TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team will travel to St. Joseph, Mo. to take on Missouri Western on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
Washburn (12-11, 10-7 MIAA) at Missouri Western (19-5, 13-5 MIAA)
Thursday, Feb. 17 | 5:30 p.m. | St. Joseph, Mo. | MWSU Fieldhouse
Watch: MIAA Network
Radio: 106.9 FM
Live stats: wusports.com/sidearmstats/wbball
OPENING TIP
>> Washburn (12-11, 10-7 MIAA) is coming off a thrilling 72-71 victory over Central Missouri in Lee Arena on Saturday.
>> The Griffons, who were ranked No. 21 last week, dropped out of the top-25 after road double-figure road losses at Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State.
>> MWSU (19-5, 13-5 MIAA) defeated Emporia State in White Auditorium on Tuesday evening, 81-67.
>> Missouri Western won the first matchup against Washburn this season, rolling to a 80-47 win in Lee Arena on Feb. 1.
>> The Griffs have done well on their home court this season with a 12-2 record.
>> Their only losses in the MWSU Fieldhouse were to Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays back on Jan. 13 and 15.
>> Washburn is 4-5 on the road and has won two of its last three road contests.
>> This will be the 101st all-time meeting between these programs since 1976.
>> Washburn leads the all-time series, 57-43.
>> The Ichabods have five games remaining in the regular season before the MIAA Tournament at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. March 2-6.
>> The top-10 teams will compete in the tournament.
>> Washburn is currently sixth in the conference standings.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods average an even 60.5 ppg and have a 41.6 field goal percentage.
>> Hunter Bentley moved up to No. 9 in scoring in the MIAA averaging 14.1 ppg after putting up double-figures in the last six-consecutive games including three 20+ point games.
>> Bentley is also seventh in the league with a 44.4 field goal percentage.
>> Abby Oliver scored a season-high 17 points in the win over Central Missouri with 10 of those happening during the fourth quarter comeback.
>> For the season, Oliver averages 8.9 ppg and 4.5 rpg and leads the team with 25 blocks.
>> Macy Doebele is third on the team in scoring at 7.9 ppg and second in rebounds with 5.1 rpg.
>> Against the Jennies, Doebele she grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds to go with seven points.
>> Nuria Barrientos leads the Ichabods with 5.3 rpg to go with 6.9 ppg. She has scored exactly 12 points in back-to-back games.
>> Off the bench, Shae Sanchez contributes 7.1 ppg. She scored seven points against Central Missouri and now has scored four or more points in 20 of the 22 games she's played this season.
>> Mackenzie Gamble averages 4.7 ppg and has made at least one three-pointer in 15 games and is second on the team with 29 total triples.
>> Aubree Dewey averages 15.1 mpg off the bench and averages 3.9 ppg and 2.1 rpg.
>> She has played in all 23 games and has scored at least one basket in 19 of those.
>> Seven of the eight Ichabods who played against Central Missouri scored four or more points.
>> Going back to last season's MIAA Tournament quarterfinal, the Ichabods have won three-straight games against Central Missouri.
>> The last time Washburn won three or more consecutive games against Central Missouri was an eight-game winning streak from 2009-2011 when WU's team was still called the Lady Blues.
MILESTONE TRACKER
>> Bentley needs 34 more points to pass Latisha Yarnell (1984-88) and move up to No. 6 on Washburn's career scorers list.
>> Dewey and Gamble are nearing the century mark in career rebounds, needing three and four more boards, respectively, to reach 100.
>> Oliver eclipsed 400 points in her career after scoring 17 against Central Missouri. She now has 402 in her time as an Ichabod.
WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn women's basketball team took its first lead of the second half with 2:06 left in regulation and then later forced a Central Missouri turnover in the final seconds to capture the 72-71 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Ichabods have now won the last three meetings against the Jennies dating back to last season's MIAA Tournament quarterfinal victory. The last time Washburn won three or more consecutive games against Central Missouri was an eight-game winning streak from 2009-2011.
The opening quarter was wire-to-wire with four lead changes and four ties. Hunter Bentley hit a three-pointer with two seconds left on the clock to give Washburn (12-11, 10-7 MIAA) the 20-16 advantage at the end of the first period.
Central Missouri (16-9, 12-6 MIAA) came out firing in the second quarter and shot 61.5 percent from the field to outscore Washburn, 20-9, and take a 36-29 lead into the break.
The Ichabods trailed by eight, 49-41, with just under two minutes left in the third when Nuria Barrientos made a layup to start a 7-0 burst to close out the frame and pull Washburn within one, 49-48.
The Jennies pushed their lead back up to seven with 7:42 in the final stanza when Washburn started to make its move. An 8-2 run that included triples from Bentley and Shae Sanchez made it a one-point contest again with 6:10 to go. A wide open three-pointer by Macy Doebele leveled the score at 65 and ignited a 10-3 spurt by the Ichabods to give them a 72-68 lead with 1:42 on the clock. The Jennies converted on an old-fashioned three-point play with 90 seconds remaining to pull within one, 72-71, but those would be the final points of the game. Central Missouri had the final possession with 4.8 seconds on the clock, but were unable to inbound the ball cleanly and ultimately turned it over right before the buzzer.
The Ichabods shot an even 50 percent on the day while the Jennies finished at 47.2 clip. Behind the arc, Washburn was 8-of-21 and Central Missouri was 6-for-18. WU finished with a slight edge in rebounds, 30-28, and scored 11 points off of 13 UCM turnovers.
Bentley played the entirety of the contest and led the Ichabods with 19 points, five assists, and three steals. Abby Oliver made 8-of-12 from the field and totaled 17 points. Barrientos chipped in 12 points and six boards. Doebele led the team with 11 rebounds to go with seven points.
Brooke Littrell also played 40 minutes of the contest and finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and two assists.
ABOUT THE MISSOURI WESTERN GRIFFONS
>> After going just 6-16 in the conference-only 2020-21 schedule, Missouri Western opened the new season on a nine-game winning streak and is currently 19-5 (13-5 MIAA).
>> The Griffons currently lead the league averaging 75.8 ppg and are fourth with a 44.2 field goal percentage.
>> Three players are in the top-15 in the MIAA in scoring: Brionna Budgetts (13.1 ppg/No. 11), Connie Clarke (12.8 ppg/No. 13), and Corbyn Cunningham (12.4 ppg/No. 15).
>> Clarke leads the team and is sixth in the conference with 8.6 rpg. She also has made a team-best 20 blocks and 44 steals.
>> Three-point specialist Jaelyn Haggard has made a team-high 38 triples this season and shoot 35.5 percent from behind the arc.
HEAD COACH CANDI WHITAKER
>> Candi Whitaker is in her third year with the Griffons and held a record of 27-24 heading into this season.
>> Whitaker brings ample coaching experience to the program as she was most recently the head coach at Texas Tech (2013-18) and also led the UMKC women's team (2006-12).
>> She became one of the youngest head coaches in women's basketball, taking over the UMKC program at age 26 and winning 83 total games in her tenure to rank as the second-winningest coach in program history.
>> She also served as an associate head coach at Oklahoma State (2012-13) and started her coaching career as an assistant at Valparaiso (2002-04).
>> As a student-athlete, Whitaker played two seasons at Seward County Community College and then transferred to Texas Tech where she helped the Lady Raiders to back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.
>> She is 3-2 against Washburn.
SERIES WITH MISSOURI WESTERN
>> Washburn won the very first game of the series against Missouri Western on Jan. 17, 1976 in overtime, 74-70.
>> WU leads the all-time series, 57-43.
>> When playing against on the Griffons' home court, WU is 29-26.
>> The Ichabods won in St. Joe the last time they played there, posting a 61-49 win on Jan. 9, 2021.
>> Coach McHenry is 33-15 against Missouri Western.
LAST MEETING WITH MISSOURI WESTERN
Missouri Western 80, Washburn 47 -- Feb. 1, 2022
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn women's basketball team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday as No. 22 Missouri Western rolled to an 80-47 victory in Lee Arena.
Missouri Western (17-3, 11-3 MIAA) got off to a hot start, making a three-pointer in three of its first four possessions to jump out to a 9-3 advantage. The Griffons led by as many as 13 before the Ichabods (9-10, 7-6 MIAA) ended the quarter on a 7-3 run to trim Missouri Western's lead to 21-12.
The Griffons' offense rolled into the second quarter and extended their lead to 40-23 at the break.
Missouri Western continued its attack in the second half and capitalized on offensive rebounds and Ichabod miscues as it pushed its lead to 20 midway through the third quarter. The Ichabods were unable to get the contest within 20 points again as the Griffons cruised to the 33 point victory.
The Ichabods finished the evening shooting 32.8 percent from the floor while the Griffons shot just under 50 percent at a 49.2 clip. Missouri Western was 6-of-13 from deep and made four in the first quarter and Washburn made 4-of-15 from three-point distance. The Griffons outrebounded the Ichabods, 42-36, and scored 14 second chance points on 10 offensive boards.
Hunter Bentley led Washburn with 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. Nuria Barrientos added six points and Mackenzie Gamble had five. Macy Doebele and Abby Oliver led the team with seven rebounds apiece.
Three Griffons put up double-figures, paced by Brionna Budgetts' 19 points.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 22nd season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 486-174 (293-124 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.
>> Herber has filled in as the head coach for three total games this season and holds a record of 2-1.
>> 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 969-456-1 (.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 week at Northwest Missouri on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Maryville, Mo.
