE PARTY

• Washburn is currently third among MIAA teams with a 35.4 three-point field goal percentage as the Ichabods average 7.0 triples per game.
• WU has made almost double the amount of three-pointers it has allowed (28 to 15).
• In the win over SNU, Washburn went 7-of-12 from deep for a 58.3 three-point efficiency.
• Five Ichabods have made a shot from behind the arc, led by Mackenzie Gamble's 11.
• Washburn made at least one three-pointer in every game last season and both games this season, giving them a triple in 48-consecutive games going back to Jan. 16, 2021.
   

WU CREW

• Aubree Dewey dropped a career-high 20 points and shot 57% from the field in the two-point victory over Southern Nazarene to bump her scoring average to 10.8 ppg ... she also leads the team with 3.8 apg.
• Three-point specialist Gamble has made a triple in every game this season and shoots it 44% from behind the arc. Out of her 14 made baskets, 11 of those have been threes. For the season, she averages 10.3 ppg.
• Freshman Natalia Figueroa has started all four games and contributes 7.8 ppg ... she scored a season-high 14 points against Southern Nazarene and has recorded three triples in back-to-back games.
• Off the bench in two games last week, Emma Chapman almost averaged a double-double with 9.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg ... she grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds against Rockhurst. Chapman, who scored 27 points in 22 games played for a total of 149 minutes last year, has already surpassed her season point total with 31 points in 83 minutes.
• Macy Doebele averages 6.3 ppg and 6.0 rpg ... she has had five or more rebounds in each game so far.
• Lauren Cassaday started both games of the Washburn Classic and helped the team defensively ... she got three steals over the weekend and averages 5.8 rpg on the young season.
• Yiibari Nwidadah made her collegiate debut in the third quarter against Rockhurst, where she recorded six points and four rebounds.
• Amaya Davison crossed a first off her freshman list as she scored her first basket in the game against Rockhurst ... she also made all four of her free throw attempts to finish with seven points.
   

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

• The 2022-23 season marks the 39th season of play in Lee Arena as the facility opened in the 1983-84 season.
• Washburn is 441-117 all-time in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods went 8-7 at home last season.

A NEW ERA - HEAD COACH LORA WESTLING

• Former Washburn women's basketball student-athlete Lora Westling has returned to her alma mater and is in 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
Rockhurst 52, Washburn 47 (Nov. 19, 2022)
TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn women's basketball held a seven-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but made just 1-of-12 from the field in the last 10 minutes as Rockhurst outscored Washburn 18-6 in the period to take the win, 52-47, on Saturday afternoon.

Washburn (2-2) led for the entire first quarter that was started with a jumper by Macy Doebele. The Ichabods shot 42.8 percent from the field and went 4-of-7 from behind the arc to take a 16-12 advantage into the second period.

Rockhurst (2-3) used a 7-2 run to knot up the score at 22 with 2:06 left in the second quarter. With just under a minute left, Aubree Dewey made a jump shot to give the Ichabods back the lead at 24-22 with the final points scored of the first half.

The Hawks scored the first four points of the second half to take their first lead of the game, 26-24, at the 6:34 mark. Trailing 28-26, Natalia Figueroa drained a three-pointer to put the Ichabods back up by one and spark a 10-2 scoring run. Emma Chapman made a pair of free throws to extend the Washburn lead to 41-34 at the end of the third quarter. Freshman Yiibari Nwidadah made her collegiate debut in the third and contributed six points and four rebounds.

In the final quarter, Rockhurst scored six unanswered points to pull within one, 41-40. Amaya Davison hit a pair of free throws for Washburn's first points of the period at the 7:05 mark. The Hawks hit a jumper at 5:15 to make it a one-point affair yet again and followed that up with an 8-0 run to go in front, 50-43. Dewey made a jumper with 21 seconds left and then two free throws eight seconds later, but it wasn't enough as Rockhurst claimed the 52-47 victory.

The Ichabods shot 28.1 percent from the floor while the Hawks had a 34.5 field goal percentage. From three-point range, Washburn was 6-for-24 and Rockhurst made just 2-of-11. WU outrebounded RU, 47-36. Washburn struggled at the free throw line and converted on 9-of-18 opportunities while Rockhurst made 12-of-17.

All eight of the Ichabods that attempted a shot scored in the game. Aubree Dewey, Natalia Figueroa, and Emma Chapman all recorded nine points to lead the Ichabod scorers. Chapman grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds, six of which were offensive boards.

Keegan Sullivan made 7-of-16 from the field to lead Rockhurst with 15 points to go with seven rebounds.

ABOUT THE CENTRAL CHRISTIAN TIGERS

• The Tigers went 1-29 last season and their one victory was on Nov. 16, 2021 against Ozark Christian College, 50-41.
• Through six games, Central averages 47.7 ppg and shoots 30.7 percent from the field.
• Olivia Bell leads the offense with 13.7 ppg and has a 36.8 field goal percentage ... she is also second on the team in rebounds (5.5 rpg) and  steals (1.3 spg).
• Hailee Winsea is second on the squad in scoring with 5.8 ppg and Kylee Jones is third with 5.2 ppg.
• On the boards, Briasia Garza contributes a team-best 5.7 rpg. She also helps the team defensively with 3.2 spg.

HEAD COACH MATT BARREIRO

• Matt Barreiro is in his second season leading Central Christian College.
• Prior to joining the CCCK, Barreiro spent the previous seven years in Canada serving as a head men's basketball coach and kinesiology instructor.
• Before that, he was an assistant WBB coach at Anderson University (NCAA III), St. Ambrose University (NAIA), and Hannibal-LaGrange University (NAIA).

SERIES WITH CENTRAL CHRISTIAN

• This will be the first-ever meeting between Washburn and Central Christian.
• WASHBURN HISTORY
• Washburn women's basketball is 973-463-1 (.678) all-time and are in 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

• Washburn will jump right into conference play on Nov. 28 as the Ichabods travel to Oklahoma to take on Northeastern State.