Balanced Attack Lifts Ichabods Over Bearcats

A balanced effort and a quartet of double-figure scorers powered Washburn women’s basketball to a 69-58 victory over Southwest Baptist, snapping a two-game skid on Saturday, improving to 15-7 on the year and 10-3 in the MIAA. For the sixth-time this season, the Washburn offense shot north of 50 percentage, as it was an efficient 53.3 percent, converting on 24 of 45 attempts from the field.

Taylor Blue led the offense with 8-of-14 shooting, finishing with a game-high 17. Hunter Bentley followed with 16 and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while Annette Warner and Reagan Phelan chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Effective 7-of-12 shooting in the opening period saw the Ichabods jump out front early and lead by as much as seven midway through frame. The advantage eventually evaporated however, as SBU (6-16, 2-11 MIAA) went on a 10-4 run to close the first.

Trailing 19-18, Washburn continued to be well-organized from the floor, converting on 6-of-9 attempts in the second. However, it was the Ichabod defense that was the difference, which limited the Bearcat offense to 2-of-13 shooting and forcing four of their 19 turnovers. As a result, WU closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 33-24 lead at the break.

The momentum carried in the third for the Ichabods, extending their run to 15-3 as they stretched the advantage to a 12 with 7:37 left in the frame. Midway through the period, Washburn pushed the score to 44-31.

SBU then cut the deficit to single-digits with a 7-2 spurt in less than a 90-second span. Bentley answered back for Washburn as she knocked down three to nudge the margin to 11, but it was short-lived as the Bearcats continued to chip away, posting six-unanswered points and narrowing the gap to five, 49-44.

The SBU push rally however fell flat as Washburn pieced together a 7-2 rally to open the fourth as it reassumed a 12-point lead, 59-47, with 5:28 left. The Bearcats attempted another late rally but again fell short as it was unable to draw closer than a seven-point gap as Washburn shooters were clutch late, converting on 8-of-10 attempts from the charity stripe during the game’s final 1:17.

Washburn edged out SBU in rebounds, 36-35, while controlling paint scoring, 26-16.

The Ichabods return to Lee Arena next week as they do the Oklahoma two-step and host Northeastern State on Thursday and Central Oklahoma on Saturday