TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn returns home after a three-game road trip to host Central Oklahoma on Saturday at 1 p.m.

OPENING TIP

• The Ichabods (9-13, 5-11 MIAA) are looking to snap a three-game skid after falling at Newman on Wednesday evening.
• The Bronchos are 7-14 (4-13 MIAA) and have lost their last four-straight games.
• Their last outing was on Saturday, Feb. 4 in a 91-62 loss against Fort Hays State.
• Washburn won the earlier meeting at Central Oklahoma on New Year's Eve, claiming a 75-73 decision.
• Five Ichabods finished in double-figure scoring in that game.
• Washburn is 7-7 when playing in the friendly confines of Lee Arena this season while Central Oklahoma has gone 2-6 on the road.
• The Ichabods are ninth in the MIAA standings and the Bronchos are tied for 10th.

BODS AND ENDS

• Washburn is averaging 56.5 ppg and shoots 37.3 percent from the field.
• The Ichabods are fourth in the league in fewest points allowed per game as they hold opponents to 58.4 ppg.
• Washburn extended its three-point streak to 65 games after making five against the Jets.
• WU has had 11 games with five or more triples.
• Emma Chapman is nine points away from making 200 in her two-year Washburn career...164 of those points have been scored this season.
• Overall this season, Washburn has outrebounded its opponents, 803-774,
• The Ichabods' 75 points against Central Oklahoma earlier this year tied Washburn's season-high for 2022-23.
• Macy Doebele has set career-high numbers in each of the last two games against Central Oklahoma. On Jan. 29, 2022, she scored a then-career best 18 points and went 10-of-12 from the free throw line.
• This season against the Bronchos, on Dec. 31, 2022, she totaled 19 points and was 17-of-20 from the charity stripe to set a Washburn single game record for most free throws made in a game.

THE WU CREW

• Aubree Dewey continues to lead the Ichabods and rank in the top-25 in the MIAA in scoring (10.5 ppg/22nd), assists (3.8 apg/seventh), steals (1.5 spg/18th), and court time (33.4 mpg/third).
• She recorded her 11th double-figure scoring game of the season on Wednesday with 12 points scored against the Jets.
• Natalia Figueroa is the only Ichabod besides Dewey who has started all 22 games. She leads the team with 36 three-pointers, has made a triple in 20 games, and currently has an eight-game streak of making a triple.
• Overall, Figueroa scores an average of 8.3 ppg and is tied for the team-lead in blocks with 12.
• Doebele averages 7.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg in 21.8 mpg off the bench. She notched her third double-digit game in the past five games with 10 points and five boards at NU.
• She also leads the team in free throws, making 62-of-80 at the charity stripe of a 77.5 success rate.
• Emma Chapman has started all but four games and also adds 7.5 ppg to go with 4.6 rpg. She added seven points and four rebounds against the Jets.
• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the squad with 5.7 rpg while shooting 54.9 percent from the floor and also contributes 6.7 ppg.
• Nwidadah has helped the team with second chances as she has grabbed 52 offensive boards out of her 108 total rebounds.
• Gabi Artis is scoring 6.4 ppg and adding 3.8 rpg in 20 games. She led the team with six rebounds at Newman.
• Amaya Davison knocked down a career-high 15 points at Newman and was 3-of-6 from deep. For the season, she averages 2.6 ppg and has scored in each of the last five contests.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has played in all 22 games and chips in 2.4 rpg and 2.1 ppg.
• In limited playing time, Lauren Cassaday averages 1.8 ppg and 2.7 rpg.

ONE HUNDRED GAMES FOR DOEBELE

• Senior Macy Doebele played in her 100th career game as an Ichabod on Wednesday.
• The Hanover, Kan.-native joined Washburn in 2019 and has started 53 of the 100 games she's played.
• In that time, she has totaled 575 points, 378 rebounds, 100 assists, 55 steals, and 31 blocks.

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
Newman 74, Washburn 62 (Feb. 8, 2023)
WICHITA, Kan. – The Washburn women's basketball team chipped away at a 12-point deficit to get within three late in the third quarter, but could get no closer as Newman pulled away and defeated the Ichabods, 74-62, on Wednesday evening.

The Ichabods (9-13, 5-11 MIAA) scored the first basket of the game on a layup by Emma Chapman, but that was their only lead of the quarter as the Jets (7-15, 4-13 MIAA) scored eight of the next 11 points to go up 8-5 midway through the quarter. Washburn fought back with a 6-2 run to level the score at 13 with just over a minute left in the period, but the Ichabods committed a shooting foul just before time expired and the Jets hit both free throws to take a 15-13 advantage into the second.

Gabi Artis got things going in the second quarter with a three-pointer to give the Ichabods their first lead since the very first bucket. The teams took turns scoring back-and-forth and Washburn tied things up at 17 and 20 and held a 24-23 lead after Aubrey Dewey's successful layup after a steal with 5:18 to go in the half. The Ichabod offense fell into a lull after that point, though, as the Jets went on an 11-2 run to finish off the quarter, capped off by a buzzer-beating layup, to head to the locker room in front, 34-26. Newman finished the frame 7-of-12 from the field (58.3 percent) and 3-of-7 from deep while the Ichabods made 5-of-12 from the floor and just one three-pointer.

Natalia Figueroa buried a three-pointer 15 seconds into the second half, but the Jets used a 7-0 to build a 41-29 lead with 6:55 on the clock. With 3:30 left to go in the third, Dewey made 1-of-2 at the free throw line to start a 9-0 rally to pull within three, 45-42, at the 1:50 mark. During that run, the Ichabod defense used full-court pressure to capture three steals. The three-ball started to fall again for Newman as the Jets made two from deep in the midst of closing out the period on a 9-1 run to extend their lead to 53-44.

The Ichabods made it a seven-point difference twice early in the fourth quarter when the Jets started to pull away with a 9-2 run and led by double-digits for the remainder of the game. Between both teams, there was a combined 25 free throws taken in the fourth quarter with Washburn making 7-of-8 and Newman going 13-of-17.

Washburn finished the evening shooting exactly 40 percent from the field and Newman shot at a 44.9 clip. The Jets went 9-for-24 from behind the three-point line while the Ichabods made 5-of-13. At the free throw line, the Jets converted on 21-of-27 attempts and the Ichabods were 17-of-27 on foul shots. The Ichabods outrebounded the Jets, 33-28.

Eight of the nine Ichabods who played in the game scored at least two points and the Washburn bench accounted for exactly half of the 62 points. Amaya Davison scored a career-high 15 points and made 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Dewey finished with 12 points, four steals, four rebounds, and three assists. Macy Doebele rounded-out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and made 6-of-8 at the free throw line to go with five rebounds.

Three Newman players also finished in double-figures. Britney Ho recorded 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and Maddie Spagnola also added 14 after making 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.

ABOUT THE CENTRAL OKLAHOMA BRONCHOS

• After starting the season with three non-conference wins, the Bronchos have lost six of their last seven games.
• As a team, UCO averages 68.5 ppg, but allows 74.5 ppg.
• The Bronchos are second in the MIAA in free throw percentage, making 74.1 percent from the foul line.
• They're also ranked second among MIAA teams in blocked shots, averaging 4.33 per game.
• Four Bronchos are averaging double-digit scoring and rank in the top-25 among MIAA players.
• Karly Wadsworth averages 13.1 ppg in 21 games played and leads the team with 45 made three-pointers.
• Alayzha Knapp has played in 17 games and averages 13.2 ppg to go with 4.6 rpg.
• Brooke Rayner and Allyah Llanusa chip in 10.4 ppg and 10.3 ppg, respectively.
• Llanusa is No. 10 in the MIAA in rebounds (6.9 rpg) and Rayner is No. 9 in the league for assists (3.5 apg).

HEAD COACH EMMA ANDREWS

• Emma Andrews is in his first season leading the Bronchos after she was named the head coach in May of 2022.
• She joins UCO after six seasons as the head coach at Cameron where she compiled a record of 73-87 and led the Aggies to five Lone Star Conference tournament appearances and a berth in the NCAA postseason tournament in 2020-21.
• Prior to her time in Lawton, Andrews was a graduate assistant coach for her alma mater, Fresno State, from 2012-14.

SERIES WITH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

• These two programs have played each other 24 times since 1994 and Washburn leads the all-time series, 14-10.
• When playing UCO in Topeka, Washburn is 5-3.
• The Ichabods have won the last three home games against the Bronchos.
• The most recent victory against UCO in Lee Arena was on Jan. 29, 2022 when Washburn posted a 98-93 overtime win.
• Doebele made a layup with .2 seconds in regulation to send the game to overtime.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME AGAINST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Washburn 75, Newman 73 (Dec. 31, 2022)
EDMOND, Okla. -- The Washburn women's basketball team closed out the 2022 calendar year on a high note as the Ichabods held on for a 75-73 road win at Central Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon.

The Bronchos led 6-2 early to begin the game and then went up 8-3 at the 6:16 mark when the Ichabods (6-5, 2-3 MIAA) started to slowly chip away at the deficit with free throws. Although the Bronchos made 9-of-16 from the field for a 56.3 shooting percentage in the first quarter, fouls proved costly as they committed 10 fouls compared to the Ichabods' one. Washburn made 9-of-12 from the free throw line with Macy Doebele going a perfect 6-for-6. After the Ichabods made seven free throws, the shots started falling for Washburn as well as Natalia Figueroa made a jump shot with 3:29 left to spark an 11-4 run to close out the opening period with a 20-19 lead.

Figueroa quickly got the scoring going with a layup 10 seconds into the second frame. The Bronchos (4-7, 1-6 MIAA) leveled the score at 22 after an old-fashioned three-point play and tied things up again at 24 before being held scoreless for nearly four and a half minutes while the Ichabods put up seven unanswered points to lead, 31-24. The Bronchos hit a three-pointer with 4:36 left in the first half to end their scoring drought and begin a run of their own, taking a 34-31 advantage after a 10-0 burst. A three-pointer from Figueroa tied the game for a third time in the quarter, but UCO ended the first half on a 5-0 run capped off by a buzzer-beating triple to lead 39-34 at halftime.

The Ichabods chiseled down the deficit to one point on two occasions within the first four minutes of the second half, but the Bronchos used a 6-0 run to go up 49-42. Washburn responded with a 7-2 scoring stint and continued to keep the game in reach. With 10 seconds remaining, Gabi Artis hit a three-pointer to cut Central Oklahoma's lead to just two, 56-54, heading into the final quarter.

Artis made another three-pointer for Washburn's first points of the fourth and Emma Chapman followed that with a layup 72 seconds into the quarter to give Washburn its first lead since the three minute mark in the second period. Back-and-forth scoring ensued with eight lead changes and six tied scores over the next six minutes. Trailing 68-66 with 2:40 left, Figueroa was fouled on a made jump shot and then completed the and-one play to push Washburn ahead by one. Central Oklahoma hit a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left to make 73-72 in favor of Washburn, but on UCO's next possession, the Bronchos committed an offensive foul and received a technical foul on the call. Doebele was chosen for the free shots and went 1-for-2 and was fouled again three seconds later, but missed both of those free throws and committed a foul herself battling for the rebound. With 19 seconds on the clock, Central Oklahoma made the first free throw and missed the second to keep Washburn's lead safe at 74-73. The Bronchos committed their 27th and final foul of the contest with nine seconds left and Mackenzie Gamble went 1-of-2 at the free throw line. Washburn's defense was tough throughout Central Oklahoma's last possession as the Bronchos' last-second three-point shot attempt that was off the mark.

For the game, the Ichabods scored a season-high 75 points and shot 44 percent from the floor while the Bronchos finished with a 40.3 field goal percentage. Washburn hit one more three-pointer than Central Oklahoma, making 7-of-16 from deep compared to UCO's 6-of-24. The Ichabods made a season-high 35 trips to the free throw line and successfully made 24 foul shots while the Bronchos went 13-of-15 at the charity stripe. On the glass, Washburn had one more rebound than the home team, 37-36.

Doebele led five Ichabods in double-digit scoring and finished the afternoon with a career-high 19 points after going 17-of-20 from the free throw line, setting a program record for the most free throws made in a single game. She also pulled down six rebounds. Figueroa made 5-of-8 from the floor and tallied 13 points.

Artis and Gamble both made a trio of three-pointers and totaled 12 and 11 points, respectively. Chapman rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points. Point guard Aubree Dewey hit four of her six shot attempts for eight points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and dished out a team-best seven assists.

Brooke Rayner paced the Bronchos with 19 points, four rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 980-474-1 (.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 remain at home for Tuesday's Pink Out game against Northwest Missouri. The Valentine's Day game is slated for 5:30 p.m.