TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn will begin a four-game homestand on Wednesday evening hosting Fort Hays State. Game time in Lee Arena is slated for 5:30 p.m.

OPENING TIP

• The Ichabods lost two road games last week and now hold an overall record of 7-8 (3-6 MIAA).
• The Tigers (13-6, 8-3 MIAA) have lost back-to-back games and are coming off a tough 53-52 loss to then-ranked No. 19 Nebraska-Kearney.
• These two teams played only once last season and No. 1-ranked Fort Hays State defeated Washburn in Topeka, 72-50, on Dec. 1, 2022 to begin MIAA play.
• Just like last season, WU and FHSU will only play each other once in the regular season.
• In 2021-22, Fort Hays State earned the title of MIAA Regular Season co-champions, won the MIAA Tournament, and reached the NCAA Central Region championship game ... the Tigers closed out the season with a record of 30-4 (19-3 MIAA).
• The Tigers were selected second in the MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, just eight points behind first place, and the Ichabods were voted 10th.

BODS AND ENDS

• Washburn is averaging 56.0 ppg and shoots 37.6 percent from the field.
• The Ichabods are third in the league in fewest points allowed per game as they hold opponents to 57.2 ppg.
• Washburn's three-pointer streak continues and is up to 58-consecutive games after making five at Pittsburg State.
• WU has made five or more three-pointers in 10 games so far.
• The Ichabods are 1-0 in Wednesday games this season ... their last midweek game was on Nov. 23 against Haskell Indian Nations when Washburn won, 63-51.
• Aubree Dewey is five points away from having 400 in her career.

THE WU CREW

• Dewey is coming off a 20 point effort at Pittsburg State, tying her career-high that she set earlier this season against Southern Nazaren (Nov. 18, 2022).
• Dewey is the lone Ichabod averaging double-figures as she sits at 11.0 ppg and is eighth among MIAA players with 3.7 apg.
• Natalia Figueroa is scoring 9.1 ppg and has made a team-high 28 three-pointers ... she drained three triples against the Gorillas, marking the sixth time this season she has had three or more threes in a game.
• Macy Doebele chips in 7.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, and leads the team at the charity stripe with 39 made free throws ... her 79.6 free throw percentage ranks ninth in the MIAA.
• At forward, Emma Chapman has started 11 of the 15 games this season and leads the team with 5.1 rpg. She also scores 6.5 ppg.
• Gabi Artis has started seven games this year, including the last five in a row, and  averages 6.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, and 22.3 mpg.
• Mackenzie Gamble is second on the squad with 20 three-pointers this season and overall averages 6.1 ppg.
• Yiibari Nwidadah has played in 12 games off the bench and has made 25 of her 46 field goal attempts for a team-best 54.3 shooting percentage ... overall, she averages 5.1 ppg to go with 4.5 rpg.
• Off the bench, Lauren Cassaday and Amaya Davison each average 2.1 ppg.
• Lakyn Schieferecke had a career week last week and scored a career-high 10 points at Missouri Southern and then grabbed a career-best six rebounds at Pittsburg State.
• For the season, Schieferecke has played in all 15 games and averages 2.0 rpg and 1.7 ppg.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

• The 2022-23 season marks the 39th season of play in Lee Arena as the facility opened in the 1983-84 season.
• Washburn is 444-120 all-time in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods went 8-7 at home last season.

HEAD COACH LORA WESTLING

• Former Washburn women's basketball student-athlete Lora Westling has returned to Topeka and is in her first season as head coach in 2022-23.
• Westling returns to her alma mater after six seasons at Western Colorado, where she compiled a record of 77-78 and led the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament selections – the first two in program history.
• Her overall victories is second on the Western all-time list and her 63 RMAC wins is tied for second in program history.
• Prior to Western Colorado, Westling spent three seasons as the head coach at the Division III program, Illinois College.
• Before accepting the head job at Illinois College, Westling was the top assistant at Truman State from 2010-13.
• Westling's first full-time position came at University of Missouri-St. Louis where she was the top assistant from 2007-10.
• She got her start in coaching at Washburn, where she served as a graduate assistant for the women's basketball and women's soccer teams.
• Westling was a standout member of Washburn's women's basketball team from 2001-05 and helped the Lady Blues to the school's first NCAA Division II national championship in 2005.
• She is currently sixth in games played (132), sixth in career three-pointers made (144), 10th in assists (299), and 14th in three-point field goal percentage (.363).
• She also played one season of soccer for the Lady Blues.

WASHBURN ASSISTANT COACHES

• Coach Westling brought in a new coaching staff for her first season and chose J'nae Squires-Horton and Will Marchino as her assistants.
• Squires-Horton served as a graduate assistant at the University of Colorado Springs-Colorado.
• As a student-athlete, Squires-Horton was a three-year member of the MSU Denver basketball team and earned all-RMAC second team honors twice.
• Following her graduation at MSU Denver with a degree in Journalism, Squires-Horton played one season in Latvia with the Latvian Basketball League's SBK Liepaja/LSSS.
• Marchino spend the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Seward County Community College where he oversaw recruiting and scouting.
• Prior to his time in Liberal, Kansas, Marchino was an assistant coach for Grand View University.
• Before making the jump to the college ranks, Marchino was the varsity girls basketball head coach at Iowa Christian Academy.
• Marchino is a 2008 graduate from the University of Iowa where he received his degree in Health and Sports Studies.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
Pittsburg State 74, Washburn 55 (Jan. 14, 2023)
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 (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.

ABOUT THE FORT HAYS STATE TIGERS

• The Tigers returned three of their five starters from last season and are  currently tied for fourth in the MIAA standings.
• Fort Hays State is the team just above Washburn in the MIAA rankings for defensive numbers as the Tigers hold opponents to a 56.1 scoring average.
• Through 19 games, the Tigers average 67.9 ppg and have two players in double-figure scoring.
• Katie Wagner has played in 17 games and averages 13.2 ppg and leads the team with 7.0 rpg, which ranks ninth among MIAA players. She is an 84.6 percent free throw shooter, which is third-best in the conference.
• Olivia Hollenbeck has played in all 19 games making 13 starts and scores 12.6 ppg and has a team-best 56.9 field goal percentage ... she has scored 12 or more points in 10 out of the last 12 games.
• Ellie Stearns, a true freshman, has started all 19 games and has made 27 three-pointers.
• Megan Earney has also drained 27 threes at a 39.7 clip playing primarily off the bench.

HEAD COACH TONY HOBSON

• Tony Hobson is in his 15th season leading the Tigers and is the winningest coach in program history at 312-109.
• He holds quite the resume as he enters his 31st season coaching with a record of 725-215. Additionally, he ranks seventh in winning percentage among active coaches at the Division II level with a .777 percent success rate (536-154).
• He has led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament seven of the last eight years.
• Prior to joining Fort Hays State, Hobson won three NAIA National Championship titles in seven years as the head coach at Hastings College.
• He also coached at Hastings College, Barton County Community College, and Cloud County Community College.
• Hobson is 13-12 against Washburn.

SERIES WITH FORT HAYS STATE

• Fort Hays State won the very first game of the series against Washburn, 34-21, on Feb. 20, 1970.
• Washburn holds a 47-38 series advantage, but has lost 11 of the last 12 meetings.
• When playing against Fort Hays State in Topeka, Washburn is 24-16.
• Washburn's last home win against FHSU was on Dec. 6, 2017 with a 62-59 triumph.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME AGAINST FORT HAYS STATE
Fort Hays State 72, Washburn 50 (Dec. 1, 2021)
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn women's basketball team fell in the first MIAA contest of the season against top-ranked Fort Hays State on Wednesday evening, 72-50.

The Tigers (6-0, 1-0 MIAA) never trailed in the game and got off to a quick start, leading 12-2 three minutes into contest. Jump shots by Hunter Bentley and Shae Sanchez in the final 55 seconds of the opening period cut FHSU's lead to 17-12.

Fort Hays State extended its lead over Washburn (1-5, 0-1 MIAA) in the second quarter, thanks to shooting 53.9 percent from the floor in the frame, and held a 36-24 advantage at the break.

A 10-2 Washburn scoring run midway through the third pulled the Ichabods within eight points, 42-34, but that would be as close as it got as the Tigers responded with an 11-2 run to close out the quarter and led by double-digits for the remainder of the game.

Fort Hays State finished the night shooting 45.3 percent from the field and made 7-of-15 from deep while Washburn had a 34.0 field goal percentage and made 3-of-15 from behind the arc. The Tigers had a slight edge on the glass, 34-30, and netted 10 second chance points.

Bentley and Nuria Barrientos both contributed nine points. Macy Doebele added seven points and tied for a team-best five rebounds. Abby Oliver led the team with three assists.

Four Tigers finished in double-figures, led by Olivia Hollenbeck's 13 points.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 978-469-1 (.677) all-time and are in the 54th 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 continue it homestand on Saturday hosting Nebraska-Kearney. Tipoff in Lee Arena is set for 1 p.m.