By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn's women's basketball team felt like it let a win slip away in Thursday's 3-point MIAA home loss to Rogers State.
Fortunately for the Ichabods, they didn't have to wait long to wipe out the sour taste of that defeat, bouncing back with a 76-66 win over Northeastern State Saturday afternoon at Lee Arena.
WU, which improved to 7-8 overall and in the league, had struggled offensively in its 53-50 loss to Rogers State, but put togher a solid performance Saturday as senior Hunter Bentley, freshman Lauren Cassaday and junior Nuria Barrientos combined for 56 points and the Ichabods shot 86.7 percent from the free throw line (26 of 30).
Washburn senior Hunter Bentley scored 27 points in Saturday's 76-66 MIAA home win over Northeastern State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Bentley, the former Bishop Miege standout, said it was important for the Ichabods to bounce right back from the Rogers State game.
"I think we definitely beat ourselves the other day, so coming back together as a team and not letting that divide us and just really working together and playing hard together was kind of what we figured we needed to do,'' Bentley said.
"We defended it hard against Rogers State, (allowing) 53 points you should win the game,'' Washburn coach Ron McHenry said. "We turned it over and it really wasn't them turning us over. We were making poor decisions and we were trying to get something out of something that wasn't there and didn't make the extra pass. That's why you get high turnovers and don't shoot it very well. I was incredibly disappointed in that because we needed to get that win.''
But less than 48 hours later McHenry felt like the Ichabods showed improvement despite being without sophomore starter Abby Oliver, who is out for the season with a fractured hand.
"I thought we tried to pass to each other better and we didn't turn it over as much,'' he said. "I thought we challenged ourselves better and I was deep into the bench and I was much more comfortable with what we did in the bench area.''
Bentley led all scorers with 27 points and went a perfect 9 of 9 at the free throw line while Cassady added 15 points off the bench while going 5 of 5 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line and Barrientos had 14 points and 12 rebounds and hit all 4 of her free throw attempts.
Freshman Lauren Cassaday came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points Saturday in Washburn's 76-66 win over Northeastern State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn set the tone when it opened up a 14-8 first-quarter advantage and the Ichabods went into the locker room at halftime with a 37-27 lead.
Northeastern State stayed in the hunt throughout the second half, getting within 2 points in the third quarter and within 5 points in the fourth, but the Ichabods held the RiverHawks at bay with their work at the free throw line.
Cenia Hays led Northeastern State (4-12) with 20 points while Zaria Collins added 17 points and Shae Sanchez 12 points and 7 rebounds.
The RiverHawks and Ichabods will turn right back around and face off again Tuesday in a 4 p.m. makeup contest at Tahlequah, Okla.
WASHBURN WOMEN 76, NORTHEASTERN STATE 66
Northeastern State 8 19 21 18 -- 66
Washburn 14 23 20 19 -- 76
NORTHEASTERN STATE (4-12, 4-12)
Collins 8-16 1-1 17, Sanchez 5-13 2-2 12, Morgan Lee 1-6 0-2 2, Hayes 7-13 5-5 20, Maegan Lee 0-2 4-4 4, Brooks 0-2 0-0 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Ho 1-1 0-0 2, Tomokino 2-2 0-0 4, Regalado 1-4 2-2 5. Totals 25-60 14-16 66.
WASHBURN (7-8, 7-8)
Gamble 3-5 1-1 8, Bentley 8-16 9-9 27, Barrientos 5-16 4-4 14, Doebele 1-2 0-0 3, Cassaday 5-5 5-6 15, Willey 1-3 0-0 2, Dewey 0-2 0-0 0, Glatczak 0-0 6-8 6, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0, Narber 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 23-50 26-30 76.
3-point goals -- Northeastern State 2-16 (Hayes 1-2, Regalado 1-4, Sanchez 0-5, Morgan Lee 0-2, Brooks 0-2, Maegan Lee 0-1), Washburn 4-14 (Bentley 2-4, Gamble 1-3, Doebele 1-1, Barrientos 0-2, Willey 0-2, Dewey 0-1, Narber 0-1). Rebounds -- Northeastern State 27 (Sanchez 7), Washburn 35 (Barrientos 12). Assists -- Northeastern State 8 (Sanchez 3), Washburn 11 (Four with 2). Turnovers -- Northeastern State 11, Washburn 13. Total fouls — Northeastern State 21, Washburn 17. Fouled out -- Sanchez.
