PITTSBURG, Kan. – Washburn's defense limited Pittsburg State to shooting just 24 percent in the opening half, but the Gorillas found their groove and shot a blistering 58.8 percent from the field in the second half to defeat the Ichabods, 74-55, on Saturday afternoon. The Ichabods will play the next four games at home first hosting Fort Hays State on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
 
The Ichabods (7-8, 3-6 MIAA) won the opening tip and got the scoring started just seconds into the contest as Natalia Figueroa drained a three-pointer. The Ichabods added four unanswered points after that to jump out to a 7-0 lead. The Gorillas used a 10-3 run to pull within one, 10-9, before Washburn responded with a 6-2 scoring stretch to close out the opening quarter with a 16-11 lead.
 
In the second quarter, Pittsburg State (13-4, 8-3 MIAA) scored the first six points and took its first lead of the game at 17-16. It was back-and-forth scoring from there with eight total lead changes in the frame. The Gorillas made two free throws to leap back ahead by one, 23-22, with 4:13 on the clock, but the Ichabods hit back-to-back three-pointers to reclaim the lead and stayed in front for the remainder of the first half. At the break, the Ichabods held a 30-26 advantage and limited the Gorillas to shooting just 6-of-25 from the field (24 percent). Free throws helped Pittsburg State stay competitive in the game as the it made 12-of-24 from the charity stripe.
 
The Gorillas leveled the score at 30 and then 34 before a couple of three-pointers gave them a 40-39 lead midway through the third quarter. Macy Doebele regained the lead for Washburn at 41-40 with a pair of free throws at the 3:49 mark, but Pittsburg State made two free throws of its own to start a 6-0 run to take its largest lead of the afternoon, 46-41. Emma Chapman made a jumper with 39 seconds left to trim the deficit to 46-43.
 
Lakyn Schieferecke made a jump shot to start the fourth quarter to make it a one point affair, but the Gorillas quickly pulled away with a 13-0 run over the course of three and a half minutes. The Ichabods were 5-of-14 from the field and struggled at the free throw line, going 2-of-10. The Pittsburg State offense was on fire in the final frame and made 13 out of 17 field goal attempts for a 76.5 percentage to finish off the double-digit comeback win.
 
The Ichabods finished with a 34.3 field goal percentage while the Gorillas' hot second half pushed them to a 44.1 field goal percentage. Pittsburg State made one more three-pointer, making 6-of-19, compared to Washburn's 4-of-14 from deep. The Gorillas had a big advantage at the free throw line, making 16-of-19, while the Ichabods were just 4-of-14. Pittsburg State outrebounded Washburn, 49-35.
 
Dewey tied a career-high in scoring with 20 points to lead the Ichabods. Figueroa had 11 points, all in the first half, and went 3-of-7 from three-point range. Yiibari Nwidadah had five points and tied with Schieferecke for a team-high six rebounds.
 
Four from Pittsburg State finished in double-figures, led by Karenna Gerber's 16.