TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn will cap off its four-game homestand on Saturday hosting Northeastern State with a 1 p.m. matinee in Lee Arena.

OPENING TIP

• The Ichabods (8-10, 4-8 MIAA) snapped a four-game losing streak on Thursday with a 60-53 victory over Rogers State.
• The RiverHawks have lost six in a row and are now 5-13 (2-12 MIAA).
• NSU last played at Emporia State on Wednesday, falling 72-53.
• Northeastern State hosted Washburn for the MIAA-opening game earlier this season on Nov. 28 and won, 60-53, over the Ichabods.
• The RiverHawks have not won a road game yet this season and are 0-8.
• Washburn is 6-7 in Lee Arena this season.
• The Ichabods are currently ninth in the conference standings and the RiverHawks are 13th.

BODS AND ENDS

• Washburn is averaging 55.4 ppg and shoots 37.2 percent from the field.
• The Ichabods are third in the league in fewest points allowed per game as they hold opponents to 56.6 ppg ... WU has limited opponents to 53 or fewer points in seven games.
• The Washburn defense is also second in the league in lowest opponent three-point field goal percentage, holding the opposition to shooting just 27.8 percent from deep.
• Washburn increased its three-point streak to 61-consecutive games after making three against Rogers State.
• This season, the Ichabods have outrebounded their opponents in 12 games and are 8-4 when that happens.
• Washburn is 6-0 when scoring 60 or more points.

THE WU CREW

• Dewey leads the team with 10.2 ppg, 3.7 apg, and 32.5 mpg (fourth in the MIAA) while adding 4.0 rpg ... she had nine assists, seven points, and four rebounds against Rogers State.
• Natalia Figueroa is scoring 8.6 ppg and has made a team-high 31 three-pointers and her 1.7 three-pointers per game ranks 11th among MIAA players. The freshman has started all 18 games and scored in every one.
• Macy Doebele scored 12 points off the bench on Thursday and averages 7.2 ppg overall this season with an even 50 percent shooting percentage (41-of-82). She also grabs 4.7 rebounds per game and is an 80 percent free throw shooter (seventh in the MIAA).
• Gabi Artis is averaging 6.8 ppg and 3.6 rpg in 16 games in her freshman season.
• At forward, Emma Chapman is also scoring 6.8 ppg and leads the team with 4.8 rpg. She chipped in seven points and three rebounds against the Hillcats.
• Yiibari Nwidadah has recorded both of Washburn's double-doubles this season and is coming off a season-high 13 points and tied a season-best in rebounds with 13. Out of the 13 rebounds against RSU, seven of those were offensive.
• Nwidadah, a freshman, has played in 15 games off the bench and is averaging 6.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg.
• Mackenzie Gamble is second on the squad with 20 three-pointers this season and averages 5.1 ppg.
• Off the bench, Lauren Cassaday and Amaya Davison each average 2.0 ppg.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has started nine games in a row and played in all 18. She averages 2.3 rpg and 1.9 ppg.

DEWEY WITH THE ASSIST

• Dewey handed out nine assists against Rogers State, which tied for the eighth-most in a single game for Washburn.
• She has led or tied for a team-high in assists in 11 games and has had at least one assist in every game.
• Her 3.7 apg currently ranks seventh among MIAA players this season.
• That was the first time a Washburn player had exactly nine assists since Stevi Schultz against Missouri Western on March 1, 2012.
• Other former Washburn players who have had nine assists in a game are Washburn Hall of Famers Jennifer Harris (2004-06) and Jessica Mainz (2005-08).
• The all-time single game assist leader is Harris, who recorded 12 against Benedictine in the 2005-06 season.

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 445-122 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
Washburn 60, Rogers State 53 (Jan. 26, 2023)
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn bench came through with 31 points including 18 in the fourth quarter as the Ichabods defeated Rogers State on Thursday evening, 60-53.

Both teams got off to a sluggish start as Rogers State (4-16, 2-12 MIAA) scored the first points of the evening on a free throw at the 6:28 mark. Washburn (7-10, 3-8 MIAA) answered with a 5-0 run before Rogers State reclaimed the lead with a 7-0 scoring stretch. Emma Chapman went 2-for-2 at the free throw line with 19 seconds to go in the period to level the score at 8-all.

The Hillcats made a layup early in the second quarter to go back in front, but the Ichabods put together an 8-2 run over the course of three and a half minutes to lead, 16-12. Rogers State trimmed the Washburn lead to one, 16-15, with 1:24 left in the opening half, but the Ichabods scored seven unanswered points in the final minute to hold a 23-15 lead at halftime. Aubree Dewey capped off the scoring burst with a buzzer-beating deep three-pointer just past half court.

The Ichabods used an 8-0 run to build a double-figure lead midway through the third quarter, leading by as many as 11 points twice. At the end of three, Washburn was up, 39-31.

It was a high-scoring fourth quarter for both sides and Washburn finished the frame shooting a blistering 72.7 percent (8-of-11). After the Hillcats chipped away at the deficit and pulled within four points on three occasions, Chapman made a layup with 4:23 remaining to start a 7-1 run capitalized by a three-pointer by Natalia Figueroa to make it 52-42 in favor of Washburn with 2:35 to go. Rogers State kept fighting back and got within three points twice in the final 90 seconds, but could get no closer. Dewey made the last four points for Washburn, sinking two free throws and then grabbing and finishing with the layup.

The Ichabods shot 35.7 from the field while the Hillcats shot just slightly higher at a 36.2 clip. Both teams made three triples in the game with Washburn taking one more attempt, going 3-of-14 from deep. At the free throw line, Washburn was 17-of-25 and Rogers State made 16-of-20. The Ichabods outrebounded the Hillcats, 37-32, and grabbed 18 offensive boards and turned those into 11 second chance points. Washburn also scored 18 points after forcing 24 turnovers.

Nine of the 10 Ichabods who played scored. Nwidadah notched her second double-double of the season with a career-high 13 points and tied a career-best with 13 rebounds. Macy Doebele was 4-of-6 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line to add 12 points. Dewey dished out a career-high nine assists, which ties for the eighth-most assists in a single game at Washburn, and had seven points.

Rogers State's Trinity Jackson made 6-of-10 from the field and had a team-high 12 points.

ABOUT THE NORHTEASTERN STATE RIVERHAWKS

• The RiverHawks average 61.2 ppg and are fifth in the MIAA in three-point field goal percentage (33.4%).
• NSU has two players averaging double-figures and ranking in the top-20 in scoring in the MIAA.
• Ashton Hackler has started all 18 games and is No. 14 among MIAA players in scoring with 13.1 ppg and averages 1.6 triples per game. She is also ranked third in the league with an 81.9 free throw percentage (59-of-72).
• Courtney Lee has also been in the starting lineup in every game so far and contributes 12.3 ppg (17th in MIAA) with a 50.6 field goal percentage. Her 7.6 rpg places her seventh among MIAA players and she has recorded four double-doubles to lead the team.
• Jaylee Kindred is just shy of averaging double-digits as she adds 9.2 ppg. She has also made a team-high 17 blocks.

HEAD COACH FALA SUIAUNOA

• Fala Suiaunoa is in her sixth season leading her alma mater and has a record of 34-97 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 3-6 against Washburn.

SERIES WITH NORTHEASTERN STATE

• The first game these two programs ever played against each other was on March 13, 2010 in the NCAA South Central Region semifinals ... the RiverHawks won the contest, 56-51.
• Washburn leads the series 13-7 and has won six of the last eight matchups.
• When playing NSU in Topeka, Washburn is 7-2.
• The Ichabods have won the last three in a row at home over the RiverHawks.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHEASTERN STATE
Northeastern State 60, Washburn 53 (Nov. 28, 2022)
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Washburn ended the second quarter on a 7-2 run to tie the game at halftime, but Northeastern State shot 52 percent from the field and made 11-of-12 from the free throw line in the second half to defeat the Ichabods 60-53 in the MIAA opening game on Monday evening.

Both teams started slowly as the first points of the game didn't come until the 7:06 mark when Natalia Figueroa drained a three-pointer for the Ichabods (3-3, 0-1 MIAA). The RiverHawks got on the board with a pair of free throws with 4:59 on the clock to start an 8-0 run while holding Washburn scoreless for just over five minutes. Trailing 10-4 with 1:50 left in the opening period, the Ichabods regained the lead with a 7-0 run. The RiverHawks (4-1, 1-0 MIAA) hit a three-pointer with two seconds left to go back up 13-11 at the end of the first quarter.

Similar to the first quarter, both teams struggled to score early as Mackenzie Gamble made the first basket 3:04 into the period to knot up the score at 13. Northeastern State broke the tie with a 9-4 run to take a 22-17 advantage with 1:53 left in the opening half. Washburn ended the run with a three-pointer by Gamble and after the Ichabod defense forced a turnover on NSU's ensuing possession, Aubree Dewey made a layup to even the score again at 22. The RiverHawks got a second-chance layup to fall and went up by two, but their lead was short-lived as Lakyn Schieferecke hit a jumper with eight seconds left to tie up the game at 24 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Dewey made 10 of Washburn's 12 points and gave the Ichabods a two-point lead twice, but Northeastern State went 5-for-9 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the free throw line to outscore WU by five and take a 41-36 lead into the final period.

Washburn trailed by 10 within the first 50 seconds in the fourth quarter before trimming the deficit down to six, 46-40, at the 8:12 mark. That would be as close as the Ichabods would get for the remainder of the game, though, as the RiverHawks went up by as many as 12 points. Washburn fought until the end and scored five points in the final four seconds, but it wasn't enough as the Ichabods fell by seven.

Washburn shot above 40 percent in three of the fourth quarters and finished the game with a 44.2 field goal percentage while Northeastern State shot slightly less at a 40.4 clip. WU made 4-of-11 from deep while NSU made 3-of-12. A big difference maker in the game was free throws as Northeastern State converted on 19-of-20 from the charity stripe while Washburn went just 3-for-8. The RiverHawks recorded 10 more rebounds than the Ichabods, 35-25.

Dewey made 9-of-14 from the field and led all players with 18 points and handed out a team-best three assists. Gamble also finished in double-figures with 11 points as she made 3-of-5 from deep. Figueroa finished with nine points. Macy Doebele had four rebounds to lead the team.

Three RiverHawks finished in double-figure points led by Jaylee Kindred's 16. She also helped the team defensively with three steals and three blocks. Courtney Lee had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Ashton Hackler also recorded 12 points.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 979-471-1 (.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 hit the road for the next three games, first traveling to Missouri Western on Feb. 1.