TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team will play its first road game since Jan. 15 as the Ichabods travel to Tahlequah, Okla. to take on the RiverHawks on Saturday afternoon.
GAME INFORMATION
Washburn (9-10, 7-6 MIAA) vs. Northeastern State (4-16, 2-12 MIAA)
Saturday, Feb. 5 | 1:30 p.m. | Tahlequah, Okla. | NSU Arena
Watch: MIAA Network
Radio: 106.9 FM
Live stats: wusports.com/sidearmstats/wbball
OPENING TIP
>> Washburn's Thursday game at Rogers State was postponed due to winter weather and will now be played on Monday afternoon.
>> The Ichabods' four-game winning streak came to an end on Tuesday as No. 22 Missouri Western rolled to an 80-47 victory in Lee Arena.
>> Washburn is now 9-10 (7-6 MIAA).
>> The RiverHawks (4-16, 2-12 MIAA) are on a four-game losing streak and fell late against Emporia State, 72-69, on Thursday.
>> NSU is 2-6 this season when playing on its home court.
>> Washburn is 2-4 in true road games this season.
>> The Ichabods' last road win occurred at Central Missouri on Dec. 31, 2021.
>> This will be the 18th all-time meeting between these teams and Washburn leads the series, 11-6.
>> Last season, the Ichabods and RiverHawks played each other twice in the span of four days and split the series with Washburn winning in Topeka first, 76-66, before falling on the road, 47-44.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods average 59.8 ppg and have a 40.9 field goal percentage.
>> Hunter Bentley ranks 14th in the MIAA averaging 12.6 ppg. She has led or tied for the team-lead in scoring in 13 games so far this season.
>> Bentley also leads the squad in assists (2.6 apg) and in steals (1.0 spg).
>> Abby Oliver is second on the team in scoring with 8.2 ppg and adds 4.4 rpg off the bench. Out of her 83 total rebounds, 36 have been offensive boards.
>> Macy Doebele is scoring 7.9 ppg and is second on the team in free throw percentage, going 54-of-65 (83.1%) at the charity stripe.
>> Off the bench, Shae Sanchez is averaging 7.4 ppg to go with 3.2 rpg. She has scored in double-figures five times and has tallied nine or more points in each of the past three games.
>> Nuria Barrientos averages 6.3 and leads the team with 5.2 rpg. She is tied with Oliver in leading the Ichabods in blocks with 22.
>> Mackenzie Gamble contributes 5.0 ppg and is second on the team in made three-pointers with 24.
>> Lauren Cassaday rounds out the starting five averaging 4.2 ppg and has a 47.4 field goal percentage.
>> Aubree Dewey averages 4.3 ppg while shooting 43.4 percent from the field.
>> Sixteen out of the 18 available Ichabods played on Tuesday evening with 11 scoring at least one point.
MILESTONE TRACKER
>> Bentley is No. 8 on Washburn's all-time scorers list with 1,441 career points. She needs 27 more to pass former teammate Reagan Phelan.
>> Bentley has played the second-most minutes of any Washburn player with 3,944 in her career and is 35 minutes away from moving up to No. 1. Shelley Foster (1991-95) is the all-time leader with 3,978 minutes played.
>> Barrientos needs 14 rebounds to hit the 300 mark in career rebounds.
>> Dewey is 12 rebounds away from 100 in her time as an Ichabod.
WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
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.
ABOUT THE NORTHEASTERN STATE RIVERHAWKS
>> The Northeastern State RiverHawks started out the season 2-1, but are currently 4-16 (2-12 MIAA).
>> The RiverHawks average 62.2 ppg with a 39.1 field goal percentage.
>> The team is led by Maleeah Langstaff, who does a little of everything as she leads NSU in scoring (17.3 ppg/fifth in MIAA), shooting percentage (52.7%/second in MIAA), rebounds (9.6 rpg/second in MIAA), blocks (1.4 bpg/and assists (2.6 apg/12th in MIAA).
>> Langstaff has recorded seven double-doubles this season and a rare triple-double against Lincoln (Jan. 22), finishing that game with 32 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists.
>> Zaria Collins ranks 11th in the league averaging 13.4 ppg to go with 7.1 rpg.
>> You're not seeing double when the RiverHawks take the court. Identical twins Morgan and Maegan Lee are seniors for NSU and have started 15 games together this season.
>> Maegan Lee has started all 18 games she's played and contributes 9.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, and has dished out 36 assists.
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 2-3 against Washburn.
SERIES WITH NORTHEASTERN STATE
>> The two teams have met 17 times since 2010 with Washburn leading the series 11-6.
>> Although Northeastern State won the last meeting, Washburn had won four in a row prior to that game.
>> Washburn is 5-3 when playing in Tahlequah.
>> Coach McHenry has coached Washburn in all 17 games it has played against Northeastern State.
LAST MEETING WITH NORTHEASTERN STATE
Northeastern State 47, Washburn 44 -- Feb. 9, 2021
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Washburn offense went cold in the fourth quarter as Northeastern State closed out the game on an 11-2 run over the final 5:18 to defeat the Ichabods, 47-44, on Tuesday evening. The RiverHawks are now 5-12 on the season while the Ichabods check in at 7-9.
Both teams traded buckets to start the game and knotted up the scores at 2, 4, and 5 before Washburn went on a 4-0 mini run to go up, 8-5. The Northeastern State defense stood firm and held Washburn scoreless for the final 4:27 of the quarter while scoring four points of its own to retake the lead, 9-8.
The Ichabods put together an 8-2 run to take a 16-15 lead with six minutes left in the opening half. Northeastern State would even the score at 16 and 20, but Washburn made four points in the last 40 seconds to go into the break with a 24-20 advantage. Neither team hit a three-point shot in the first half.
Hunter Bentley opened the second half by making the first of her two triples in the third quarter to give Washburn its largest lead at seven. The Ichabods went into the final frame in front, 38-33.
Neither team scored in the fourth until Bentley hit a pair of free throws at the 7:48 mark. NSU started its offensive rally with a 12-2 run to take the lead at 45-42 with 2:19 left in regulation. A layup by Bentley pulled the Ichabods within one with 47 seconds left on the clock and the Washburn defense forced a Northeastern State shot clock violation to take possession with 22 seconds remaining. Trailing 45-44, the Ichabods drew a foul and had a chance to take back the lead at the charity stripe with 10 seconds left, but neither foul shot fell. Northeastern State made two free throws to push the lead to three and held on for the win.
The Ichabods struggled offensively and tied their-season low field goal percentage at the 28.6 mark and made 2-of-12 from behind the arc. The RiverHawks shot 37.5 percent from the field and were 3-of-14 from deep.
Bentley finished with a double-double, leading all scorers with 20 points to go with 10 boards. Mackenzie Gamble added seven points and two steals.
Northeastern State was led by Cenia Hayes with 17 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 22nd season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 483-173 (290-123 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 966-455-1 (.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 will play a makeup game at Rogers State on Monday at 1 p.m.
