TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn is set to host Northwest Missouri on Tuesday for the annual Pink Out Game. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.

OPENING TIP

• The Ichabods (9-14, 5-12 MIAA) have lost four in a row and are looking to get back in the win column after dropping a 73-62 decision to Central Oklahoma on Saturday.
• The Bearcats are 7-14 (4-13 MIAA) and are on a three-game winning streak.
• NWMSU defeated WU just a week and a half ago on Feb. 4 in overtime, 76-45.
• The earlier meeting between these two teams was a back-and-forth battle that saw 13 lead changes, 15 tie scores, and nine points scored in the final five seconds of regulation to send the game to extra time.
• Washburn is 7-8 when playing in the friendly confines of Lee Arena this season while Northwest Missouri has gone 5-5 on the road.
• The Ichabods are ninth in the MIAA standings and the Bearcats are in a tie for seventh.

PINK OUT GAME INFO

• Washburn is raising breast cancer awareness and has teamed up with Topeka chapter of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.
• The team will be wearing special Washburn Pink Out warm up shirts before the game.
• Fans can purchase those shirts for a $40 donation with all proceeds going to Making Strides.
• Additionally, there will be donation buckets throughout Lee Arena during both the women's and men's games.

BODS AND ENDS

• Washburn is averaging 56.7 ppg and shoots 37.0 percent from the field.
• The Ichabods are fourth in the league in fewest points allowed per game as they hold opponents to 59.0 ppg.
• Washburn extended its three-point streak to 66 consecutive games after making four against the Bronchos.
• The Ichabods have outrebounded their opponents in 15 of the 23 games so far.
• Macy Doebele is 17 points away from making 600 in her career...she is also 17 rebounds away from 400 in her time at Washburn.

THE WU CREW

• Aubree Dewey continues to lead the Ichabods and rank in the top-25 in the MIAA in scoring (10.5 ppg/24th), assists (3.8 apg/seventh), steals (1.4 spg/20th), and time on the court (33.6 mpg/third).
• She led or tied for the team-lead in assists in 16 games as well as in steals in 13 games.
• Natalia Figueroa scores 8.5 ppg and has made a team-high 39 three-pointers. She drained three triples against the Bronchos and now has seven games with three or more three-pointers.
• Doebele averages 7.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg in 22.0 mpg off the bench.
• She is the team-leader in free throws as has made 66-of-86 overall this season for a 76.7 free throw percentage. Since going 17-of-20 at the charity stripe at Central Oklahoma (Dec. 31), she has gone a combined 53-of-68.
• At forward, Emma Chapman adds 7.3 ppg to go with 4.5 rpg.
• Freshman center, Yiibari Nwidadah, leads the squad with 5.7 rpg while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor and also contributes 7.0 ppg.
• Nwidadah has scored double-digits in two of the last three games and made a career-high five free throws against UCO en route to 11 total points.
• Gabi Artis is scoring 6.2 ppg and adding 3.8 rpg in 21 games.
• Amaya Davison has played in all 23 games off the bench and bumped up her scoring average to 3.0 ppg after her averaging 13.5 ppg in two games last week.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has played in all 23 games and chips in 2.4 rpg and 2.1 ppgs.
• In limited playing time, Lauren Cassaday averages 1.8 ppg and 2.6 rpg. She went 3-for-4 at the free throw line against UCO.

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 Oklahoma 73, Washburn 62 (Feb. 11, 2023)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Ichabods outscored the Bronchos 22-14 in the third quarter, but it wasn't enough as Washburn lost, 73-62, on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams shot well in the opening quarter as the Bronchos made 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the floor with three 3-pointers while the Ichabods were 6-of-12 from the field. The Bronchos made three free throws in the final seven seconds to lead, 23-16, at the end of one.

Central Oklahoma (8-14, 5-13 MIAA) extended its lead in the second quarter to as many as 14 after shooting above 50 percent again while holding Washburn (9-14, 5-12 MIAA) to just 2-of-15. The Ichabods did go 8-of-10 in free throws in the period and a pair of made foul shots by Macy Doebele made it 41-29 in favor of the Bronchos at halftime.

The Ichabods came out firing in the second half and used an 18-8 tear over the first 5:25 of the third quarter to pull within two, 49-47. Central Oklahoma responded with a 4-0 mini run before the Ichabods scored four of their own to trim the deficit down to two again with 2:04 left in the quarter. The Bronchos scored one final basket and carried a 55-51 advantage into the final stanza.

Washburn would get no closer in the fourth quarter, though. The Ichabods were limited to just 1-of-12 from the field while making 9-of-12 from the free throw line and the Bronchos shot 5-of-9 with 7-of-10 at the charity stripe to close out the win.

The Bronchos finished the game with a 51.9 field goal percentage and held the Ichabods to shooting 30.9 percent. UCO made one more three-pointer and had one more attempt than WU, going 5-of-15 from behind the arc. The Ichabods made 31 trips to the free throw line and made 24 foul shots and the Bronchos were 14-of-19. Washburn edge Central Oklahoma on the glass, 36-33.

Natalia Figueroa led the Ichabods with 13 points and made three shots from deep. Amaya Davison recorded her second-straight game in double-digits as she tallied 12 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Yiibari Nwidadah added 11 points and led the team with six rebounds.

Brooke Rayner led all scorers with 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Aspen Williston recorded a triple-double as she finished with 14 points, 10 blocks, and 10 boards.

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST MISSOURI BEARCATS

• The Bearcats went 17-12 last season and their 12-10 MIAA record was the most conference wins for the program since the 2010-11 season.
• The team averages 61.5 ppg and has a 39.3 field goal percentage.
• Molly Hartnett has scored double-digits in nine of the last 10 games, including back-to-back games with 24 points against Washburn and Rogers State.
• She is currently ranked 12th among MIAA players averaging 13.9 ppg and is first in the league and 10th in Division II with a 90.8 free throw percentage (79-of-87).
• Kelsey Fields leads the MIAA with 9.5 rpg...she also grabs an average of 3.6 offensive boards per game.
• She is second on the team in scoring, adding 7.9 ppg.
• Peyton Kelderman leads the team with 42 three-pointers and shoots the ball at a 35.9 percent clip from deep.

HEAD COACH AUSTIN MEYER

• Austin Meyer (54-75) is in his fifth season leading the Northwest Missouri women's basketball team after being a full-time staff member of the Bearcats' men's team from 2008-18.
• As a student-athlete, Meyer was a four-year letterwinner at Northwest Missouri and held the then-program career record with 215 made three-pointers.
• Meyer is a native of the best hometown in America, beautiful Blue Springs, Mo.
• He is 3-6 against Washburn.

SERIES WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI

• Although Washburn holds a resounding 60-13 advantage in the all-time series since 1981, the Bearcats have won the last two in a row.
• The last two games have gone to overtime.
• When playing the Bearcats in Topeka, WU is 35-3.
• The last win in Lee Arena against NWMSU was on Jan. 17, 2022 when the Ichabods posted a 58-52 victory.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHWEST MISSOURI
Northwest Missouri 76, Washburn 75 - OT (Feb. 4, 2023)
MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Washburn women's basketball team came up just short in a 76-75 overtime loss at Northwest Missouri on Saturday afternoon. It was a back-and-forth battle that saw 13 lead changes, 15 tie scores, and nine points scored in the final five seconds of regulation to send the game to extra time.

Washburn (9-12, 5-10 MIAA) held a 12-4 advantage with 4:25 to go in the opening quarter, but Northwest Missouri (11-11, 6-10 MIAA) used an 8-4 run to cut the Ichabod lead to four. Yiibari Nwidadah was responsible for 10 of Washburn's 16 points in the frame.

The Bearcats carried their momentum into the second quarter and scored seven unanswered points to go in front, 19-16. A three-pointer by Gabi Artis leveled the score at 25 and then a minute later she hit a pair of free throws to tie up the score at 25-all. The Bearcats regained the lead with a layup and a jumper, but Aubree Dewey trimmed the deficit to 29-28 after hitting jumper at the buzzer just before the break.

Emma Chapman scored the first seven points for the Ichabods in the third quarter to give them a 35-34 advantage. Washburn led 40-38 with 3:51 to go in the period when Northwest went on a 10-2 tear to retake the lead. Natalia Figueroa buried a triple in the waning seconds of the quarter to get the Ichabods back within one, 48-47, heading into the fourth.

Chapman made a layup 10 seconds into the fourth quarter to spark an 10-4 run to lead 57-52 with 5:42 left in regulation. The Bearcats got right back into it with a three-pointer and a jumper. Back-and-forth scoring ensued, but the Ichabods broke a 62-all tie with a 3-0 mini run. After a pair of missed Washburn free throws, Northest Missouri hit a three-pointer with five seconds remaining to tie the game at 65. The Ichabods called a timeout to advance the ball and Macy Doebele made the go-ahead layup with 1.4 seconds left. Then the Bearcats called a timeout, inbounded the ball and were fouled attempted a three-pointer. Molly Hartnett made all three foul shots to give the Bearcats a one-point advantage, 68-67, with :01 on the clock.

The Bearcats were called for a foul before the ball was inbounded which put Doebele at the line, where she made one of two attempts to send the game into overtime.

The Ichabods scored five unanswered points to begin overtime and led 73-68 with 1:20 to go. The Bearcats made it a one-point game, 75-74, after a 6-2 run with 44 seconds left. With six seconds on the clock, Hartnett made a layup to give Northwest Missouri its first lead in overtime. The Ichabods called a timeout, but missed their last two shot attempts to fall short.

Both teams finished the afternoon shooting an identical 41.3 percent from the field. The Bearcats made 6-of-20 from three-point distance while the Ichabods were 3-for-11 from deep. At the free throw line, Washburn was 20-of-29 and Northwest Missouri was 18-for-20. NWMSU had a 41-37 advantage in rebounds.

Chapman led the Ichabods in scoring, going 8-of-11 from the field en route to a career-high 18 points. Nwidadah was a rebound shy of a double-double as she finished with a season-best 17 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the floor and 7-of-9 at the free throw line. Dewey rounded out the double-digit scorers with 16 points to go with seven assists in 44 minutes of playing time.

Harnett led all scorers with 24 points and had six rebounds and three steals. Emma Atwood chipped in 11 points and eight boards.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 980-475-1 (.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 close out its three-game week with a pair of road games, first at Lincoln on Thursday before heading to Central Missouri.