TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team closes out its three-game road swing on Thursday in a battle of two capital city teams as the Ichabods take on Lincoln in Jefferson City, Mo.
GAME INFORMATION
Washburn (10-11, 8-7 MIAA) at Lincoln (5-17, 1-15 MIAA)
Thursday, Feb. 10 | 5:30 p.m. | Jefferson City, Mo. | Jason Gymnasium
Watch: MIAA Network
Radio: 106.9 FM
Live stats: wusports.com/sidearmstats/wbball
OPENING TIP
>> Washburn is 10-11 (8-7 MIAA) on the season after its second half surge fell just short at Rogers State on Monday, 55-54.
>> The Blue Tigers are on a seven-game losing streak and hold a record of 5-17 (1-15 MIAA). Their one conference win was against Newman, 51-50, on Jan. 13.
>> LU is 3-7 this season when playing in its home court.
>> Washburn is 3-5 in true road games this season.
>> The Ichabods won the last meeting against the Blue Tigers, 73-49, on Jan. 19, 2021, in Lee Arena.
>> Washburn has won all 32 games it has ever played against Lincoln.
>> The Ichabods are 0-2 when playing on Thursdays this season.
WASHBURN NOTES
>> The Ichabods average 59.6 ppg and have a 41.4 field goal percentage.
>> Hunter Bentley has turned in back-to-back 20+ point efforts to move up to 10th in the MIAA in scoring with 13.9 ppg. She scored 24 points on Saturday against the RiverHawks and then put up 28 points against the Hillcats while making a career-high six three-pointers in the contest.
>> In the past three games, Bentley is averaging 20.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 34.7 mpg, and has a 53.5 field goal percentage with just four turnovers. She had one turnover against Missouri Western and then zero against Northeastern State.
>> Off the bench, Abby Oliver is second on the team in scoring with 8.4 ppg and adds 4.3 rpg. She tallied double-digit points in 10 games, including six of the last eight contests.
>> Oliver has also been making a difference with offensive rebounds as 43 of her 91 total rebounds have been offensive boards.
>> Macy Doebele contributes 7.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg. She scored two points and had a rebound in 11 minutes of playing time at Rogers State before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
>> Doebele has done well at the free throw line this season and ranks fifth in the league with an 82.1 FT% after successfully making 55-of-67 attempts.
>> Shae Sanchez contributes 6.7 ppg and scored four or more points in the first 18 games she played this season.
>> Nuria Barrientos leads the Ichabods with 5.1 rpg to go with 6.4 ppg. She finished with 10 points against the Hillcats, marking the third time this season she has recorded exactly 10 points in a game.
>> Mackenzie Gamble averages 5.0 ppg. She grabbed five rebounds and had three assists against Rogers State.
>> Lauren Cassaday rounds out the starting five averaging 4.1 ppg and has a 46.4 field goal percentage. She made 2-of-3 from the floor at RSU.
>> Aubree Dewey averages 4.0 ppg and is second on the team with 38 total assists.
MILESTONE TRACKER
>> Bentley passed former teammate Reagan Phelan on Washburn's all-time scorers list to move up to No. 7 with 1,493 career points. She needs 66 more to become No. 6 all-time.
>> After becoming the all-time WU record holder for minutes played on Feb. 5, Bentley is about to become the leader in another participation category. She is currently tied with April Roadhouse (2002-06) for the most games played in a Washburn uniform with 165 games in their careers.
>> Barrientos needs five rebounds to hit the 300 mark in career rebounds. She also needs 11 more points to have 400 career points.
>> Dewey and Gamble are nearing the century mark in career rebounds, needing seven and eight more boards, respectively, to reach 100.
WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
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.
ABOUT THE LINCOLN BLUE TIGERS
>> The Blue Tigers have already bested their 2-20 record from last season and are 5-17 (1-15 MIAA).
>> LU has posted wins over Arkansas-Monticello (W, 90-67), Blackburn (W, 97-20), William Jewell (W, 65-50), Westminster (W, 76-74), and Newman (W, 51-50).
>> Lincoln averages 59.0 ppg and shoots 36.8 percent from the field while allowing 73.7 ppg
>> The team is sixth in the MIAA in both steals (8.27 spg) and in blocks (3.41 bpg).
>> Niyah Jackson leads the offense with 8.0 ppg to go with a team-best 2.5 apg.
>> Three-point specialist Kelsey Mitchell contributes 7.7 ppg and has hit a team-high 32 triples.
>> Imani Jones holds a 48.3 field goal percentage and adds 7.1 ppg and 4.7 rpg.
HEAD COACH ANDREA MIZE
>> Andrea Mize is in her second season with the Blue Tigers.
>> Prior to joining Lincoln's staff, she was the head coach at the College of Central Florida for two seasons. She was also an assistant coach at Martin Methodist College for three seasons.
>> She began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Martin Methodist College for three seasons.
>> Mize played three seasons at Indiana University and graduated in 2015.
SERIES WITH LINCOLN
>> Washburn's first game against Lincoln occurred in 1980 with a 68-62 neutral site victory.
>> WU is 32-0 against Lincoln.
>> Fourteen of those victories have been in Jefferson City.
>> Coach McHenry is 16-0 against Lincoln.
LAST MEETING WITH LINCOLN
Washburn 73, Lincoln 49 -- Jan. 19, 2021
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn women's basketball team held Lincoln to its lowest scoring game of the regular season as the Ichabods claimed a 73-49 decision in Lee Arena on Tuesday night. With the win, the Ichabods improve to 5-5 while the Blue Tigers remain winless at 0-10.
The Blue Tigers got on the board first with one made free throw at the 9:02 mark, but that would be their lead of the game as the Ichabods quickly took control and went on a 12-2 scoring run. A jump shot by Hannah Willey gave the Ichabods a 14-8 lead they took into the second frame.
Lincoln got within three points, 19-16, with six minutes remaining in the first half, but Washburn responded yet again with another run, rattling off eight points in a row. Nuria Barrientos was fouled with three seconds left in the half and went 1-of-1 at the charity stripe to send Washburn into the break in front, 32-20.
Washburn held a double-figure advantage for the remainder of the game and held its largest lead at 30 points with 6:54 left in the fourth quarter. Adyson Narber closed out the scoring for the night with nine seconds left as she converted on a free throw to make it 73-49.
Washburn finished the night shooting 43.5 percent from the field and held Lincoln to just 28.8 percent. The Ichabods made 7-of-26 from behind the arc while the Blue Tigers made just 1-of-10. Washburn forced 19 turnovers and turned that into 14 points.
Fourteen different Ichabods saw playing time tonight with 11 of them scoring at least two points. Hunter Bentley led the way with 21 points, hitting 4-of-9 from deep. Barrientos recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 boards to go with four blocks and three assists. Making her first start, freshman Lauren Cassaday went 5-for-7 from the field and finished with a career-high 11 points and four assists.
The Lincoln top-scorer was AJ Bradley with nine points.
WASHBURN COACHES
>> McHenry is in his 22nd season at Washburn and holds an overall record of 484-174 (291-124 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 967-456-1 (.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 returns home to wrap up the three-game week as it hosts Central Missouri on Saturday for a Pink Out Game. Tip-off in Lee Arena is set for 1 p.m.
