TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team begins the final week of the regular season with a home game against Northeastern State on Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Arena.

OPENING TIP
>> Washburn (12-13, 10-9 MIAA) looks to get back in the win column after falling 58-53 in overtime at Northwest Missouri on Saturday
>> The RiverHawks hold a record of 6-20 (4-16 MIAA) after going 1-1 at home last week. They defeated Newman, 64-57, before dropping their game against Central Oklahoma, 74-46.
>> The Ichabods posted a 61-50 win against NSU in Tahlequah on Feb. 5.
>> The RiverHawks are 1-10 this season in true road games.
>> WU is 7-6 when playing in Lee Arena this season and won its last home game, 72-71, against Central Missouri on Feb. 12.
>> These two programs first faced each other in 2010 and Tuesday's game will be the 19th all-time meeting.
>> Washburn leads the all-time series, 12-6, and has won six of the last seven games.

WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods average an 59.5 ppg and have a 40.9 field goal percentage.
>> Hunter Bentley continues her impressive play as she is eighth in the MIAA in scoring with 14.6 ppg.
>> Bentley has scored 10 or more points in eight-consecutive games, including four 20+ point games during that stretch.
>> In Saturday's game, Bentley made 10 field goals for the third time in her career and second time this season, after making 10-of-14 at Northeastern State.
>> Abby Oliver played 38 minutes at Northwest Missouri and finished with seven points and six rebounds to go with two blocks.>> For the season, she is second on the team in scoring with 8.8 ppg and has 4.6 rpg.
>> Macy Doebele scored 14 points against the Bearcats and has now scored exactly 14 points in four games this season.
>> She has started 19 of the 24 games she's played and contributes 8.0 ppg and 5.1 rpg.
>> Nuria Barrientos leads the team with 133 total rebounds this season for a 5.3 rpg average. She also contributes 6.5 ppg and 1.0 bpg.
>> Off the bench, Shae Sanchez averages 6.7 ppg. She has scored in 22 of the 24 games she's played this season.
>> Mackenzie Gamble scores 4.5 ppg and Aubree Dewey adds 3.8 ppg.
>> This season, Washburn is 2-1 in overtime games. WU defeated Oklahoma Baptist, 62-50, on Nov. 13 in extra time as well as Central Oklahoma, 98-93, in Lee Arena on Jan. 29.

MIAA PLAYOFF PICTURE
>> Next week (March 2-6) will be MIAA Tournament at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
>> The top-10 teams in the final standings will compete in the tournament.
>> There's a tie for first in the standings as Fort Hays State and Missouri Southern both hold a 17-3 mark in conference play.
>> Washburn has already clinched a spot in the tournament and is currently eighth in the standings with a 10-9 record.
>> Pittsburg State is close behind at 10-10 and Emporia State is 10th at 8-11.

MILESTONE TRACKER
>> After her 26 point effort at Northwest Missouri, Bentley passed Latisha Yarnell (1984-88) and moved up to No. 6 on Washburn's career scorers list. Bentley currently has 1,567 points in her time as an Ichabod.
>> Doebele is nearing 400 career points and needs 29 more.

EXCELLING ON AND OFF THE COURT
>> On Feb. 17, Bentley earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for the second-straight year.
>> She will now advance on to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot, which will be announced mid-March.
>> Washburn women's basketball has had four Academic All-Americans award winners: Beth Fisher (1992), Jannica Beam (1993), Rhonda MAtzke (1994), and Laura Kinderknecht (2013).
>> Bentley graduated with her bachelor's degree in political science in May 2021 holding a 3.97 GPA and is working towards her master's degree in communication and leadership.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
>> The 2021-22 season marks the 38th season of play in Lee Arena as the facility opened in the 1983-84 season.
>> Washburn is 438-114 all-time in Lee Arena.
>> The Ichabods went 7-4 at home last season.
>> Head Coach Ron McHenry is 247-66 when coaching in Lee Arena.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Macy Doebele hit the game-tying layup with two seconds left in regulation, but the Ichabods fell in overtime at Northwest Missouri on Saturday, 58-53.

Both offenses got off to a slow start and Northwest Missouri (16-9, 11-8 MIAA) hit a three-pointer to lead 9-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bearcats scored eight unanswered points to begin the second frame to push their lead to 17-7. Washburn (12-13, 10-9 MIAA) put together a run of its own midway through the period when Hunter Bentley hit a layup to start a 7-0 spurt to pull within 19-18 with 3:07 left in the opening half. After Northwest Missouri made 4-of-4 at the free throw line, Washburn scored eight of the final 11 points to even the score at 26-all at the break.

Early in the third quarter, Bentley tied the score at 31 to start a 9-0 rally to put the Ichabods in front 38-31 with 3:51 on the clock. The Bearcats responded with a 7-2 run to trim the deficit to 40-38 at the end of three.

The Ichabods missed their first six shots of the fourth quarter while the Bearcats scored five points to retake the lead. Doebele made a layup to get Washburn back within one, 43-42, halfway through the quarter and the teams took turns scoring until a free throw by Abby Oliver and then another bucket by Doebele gave Washburn a 47-46 advantage with 21 seconds to go. Northwest Missouri answered with a three-pointer to go back in front by two with 12 seconds remaining in regulation. The Ichabods called a timeout and started their final possession with 11 seconds on the clock when Doebele made the game-tying basket just before the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

After Northwest Missouri made the first four points in overtime, Washburn made back-to-back baskets to even the score at 53. That would be the final points the Ichabods would score, though, as the Bearcats scored the final five points to capture the 58-53 overtime win.

The Ichabods finished with a 37.7 field goal percentage while the Bearcats shot 29.7 percent. WU made just 1-of-6 from three-point distance and NWMSU was 7-of-30 from deep. The Ichabods outrebounded the Bearcats, 42-36.

Bentley played all 45 minutes and led all scorers with 26 points to go with nine rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Doebele made 6-of-10 from the field and tallied 14 points. Nuria Barrientos grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Bearcats were led by Mallory McConkey's 16 points.

ABOUT THE NORTHEASTERN STATE RIVERHAWKS
>> The RiverHawks average 60.8 ppg with a 38.2 field goal percentage.
>> The team is led by Maleeah Langstaff, who does a little of everything as she leads NSU in scoring (17.2 ppg/sixth in MIAA), shooting percentage (50.3%/second in MIAA), rebounds (8.8 rpg/fifth in MIAA), blocks (1.3 bpg) and assists (2.7 apg/14th in MIAA).
>> Langstaff has recorded eight double-doubles and has been the only player in the MIAA to have a triple-double this season
>> Zaria Collins averages 11.4 ppg and is second on the team in rebounds with 6.9 rpg.
>> True freshman Ashton Hackler leads the team in made three-pointers with 34 total. She averages 7.7 ppg.

HEAD COACH FALA SUIAUNOA
>> Fala Suiaunoa is in her fourth season leading her alma mater Northeastern State and has a record of 27-76 heading into this season.
>> She took the RiverHawks to the MIAA Tournament in her first year with a record of 10-17.
>> Prior to coming to Northeastern State, Bullock was the head coach at Armstrong State for four season and finished with a record of 60-52 with an appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 her first season.
>> She started her coaching career at Central Georgia and was there for two seasons.
>> She is 2-4 against Washburn.

SERIES WITH NORTHEASTERN STATE
>> Washburn leads the series 12-6.
>> Out of the eight times these teams have played in Lee Arena, Washburn has won six of those.
>> Coach McHenry has coached Washburn in all 18 games it has played against Northeastern State.

LAST MEETING WITH NORTHEASTERN STATE
Washburn 61, Northeastern State 50 -- Feb. 5, 2022
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Washburn women's basketball team led from start to finish in a 61-50 victory at Northeastern State on Saturday afternoon.

The Ichabods (10-10, 8-6 MIAA) scored six unanswered points to start the game held a 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Hunter Bentley scored 10 points in the opening frame and made all four of her shot attempts.

The RiverHawks (4-17, 2-13 MIAA) pulled within two points on three occasions in the second quarter, but a jumper from Bentley midway through the period sparked a 10-2 run to push Washburn's lead to double-figures. Northeastern State closed out the quarter making two free throws, but still trailed the Ichabods at the break, 32-24.

Washburn led by as many as 13 in the third quarter before Northeastern State scored the final four points to trim the deficit to 43-34 heading to the final stanza.

The Ichabods opened the fourth quarter on another 10-2 spurt to go up 53-36 with 6:28 left in the game. Northeastern State was unable to get within single digits for the remainder of the game as Washburn rolled to the 11-point win.

Washburn shot an even 50 percent from the field and made 7-of-15 from three-point range while limiting Northeastern State to 30.2 field goal percentage and 6-of-21 from deep. The Ichabods outrebounded the RiverHawks, 31-26, and led in blocks, 6-0.

Bentley made history for Washburn during the game as she passed Shelley Foster (1991-95) to become the program's all-time leader in minutes played with 3,982. She finished the day making 10-of-14 from the field with four three-pointers to lead the Ichabods with 24 points. Bentley also grabbed six rebounds and did not commit a turnover in 38 minutes of playing time.

Abby Oliver was 5-for-7 from the floor and dished out a team-best five assists. Mackenzie Gamble drained three triples to tally nine points and Macy Doebele added seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Maleeah Langstaff paced the RiverHawks with 16 points and seven rebounds.

WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 22nd season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 486-176 (293-126 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 969-458-1 (.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's senior day will take place on Thursday at the conclusion of the Ichabods' game against Missouri Southern.