TOPEKA, Kan . -- Washburn will play its next two games this week on the road in the Show Me State, first at Lincoln in the Missouri state capital on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

OPENING TIP

• Washburn will play its next two games this week on the road in the Show Me State, first at Lincoln on Thursday evening.
• The Ichabods (10-14, 6-12 MIAA) snapped a four-game losing streak with a big 62-59 overtime victory over Northwest Missouri on Tuesday.
• Four of Washburn's starters finished in double-figure scoring in the game against the Bearcats.
• The Blue Tigers are 5-19 (3-14 MIAA) and have lost eight in a row.
• Washburn won the earlier meeting against Lincoln in Topeka on Jan. 7, 73-59.
• The Washburn women's team has never lost to Lincoln and are a perfect 34-0.
• Washburn is 2-6 on the road this season and Lincoln is 3-8 when playing in Jeff City.
• The Ichabods are ninth in the MIAA standings and the Blue Tigers are 13th.

BODS AND ENDS

• Washburn is averaging 56.9 ppg and shooting 36.8 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.
• This season, Washburn has held opponents to fewer than 60 points in 17 contests.
• Washburn is now 35-22 all-time in overtime games after defeating Northwest Missouri in OT on Tuesday.
• When playing on Valentine's Day, the Ichabods improved the all-time record to 13-5.
• The Ichabods extended their three-point streak to 67 consecutive games after making three triples against the Bearcats.
• Washburn put up 20 points in the fourth quarter against the Bearcats and have now recorded at least one quarter with 20+ points in three of the last four games.
• Macy Doebele is five points away from making 600 in her career...she is also 14 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 (10.7 ppg/23rd), assists (3.7 apg/seventh), steals (1.3 spg/23rd), and time on the court (33.8 mpg/first).
• Against NWMSU, she led the team in scoring with 15 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Twelve of her total points came during the second half and overtime.
• Natalia Figueroa scores 8.6 ppg and has made a team-high 41 three-pointers. She tallied her ninth double-figure scoring game on Tuesday, finishing with 12 points.
• Doebele returned to the starting lineup on Tuesday for the first time since Dec. 17 after coming off the bench in the games in between ... this season, she averages 7.7 ppg and 4.7 rpg.
• Doebele tallied 12 points and went 8-for-10 at the free throw line against the Bearcats. She went a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe in the final 27 seconds of overtime to help seal the victory.
• At forward, Emma Chapman recorded her first career double-double for Washburn and had 13 points and 10 boards against Northwest Missouri. Eleven of her points were scored in the second half and OT.
• Overall this season, Chapman has started 20 of the 24 games she's played and averages 7.5 ppg and 4.7 rpg.
• Freshman center Yiibari Nwidadah leads the squad with 5.8 rpg while shooting 51.9 percent from the floor and also contributes 6.9 ppg.
• Gabi Artis is scoring 6.2 ppg and adding 3.8 rpg in 22 games.
• Amaya Davison has played in all 24 games off the bench and contributes 2.9 ppg.
• Lakyn Schieferecke played six minutes off the bench against the Bearcats after starting the previous 14 games...this season, she averages 2.3 rpg and 1.9 ppg.
• In the post, Lauren Cassaday and Lizzy Sanders average 1.7 and 1.3 ppg, respectively.

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 62, Northwest Missouri 59 - OT (Feb. 14, 2023)
TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and made crucial free throws to avenge its overtime loss at Northwest Missouri from 10 days ago with a 62-59 overtime win at home against the Bearcats on Tuesday evening.

It was back-and-forth scoring to start the game with neither team leading by more than two points until Natalia Figueroa buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Washburn (10-14, 6-12 MIAA) an 11-8 advantage at the end of the opening quarter.

The score continued to stay within two or fewer points for the entire second quarter with ties at every odd number starting at 11 until Yiibari Nwidadah broke the 17-all score with a free throw with 1:38 left in the quarter. That would be the final point for either team as the Ichabods held an 18-17 lead at halftime.

Emma Chapman and Aubree Dewey teamed up to score the Ichabods' first nine points of the second half and grew the lead to 27-23 at the 5:59 mark. Northwest Missouri (13-12, 8-11 MIAA) closed out the quarter strong, going on a 13-3 tear in the final 5:46 to lead 36-30 heading into the fourth.

The Bearcats hit two free throws to start the final stanza to go up by a game-high eight points. Washburn quickly trimmed the deficit down to one with a pair of jumpers from Dewey and a three-pointer from Gabi Artis. Northwest Missouri answered with a three of its own and led 46-43 when Figueroa hit another big triple to level the score with 3:12 to go in regulation.

With just under three minutes left, the Bearcats went 1-of-2 at the free throw line and then a 56 seconds later, Chapman was fouled and made both of her shots from the charity stripe to put the Ichabods ahead, 48-47. Chapman found herself back at the free throw line with 46 seconds to go and again, made both to make it 50-47 in favor of Washburn. NWMSU called a timeout to advance the ball and made a three-pointer with 35 seconds to tie the game. Washburn turned the ball over with 32 seconds remaining to allow Northwest Missouri one more shot, but the three-point attempt was off target and sent the game to extra time.

Washburn led from start to finish in overtime as the duo of Chapman and Dewey got the scoring started again, this time with a 6-1 run. The Bearcats made a three-pointer with 11 seconds to go to pull within 60-59, but Macy Doebele followed that up with two free throws to push the lead back to three and the Bearcats' final heave was off-line again. Doebele made six free throws in a row in the final 27 seconds to secure the overtime win.

Northwest Missouri finished the evening shooting 32.1 percent from the field while Washburn shot slightly less at a 31.7 clip. The Bearcats went 8-of-22 from three-point range and the Ichabods were 3-for-14 from deep. At the free throw line, Washburn was 19-of-27 and Northwest Missouri was 15-for-19. NWMSU grabbed one more rebound than WU, 43-42.

Four of Washburn's starters finished in double-figure scoring. Dewey was 6-of-15 from the field for a team-high 15 points. Chapman notched her first double-double as an Ichabod with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Figueroa and Doebele had 12 points apiece.

Molly Hartnett led the Bearcats with 17 points and went 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

ABOUT THE LINCOLN BLUE TIGERS

• The Blue Tigers won three of four games at the beginning of the year with victories over Emporia State, Rogers State, and Northeastern State before diving into an eight-game losing streak.
• Lincoln is currently averaging 61.8 ppg, but allowing 74.3 ppg.
• Le'Yanna McGinnis does a little of everything for the Blue Tigers as she leads the team in scoring (12.9 ppg/16th in the MIAA), rebounds (6.0 rpg/15th), free throws (59 total), and blocks (1.1 bpg/ninth).
• She also has a team-best 51.3 field goal percentage.
• Niyah Jackson is second on the squad in scoring with 8.7 ppg
• From three-point range, Kelsey Mitchell leads the team with 46 triples and shoots 37.1 percent from deep.
• Saniya Simmons averages 3.3 apg and 1.9 spg to lead the team.

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 34-0 against Lincoln.
• Fifteen of those wins have taken place in Jefferson City.
• Washburn's last road win in Missouri's state capital was a 67-55 victory on Feb. 10, 2022.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME AGAINST LINCOLN
Washburn 73, Lincoln 59 (Jan. 7, 2023)
TOPEKA, Kan. – Three Washburn freshmen finished in double-digit scoring for a combined 44 points as the Ichabods led from start to finish in the 73-59 win over Lincoln on Saturday afternoon.

The Ichabods (7-6, 3-4 MIAA) started the game hot, scoring on each of their first three possessions making 3-of-3 from the field. Washburn led by as many as seven midway through the frame before Lincoln (3-11, 1-7 MIAA) used a 6-0 run to make it a one point score at 10-9. Washburn created a little space again with a 4-0 run to end the quarter in front, 14-9.

Washburn increased its lead to double-digits in the second quarter as the Ichabods made 7-of-12 from the field including 5-of-7 from deep. Washburn held a 17-13 advantage when Gabi Artis sparked a 13-0 burst and scored the first seven of those points herself. Natalia Figueroa capped off that run with back-to-back three-pointers. At the break, the Ichabods led 35-24 and the Washburn freshmen trio of Artis, Figueroa, and Yiibari Nwidadah combined for 31 of the team's first half points.

The Ichabod offense continued its success to start the second half and shot 53.9 percent from the field in the third and increased their lead to 18 points, 55-37, heading into the final quarter.

A made jumper by Aubree Dewey pushed Washburn's lead to a game-high 20 points early in the fourth. The Blue Tigers slowly cut away at the deficit and made 8-of-17 (47 percent) from the floor to pull within nine points with just under a minute left in regulation, but they would get no closer as the Ichabods scored seven of the final nine points of the game to close out the double-digit win.

Washburn finished the afternoon shooting a season-high 50 percent from the field while Lincoln shot at a 40 percent clip. From three-point range, the Ichabods were 6-of-14 and the Blue Tigers were 4-for-7. Washburn outrebounded Lincoln, 35-30.

Four Ichabods finished in double figures with three of those being freshmen players setting new season-highs. Artis made 6-of-10 from the field to score a season-high 16 points while adding a team-best seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Figueroa also had a season-best 16 points and made 4-of-7 from deep. Nwidadah totaled 12 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes of play. Macy Doebele rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points, making all four of her shot attempts and all three of her free throws.

There were also four players from Lincoln finished in double-figure scoring, led by Le'Yanna McGinnis' 15 points. She also led the team with eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 981-475-1 (.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 finish off the road trip in the neighboring state to the east on Saturday at No. 12 Central Missouri.