TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team looks to get back in the win column on Saturday as the Ichabods travel to Claremore, Okla. to take on Rogers State on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

OPENING TIP

• The Ichabods are looking for their first conference win as they hold a record of 3-4 (0-2 MIAA) after losing to Emporia State last Saturday, 60-53.
• The Hillcats are also in search of their first MIAA victory with a record of 2-7 (0-3 MIAA) after falling to Emporia State on Thursday in a high-scoring 85-79 contest.
• The teams split the season series last year as Washburn won the first matchup, 79-62, in Topeka before coming up short in a makeup game at RSU, 55-54.
• Rogers State went 11-17 overall in 2021-22 with a 7-15 record in MIAA games, finishing 11th in the conference standings.
• In this season's MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, Washburn was picked 10th and Rogers State checked in right where it finished in 11th.

WASHBURN BY THE NUMBERS

• Washburn is averaging 54.7 ppg and has a 37.6 field goal percentage.
• The Ichabods are fourth in the league in fewest points allowed per game as they hold opponents to just 54.6 ppg ... the WU defense has not allowed more than 64 points in any game yet.
• The last time a Washburn team limited its opponents to fewer than 64 points through the first seven games was the 2009-10 season, when the Lady Blues won all seven games and held each of their opponents to less than 59 points.
• The Ichabods will be playing just their second road game of the season on Saturday ... they went 4-8 in road contests last year.
• Six different Ichabods have hit at least one three-pointer.
• Washburn has now made at least one three-pointer in 50-consecutive games going back to Jan. 16, 2021.

WU CREW

• Aubree Dewey has started all seven games and is the only Ichabod averaging doube-figure as she scores 10.6 ppg and has a 43.8 field goal percentage .... she also helps others score and hands out 3.3 assists per game (11th in the MIAA).
• Natalia Figueroa has scored nine or more points in each of the last five games and averages 9.0 ppg ... she led Washburn in scoring against Emporia State, scoring all 10 of her points in the second half. She also averages 3.7 rpg.
• Mackenzie Gamble contributes 7.9 ppg and is tied with Figueroa for the most three-pointers this season with 15. Her three-point field goal percentage of 40.5 ranks fifth among MIAA players and she is seventh in the league averaging 2.1 triples per game.
• Emma Chapman was in the starting lineup again last game and made 4-of-8 from the field and finished with nine points against ESU ... for the season, she averages 7.0 ppg with a 44.2 field goal percentage and 5.3 rpg.
• Macy Doebele played a season-high 31 minutes against the Lady Hornets on Saturday and had six points while dishing out a career-best six assists. This season, she averages 6.3 rpg, 6.0 ppg and shoots 48.7 percent from the field.
• Yiibari Nwidadah scored a season-high eight points against Emporia State with seven of those coming in the fourth quarter. She also had a game-high 10 rebounds. After four games, the freshman center is averaging 4.8 ppg and 5.0 rpg.
• Gabi Artis has played the last three games off the bench and is averaging 4.4 ppg. The freshman tied a season-high in rebounds against ESU with four defensive boards.
• Lauren Cassaday has started the last five games and averages 4.9 rpg and 3.1 ppg.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has played in all seven games and averages 10.3 minutes per game off the bench ... she hit her first career three-pointer against Emporia State.
• Austin Broadie made her first appearance on the basketball court for the 2022-23 season against ESU after joining the team at the conclusion of Washburn volleyball's season ... the middle hitter played in all 32 matches for the Ichabods and was fourth on the team in kills (221) and blocks (64).

ON THIS DAY

• Washburn is 8-5 all-time when playing on December 10th.
• The most recent Dec. 10 game was at Nebraska-Kearney in 2016 where the Ichabods came away with a 57-48 win.

HEAD COACH LORA WESTLING

• Former Washburn women's basketball student-athlete Lora Westling has returned to Topeka 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
Emporia State 58, Washburn 43 (Dec. 3, 2022)
TOPEKA, Kan. –  The Washburn women's basketball team held a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but a cold-shooting second and third quarter proved costly for the Ichabods as they lost to Emporia State on Saturday afternoon, 58-43.

Washburn (3-4, 0-2 MIAA) jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead to begin the game with Emma Chapman making a pair of layups during the opening run. Emporia State (5-1, 1-0 MIAA) ended the first quarter on a 5-0 scoring run to trim the deficit to 9-8.

The Lady Hornets took their first lead of the game 47 seconds into the second quarter with a jumper by Tre'Zure Jobe. Washburn went back in front with five unanswered points, but Emporia State rattled off a 10-0 run in a three minute, 22 second time span to go up, 20-14. Chapman converted on an old-fashioned three-point play, but the Lady Hornets hit a jumper with 22 seconds left to take a 22-17 lead into the break.

In the third quarter, the Emporia State offense outscored Washburn, 23-7, and shot 58.33 percent from the field (7-of-12) and went 8-of-11 from the free throw line and held the Ichabods to just 2-of-16 from the floor (12.5 percent) and 1-of-2 at the charity stripe. Emporia State held a 45-24 lead to going into the fourth quarter.

Washburn outscored Emporia State in the final quarter, 19-13, and had a 7-0 run and a 9-2 run in the frame, but it was not enough as the Ichabods lost the contest by double-digits.

Emporia State finished the afternoon shooting 35.3 percent from the field and limited Washburn to 28.1 percent shooting. Both teams made five three-pointers and Washburn had just one more attempt from beyond the arc than Emporia State. The Lady Hornets made 21 trips to the free throw line and successfully made 17 of those charity shots while the Ichabods went 6-of-11. WU had one more rebound than ESU, 39-38.

Natalia Figueroa led Washburn with 10 points and added nine rebounds. Chapman was close behind with nine points and Yiibari Nwidadah recorded a season-high in points with eight and in rebounds, grabbing a team-best 10 boards.

Jobe led Emporia State with 18 points and Stevie Stinchcomb chipped in 14 points, shooting 4-of-5 from the field with two three-pointers and made 4-for-4 at the free throw line.

ABOUT THE ROGERS STATE HILLCATS

• The Hillcats are coming off an 11-17 (7-15 MIAA) record a season ago and return just six players from that roster while welcoming nine newcomers.
• Bailey Kliewer is the top-returner after she led last year's team with 12.7 ppg while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and tying for the team-high in rebounds with 5.4 boards per game.
• Through nine games so far, Kliewer is averaging 12.2 ppg and 4.9 rpg and has made a team-best eight blocks ... she scored 18 points against Emporia State and went 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
• Jordan Lewis is back for her second season with Rogers State and is also contributing double-figure scoring with 10.3 ppg to go with 3.0 rpg.
• Tangee Gagau, a freshman, is tied with Kliewer for the most three-pointers so far this season with 10 ... she is third on the team in scoring with 6.9 ppg.
• Kaya Goldsby ranks in the top-15 in the league in assists and steals as she averages 2.1 spg (eighth) and 3.1 apg (14th).

HEAD COACH KYLE BENT

• Kyle Bent is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Hillcats and has a record of 35-71.
• Prior to joining Rogers State's program, he spent four seasons at the Martin Methodist College where he became the winningest coach in school history with a record of 95-38 and four-straight NAIA National Tournament appearances.
• He was also the head coach at Danville Area Community College for four seasons.
• Bent earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in sport management from the University of Illinois.

SERIES WITH ROGERS STATE

• The first time these two programs played each other was on Feb. 15, 2020 in Claremore after Rogers State joined the MIAA starting in the 2019-20 season ... Washburn won, 80-53.
• Washburn leads the all-time series, 3-2.
• Both of Washburn's losses to Rogers State were by three or fewer points.
• The Ichabods are 2-1 when facing the Hillcats in Claremore.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME AGAINST ROGERS STATE
Rogers State 55, Washburn 54 (Feb. 7, 2022)
CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Washburn women's basketball team outscored Rogers State 36-20 in the second half, but a cold-shooting second quarter proved costly as the Ichabods lost 55-54 on Monday afternoon.

Rogers State (10-13, 6-11 MIAA) broke a 5-all tie with a three-pointer midway through the opening quarter to begin a 14-2 run to push its lead to 19-7 with 2:01 on the clock. Abby Oliver made a layup and Hunter Bentley followed that up with a triple to cut the deficit to single digits, but Rogers State remained in front, 20-12, at the end of the first period.

Washburn's (10-11, 8-7 MIAA) offense went cold in the second quarter as it hit just 2-of-10 from the field and made those two baskets in the final 90 seconds of the frame while Rogers State took a 35-18 advantage into the break.

The Ichabods came out firing to start the second half and outscored the Hillcats 20-9 to trim the deficit to 44-38 at the end of the third quarter.

Bentley started the fourth with a bang with another three-pointer as the Ichabods kept the game within reach throughout the quarter. Washburn pulled within one point with 2:29 left in regulation and then again with 48 seconds left when Bentley hit a pair of free throws, but the Ichabods were unable to complete the comeback as their last second shot fell short of the basket.

The Ichabods finished with a higher shooting percentage, making 21-of-48 from the floor for a 43.8 clip while the Hillcats were 21-of-61 to have a 34.4 field goal percentage. Bentley made all six of Washburn's three-pointers as the Ichabods went 6-for-20 from deep and the Hillcats were 4-of-21. Washburn had a slight edge on the glass and outrebounded RSU, 30-29.

Bentley was one point shy of tying her career-high as she finished the afternoon with 28 points while shooting 6-of-9 from three-point range. She also added five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Nuria Barrientos and Oliver each contributed 10 points and combined for nine rebounds.

Three from Rogers State finished in double-figure scoring led by Vanessa Gajdosova's 13 points and 11 rebounds.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 974-465-1 (.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 play only one game again next week as it hosts Missouri Western on Saturday, Dec. 17.