By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team continues its homestand this week, hosting Newman in a 5:30 p.m. MIAA contest Wednesday at Lee Arena.
The Ichabods won back-to-back home games last week, improving to 7-9 overall and 5-5 in MIAA play with a 72-67 win over rival Emporia State on Saturday.
Washburn has won its last four home games heading into Wednesday's game against Newman, 2-17, 0-13.
The Ichabods and Jets met earlier this season in Wichita, with Washburn posting a 51-40 win on Dec. 11.
Newman is winless on the road this season with a record of 0-7 in true away games.
Senior Hunter Bentley averages a team-high 13 points for Washburn, which will host Newman in a 5:30 p.m. contest Wednesday at Lee Arena. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Hunter Bentley averages a team-high 13 points for Washburn, ranking 12th in the MIAA, and has scored eight or more points in 14 of 16 games this season.
Bentley, who scored a game-high 18 points against Emporia State, is No. 8 on Washburn's career scoring list with 1,409 points. She needs 59 more points to pass former teammate Reagan Phelan.
Bentley passed Phelan for the second-most minutes played in a Washburn uniform and is up to 3,838. Shelley Foster (1991-95) is the all-time leader with 3,978 minutes played.
Abby Oliver continues to excel off the bench and has scored in double-digits in each of the last three games, including 13 points against Emporia State on Saturday. Oliver averages 4.4 rebounds.
Macy Doebele contributes 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Ichabods and finished with seven points and six rebounds against the Lady Hornets.
Senior Nuria Barrientos averages 6.3 points and leads the Ichabods with 5.4 rebounds per game. She has also registered a team-best 21 blocks (1.3 average), ranking fifth in the league.
Barrientos is coming off a 15-point, 14-rebound performance against ESU, her third double-double of the season.
Newman went 4-18 in the conference-only season last year. The Jets' two victories this season came back-to-back on Nov. 23 and Nov. 27 against Cottey College and Manhattan Christian College.
Newman is led by Tiffany Dortland, who averages 10.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 asists.
Britney Ho averages 9.3 points while Faith Mason-Vestal leads the Jets with 5.5 rebounds per game and shoots 87 percent from the free throw line.
Drew Johnson is in his first season coaching the Jets after coaching four seasons at Bethel. Johnson's wife, former Kansas State star and WNBA player Nicole Ohlde-Johnson, is the co-head coach.
Washburn closes out the week on Saturday, hosting Central Oklahoma in a 1 p.m. MIAA game.
