TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball kicks off a three-game road swing this week starting at Missouri Western on Wednesday. Tip-off in St. Joseph, Mo. is set for 5:30 p.m.

OPENING TIP

• The Ichabods (9-10, 5-8 MIAA) won back-to-back games at home last week with victories over Rogers State and Northeastern State.
• The Griffons (18-5, 12-3 MIAA) saw their 11-game win streak come to an end on Saturday with a 91-55 loss at Nebraska-Kearney.
• MWSU won the matchup against WU earlier this season, 57-44, on Dec. 17 in Lee Arena.
• Although Wednesday's game will mark game 20 for the Ichabods, they have played only five games on the road and are 2-3 when playing away from Topeka.
• Missouri Western is 8-1 on its home court.
• At the beginning of this week, the Griffons are tied for third in the MIAA standings and the Ichabods are sitting in eighth.

BODS AND ENDS

• Washburn is averaging 55.7 ppg and shoots 37.1 percent from the field.
• The Ichabods are second in the league and rank 20th in Division II for fewest points allowed per game as they hold opponents to 56.2 ppg.
• WU has limited opponents to 49 or fewer points in four games, including the Ichabods' 61-49 win over the RiverHawks last Saturday.
• Washburn pushed its three-point streak to 62-consecutive games after making three against Northeastern State.
• Washburn is now 7-0 when scoring 60 or more points.

THE WU CREW

• Dewey leads the team with 10.3 ppg, 3.7 apg (seventh in the MIAA), and 32.5 mpg (fourth in the MIAA) while adding 4.1 rpg.
• She led the Ichabods in scoring for the eighth time this season in Saturday's game against Northeastern State as she finished with 12 points, all scored in the second half. Eight of those came in the fourth quarter.
• Natalia Figueroa leads the team with 33 three-pointers and has a .333 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. She has made a triple in five-straight games and at least one in 17 games this season.
• Figueroa has started all 19 games her freshman campaign and averages 8.5 ppg.
• Macy Doebele scored double-digits in both games last week and is now averaging 7.4 ppg and a team-high 4.9 rpg.
• Gabi Artis is scoring 6.9 ppg and 3.6 rpg in 16 games in her freshman season.
• At forward, Emma Chapman adds 6.8 ppg and 4.8 rpg. She scored eight points against the RiverHawks and has gone 7-of-8 at the free throw line over the last two games.
• Yiibari Nwidadah averages 14.7 mpg off the bench and makes the most of her time on the court ... she averages 6.3 ppg, making 40 of her 72 shot attempts (55.6 field goal percentage) to go with 5.7 rpg.
• Out of her 91 rebounds, 46 of those have been offensive.
• Mackenzie Gamble is tied with Artis for the second-most three-pointers made and averages 5.1 ppg on the year.
• Off the bench, Lauren Cassaday and Amaya Davison each average 2.0 ppg ... both had two points against the RiverHawks.
• Lakyn Schieferecke averages 2.3 rpg and 1.9 ppg and has scored at least two points in each of the last seven-consecutive games.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE THIS THAT

• The Ichabods recorded their first double-double of the season on Jan. 18 against Fort Hays State and now have had a double-double in three of the last four games.
• Nwidadah is responsible for two of the double-doubles as the freshman had 11 points, 13 rebounds against FHSU and then put up 13 and 13 against Rogers State.
• Doebele achieved the lastest double-double, making 11 points and grabbing 10 boards against Northeastern State.
• It was Doebele's second career double-double...her other one occurred against Lincoln last season on Feb. 10, 2022.

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 61, Northeastern State 49 (Jan. 28, 2023)
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn women's basketball team had nine different players score and the team's defense had a strong showing in the Ichabods' 61-49 win over Northeastern State on Saturday afternoon.

The Ichabods held an 8-6 advantage midway through the first quarter when a free throw from Yiibari Nwidadah started a 7-0 run to extend the lead. Washburn finished the opening period in front, 15-9, and made 9-of-10 at the free throw line.

Washburn (9-10, 5-8 MIAA) scored five unanswered points in the second quarter and the Ichabod defense held Northeastern State scoreless until the 3:36 mark. The RiverHawks clawed their way back into the game and closed out the first half on a 10-4 run to cut the deficit down to 24-19 at the break.

Northeastern State (5-14, 2-13 MIAA) came out in the second half firing on all cylinders, making five of their first six shot attempts to even the score at 30 with 6:06 on the clock. Aubree Dewey broke the tie with a jumper that sparked a 12-2 tear to regain the lead, 42-32, with 2:31 left in the third. Heading into the fourth, Washburn led, 44-36.

Gabi Artis made a layup for the first points of the fourth quarter and the Ichabods maintained a double-figure lead for the final 9:35 of the game. Washburn led by as many as 15 and Dewey scored eight of Washburn's 17 points in the frame.

The teams finished the afternoon with nearly an identical shooting percentage as the RiverHawks had a 34.8 field goal percentage and the Ichabods made 34.5 percent. Northeastern State was 4-of-16 from three-point range and Washburn was 3-for-9. Washburn made 32 trips to the free throw line and made 20 foul shots while Northeastern State was 13-of-16. The Ichabods dominated on the glass, outrebounding the RiverHawks, 42-31. The Washburn defense forced 16 turnovers and converted those into 18 points.

Dewey scored a team-high 12 points, all occurring in the second half. Macy Doebele recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Artis and Nwidadah each contributed nine points. Nwidadah also had nine boards.

The RiverHawks' offense was led by Ashton Hackler's 21 points. She played all 40 minutes and was 6-for-15 from the field while going 4-of-7 from behind the arc.

ABOUT THE MISSOURI WESTERN GRIFFONS

• Missouri Western's win over Washburn on Dec. 17 started an 11-game winning streak that just ended in a loss at Nebraska-Kearney last time out.
• During that stretch, the Griffons handed Central Missouri its first loss of the season and won an 82-81 double overtime contest at Fort Hays State.
• Through 23 games, MWSU is third in the league averaging 75.5 ppg and second with a 45.6 field goal percentage.
• Two Missouri Western players rank in the top-10 in the MIAA in scoring and field goal percentage.
• Brionna Budgetts leads the offense with 17.0 ppg (fourth in MIAA) and has a 52.4 field goal percentage (third). Her 47.3 shooting percentage from three-point range ranks seventh in Division II.
• Budgetts has scored double-digits in 11 of the last 12 games with six of those being 20+ point performances.
• Connie Clarke is just above Budgetts in field goal percentage, shooting at a 52.9 clip. Overall, she averages 14.8 ppg (seventh), 8.9 rpg (second), and has snatched a team-best 62 steals (2.7 spg/fourth).
• Trinity Knapp adds 6.7 ppg and has made a team-high 18 blocks.

HEAD COACH CANDI WHITAKER

• Candi Whitaker is in her fourth year with the Griffons and has compiled a record of 51-34 heading into this season.
• Whitaker has brought DI coaching experience to Missouri Western as she was the head coach at Texas Tech (2013-18) and at UMKC (2006-12).
• She became one of the youngest head coaches in women's basketball, taking over the UMKC program at age 26 and winning 83 total games in her tenure to rank as the second-winningest coach in program history.
• She also served as an associate head coach at Oklahoma State (2012-13) and started her coaching career as an assistant at Valparaiso (2002-04).
• As a student-athlete, Whitaker played two seasons at Seward County Community College and then transferred to Texas Tech where she helped the Lady Raiders to back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.
• She is 5-2 against Washburn.

SERIES WITH MISSOURI WESTERN

• Washburn won the very first game of the series against Missouri Western on Jan. 17, 1976 in overtime, 74-70.
• WU leads the all-time series, 57-45, but the Griffons have won the last three in a row.
• When playing against MWSU in St. Joseph, Washburn is 22-27.
• The Ichabods' last win at MWSU was on Jan. 9, 2021 where WU claimed a 61-49 decision.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI WESTERN
Missouri Western 57, Washburn 44 (Dec. 17, 2022)
TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn outscored Missouri Western 18-10 in the final quarter and cut the deficit to eight after trailing by as many as 24 points earlier in the game, but the offensive push was too late after three low-scoring quarters as the Ichabods lost to the Griffons, 57-44, on Saturday.

Missouri Western (8-4, 3-2 MIAA) led from start to finish of the contest as the Griffons scored the first four points of the afternoon and ended the opening quarter on a 5-0 run to go up, 17-9.

The Griffons carried their momentum into the second quarter with 12 unanswered points and held the Ichabods (4-5, 1-3 MIAA) scoreless until the 3:04 mark. Missouri Western took a 35-18 advantage into the break and had held Washburn to a combined 6-of-20 from the field.

Missouri Western used an 8-0 run in third quarter to go up by a game-high 24 points at 47-23 with 4:51 on the clock. Gabi Artis hit a three-pointer with 1:41 remaining for the final points of the third to make the score 47-26.

In the fourth quarter, Aubree Dewey hit a jumper with 8:11 on the clock to spark a 7-0 run to make it a 48-33 game. After a pair of Missouri Western free throws, the Ichabods put together an 11-2 rally over the course of three minutes and 27 seconds to trim the deficit to single-digits, 52-44. That would be as close as it got in the final 79 seconds, though, as Missouri Western capped off the win on a 5-0 run.

The Ichabod defense held the Griffons to 21 points less than their season scoring average. Missouri Western ended the game shooting 41.2 percent from the floor while Washburn made just 30.6 percent. The Ichabods made 6-of-17 from three-point range and the Griffons were 5-of-16 from deep. Missouri Western forced 24 Washburn turnovers and converted that into 23 points.

Dewey led the team in three stat categories as she had a team-high 16 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Mackenzie Gamble added nine points and Natalia Figueroa was close behind with eight points.

Three Griffons finished in double-figures led by Brionna Budgetts' 14 points. Connie Clarke recorded a double-double with 11 points and 18 rebounds.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 980-471-1 (.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 continue its road swing in the Show Me State on Saturday at Northwest Missouri. Tip-off in Maryville is set for 1 p.m.