TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball is set to finish up the opening week of 2023 hosting Lincoln on Saturday at 1 p.m.

OPENING TIP

• The Ichabods  are now 6-6 (2-4 MIAA) this season after falling to No. 7 Central Missouri, 67-53, on Thursday.
• Washburn held a two-point lead over Central Missouri at halftime and then trailed by just one at the end of the third quarter, but the Ichabods were unable to complete the upset against UCM as the Jennies outscored WU, 23-10, in the final quarter.
• Lincoln (3-10, 1-6 MIAA) is coming off a big 85-81 win at Emporia State on Thursday, marking its first victory against the Lady Hornets since 1994.
• The Ichabods won the lone matchup against the Blue Tigers last season, posting a 67-55 win in Jefferson City on Feb. 10, 2022.
• Since 1980, these two programs have played each other 33 times and Washburn has won every game.
• Last season, the Blue Tigers went 5-23 (1-20 MIAA).
• In the 2022-23 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, the Ichabods were picked 10th and the Blue Tigers checked in at 14th.

BODS AND ENDS

• Washburn is averaging 55.6 ppg and has a 37.9 field goal percentage.
• The Ichabods are third in the league and 16th in the nation in fewest points allowed per game as they hold opponents to 55.3 ppg.
• Senior Macy Doebele is two points away from making 500 in her career at Washburn.
• Washburn made three triples against Central Missouri to push its three-point streak to 55-consecutive games.

THE WU CREW

• Aubree Dewey leads the Ichabods in scoring, assists, and minutes played this season. She has recorded six double-figure scoring games and averages 11.1 ppg.
• Dewey has led or tied for the team-lead in assists in nine of the 12 games played and dishes out 3.8 apg (eighth in the MIAA). She also ranks seventh in the conference with 32.0 mpg.
• Natalia Figueroa eclipsed 100 points in her freshman campaign on Thursday and averages 8.9 ppg on the year. She has made a three-pointer in every game except one and has hit a team-high 21 triples.
• Mackenzie Gamble is right behind with 20 three-pointers this season and overall averages 7.4 ppg.
• Doebele chips in 7.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg and is second on the squad with 1.8 apg. Playing the last three games off the bench, she is averaging 11.0 ppg.
• At forward, Emma Chapman has started six-straight games and adds 7.0 ppg and a team-high 5.3 rpg.
• Gabi Artis has made back-to-back starts for Washburn and averages 5.3 ppg and 3.2 rpg ... although she went scoreless against the Jennies, she tied for the team-lead in rebounds with six.
• Yiibari Nwidadah played aggressively in the paint against Central Missouri and recorded a season-high 10 points to go with six rebounds in 15 minutes of court time. For the season, the freshman center averages 4.4 ppg and 4.2 rpg.
• Off the bench, Lauren Cassaday and Amaya Davison average 2.5 ppg and 2.0 ppg, respectively.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has played in all 12 games and started the last three ... she averages 11.3 minutes per game, 1.6 rpg, and 0.9 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 443-120 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
Central Missouri 67, Washburn 53 (Jan. 5, 2023)
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn women's basketball team trailed by just one point at the end of the third quarter, but the Ichabods were unable to complete the upset over unbeaten No. 7 Central Missouri and lost, 67-53, on Thursday evening.

Washburn (6-6, 2-4 MIAA) quickly found itself in a 9-0 deficit to start the game and did not score its first basket until the 6:16 mark. The Ichabods finished the quarter on a 6-2 run to cut Central Missouri's lead to 18-14.

Both teams struggled to score to start the second quarter until the Jennies (12-0, 8-0 MIAA) hit a three-pointer with 6:51 on the clock for the first points of the frame. Washburn trailed 23-16 with 3:49 left in the first half when Aubree Dewey drained a three-pointer to spark an 11-2 burst for the Ichabods to even the score at 27. The Jennies made a jump shot to break the tie, but were held scoreless for the final two minutes while Washburn ended the half with four unanswered points to take a 31-29 lead at halftime.

It was back-and-forth scoring in the third quarter with six ties and five lead changes and neither team leading by more than two until Central Missouri built a 44-41 advantage at 2:44 with a 5-0 run. Emma Chapman made a layup on the following possession for the final points of the quarter to trim the deficit to one, 44-43.

The Central Missouri offense took control of the game to begin the fourth and ripped off a 12-2 scoring run in the first four minutes and five seconds of the period to take its largest lead of the contest, 56-45. Washburn would get no closer than nine points after that as the Jennies outscored the Ichabods 23-10 in the final quarter to capture the double-figure victory.

Both teams had nearly the same shooting percentage from the field as Washburn made 36.8 percent (21-of-57) and Central Missouri finished at 36.5 percent (23-of-63). From three-point range, UCM hit 5-of-12 and WU made 3-of-13 from deep. At the free throw line, the Jennies made 16 of their 19 attempts while the Ichabods were 8-of-13. UCM finished with 10 more rebounds, 44-34, and turned its 17 offensive boards into 13 points.

Dewey made 6-of-10 from the field and sank both her three-pointer attempts to total a team-high 15 points. Yiibari Nwidadah recorded 10 points and six rebounds. Natalia Figueroa had nine points and Chapman had six rebounds and six points.

Brooke Littrell scored a game-high 27 points for Central Missouri.

ABOUT THE LINCOLN BLUE TIGERS

• The Blue Tigers are 3-10 (1-6 MIAA) with wins over Arkansas-Monticello, Stephens College, and Emporia State.
• Through 13 games, LU averages 64.3 ppg and has a 40.2 field goal percentage.
• The Blue Tigers had their best shooting night of the season against Emporia State as they made 52.4 percent from the floor while sinking 12-of-22 three-point shots in the 85-81 win.
• Le'Yanna McGinnis leads the offense with 14.5 ppg (10th in the MIAA)) and is second in the conference shooting 56.9 percent. She also leads the team with 6.2 rpg and 1.1 bpg.
• Against ESU, Kelsey Mitchell made five three-pointers to bump up her season total to 30 ... she is currently third in the conference averaging 2.3 threes per game and ranks sixth with a 37.0 three-point field goal percentage.
• Mitchell is second on the team in scoring with 9.1 ppg.
• Niyah Jackson contributes 7.1 ppg and made 5-of-6 from behind the arc against Emporia State.

HEAD COACH ANDREA MIZE

• Andrea Mize is in her third season with the Blue Tigers and held a record of 7-46 at the start of the year.
• 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 33-0 against Lincoln.
• Sixteen of those wins have taken place in Topeka.
• Washburn's last home win against Lincoln was on Jan. 19, 2021 when the Ichabodss cruised to a 73-49 victory in Lee Arena.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME AGAINST LINCOLN
Washburn 67, Lincoln 55 (Feb. 10, 2022)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Five Ichabods finished in double-figure scoring while Abby Oliver and Macy Doebele both notched double-doubles in the 67-55 win at Lincoln on Thursday evening.

Senior Hunter Bentley made program history again at the start of the game as she passed April Roadhouse (2002-06) for the most games played in a Washburn uniform. Bentley has played in every Washburn game since her 2017-18 freshman season and has now competed in 136 games in her career.

The first quarter was back-and-forth as there were five lead changes and two ties. Washburn (11-11, 9-7 MIAA) took the lead with a 6-0 run starting at the 1:35 mark before the Blue Tigers hit a jumper to cut the Ichabod lead to 13-10 at the end of the opening period.

Lincoln (5-18, 1-16 MIAA) leveled the score at 13 and then 17 when Shae Sanchez sparked an 8-0 spurt to put the Ichabods up, 25-17, with 3:05 left in the first half. The Blue Tigers fought back and scored nine unanswered points capped off by a buzzer-beating three-pointer to hold a 26-25 advantage at halftime.

The Ichabod offense got off to a hot start in the second half as they opened the third quarter on a 12-2 scoring tear to go in front, 37-28, at the midway mark. Washburn outscored Lincoln 23-12 in the quarter and held a 48-38 lead heading into the fourth.

The Blue Tigers hit two free throws to begin the fourth frame and pull within eight points, but they would get no closer as Washburn closed out the double-figure victory.

Washburn finished the night shooting 36.8 percent from the field while Lincoln had a 32.3 field goal percentage. WU made 5-of-17 from three-point distance while LU was 3-of-15. The Ichabods dominated on the glass and pulled down 20 more rebounds than the Blue Tigers, 53-33.

Sanchez scored a season-high 15 points off the bench and was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Doebele notched a double-double after she made 7-of-10 from the field for 14 points to go with 11 boards, five assists, and two steals. Bentley contributed 13 points and six rebounds and Nuria Barrientos was right behind with 12 points and seven rebounds. Oliver achieved her first double-double of the season totaling 11 points and 10 rebounds and dished out four assists.

The Blue Tigers had three players finish in double-digits and were paced by Hya Haywood's 15 points.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 977-466-1 (.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 games at Missouri Southern (Jan. 12) and Pittsburg State (Jan. 14) next week before beginning a four-game homestand.