By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Washburn's women’s basketball entered its Tuesday night game against No. 23 Missouri Western on a four-game winning streak and was looking to close out its homestand with a win that would put the Ichbods above .500 for the first time all season.
However, all momentum was stopped early on as the Griffons completed a start-to-finish 80-47 MIAA win over the Ichabods, marking the biggest loss of the year for Washburn.
“I don’t know if I want to watch much film on this one,'' Washburn coach Ron McHenry said. "I got to watch film on Rogers State and catch onto this next game because we got to put this behind us pretty quickly.''
The loss moved the Ichabods to 9-10 on the year and 7-6 in conference play heading into a three-game road trip.
“Give them credit, they are one of the best defensive teams in the league and one of the best offensive teams in the league and that’s why they are pretty good,” McHenry said.
Senior Hunter Bentley scored 10 points to lead Washburn in Tuesday's 80-47 loss to No. 23-ranked Missouri Western Tuesday night. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Washburn senior Shae Sanchez scored nine points in Tuesday's 80-47 MIAA loss to Missouri Western. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/TSN]
Washburn got hit with a long-range offensive attack from the Griffons to open the game as they knocked down three triples in the first three minutes. Two of those came from sophomore Brionna Budgetts, who had 13 points in the first five minutes for Missouri Western.
That number was good enough to outscore the Ichabods, who managed only 12 points in the quarter, led by senior guard Hunter Bentley’s five, as Washburn trailed 21-12 after one.
“They got a little better start than I was hoping,” McHenry said. “Our reaction to it was, we got rattled and we couldn’t kind of catch it back.”
The trend continued in the second quarter, with slow offensive production from the Ichabods coupled with turnover problems, resulting in easy baskets on the other end for the Griffons. The lead grew to as many as 18 points at the 2:48 point in the second quarter spurred nearly 58 percent shooting from Missouri Western in the half.
A five-point burst by Bentley in back-to-back possessions cut into the lead, but the Ichabods still trailed 40-23 heading into halftime.
The lead for the Griffons quickly grew to well over 20 points, reaching as many as 26 in the third quarter. A 3-pointer from senior guard Shae Sanchez for Washburn brought the lead down to 21 at the 2:40 mark in the quarter.
Turnovers and defensive problems persisted for the Ichabods as they trailed 59-33 at the end of the third quarter.
With a deficit hovering around 30 points each team emptied its bench just a few minutes into the quarter. The bench of Missouri Western continued what the starters had done and grew the lead to as many as 35 points.
“They average 79 and give up 59. So that is not far from what they did tonight and that is what they do,” McHenry said. “They got a good basketball team, should have just performed a little better against them and maybe got into our game and we didn’t do that.”
Bentley was the only Washburn player in double figures, finishing with 10 points and two assists. Sanchez added nine points for the Ichabods.
The Ichabods will travel to Rogers State on Thursday.
MISSOURI WESTERN 80, WASHBURN 47
Missouri Western 21 19 19 21 -– 80
Washburn 12 11 10 14 -- 47
Missouri Western (17-3, 11-3)
Cunningham 4-12 0-2 8, Evans 3-3 0-2 6, Clarke 5-7 4-5 15, Budgetts 6-9 4-5 19, Cunningham 3-5 2-2 8, Haggard 4-7 1-2 11, Fultz 2-4 0-0 4, Bonilla 2-6 1-1 5, Gray 0-3 0-0 0, Knapp 1-3 0-0 2, Weishaar 0-1 0-0 0, Bala 1-2 0-0 2, Cobb 0-0 0-0 0, Schomp 0-0 0-0 0, Freemyer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-63 12-19 80.
Washburn (9-10, 7-6)
Cassaday 1-3 0-0 2, Gamble 2-8 0-0 5, Bentley 4-14 0-0 10, Barrientos 3-6 0-0 6, Doebele 1-4 2-4 4, Sanchez 4-11 0-0 9, Oliver 2-6 0-0 4, Dewey 1-1 1-2 3, Chapman 0-1 0-0 0, Sanz 0-0 0-0 0, Fulks 0-2 0-0 0, Glatczak 0-1 1-2 1, Schieferecke 0-0 1-2 1, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Willey 0-0 0-0 0, Broadie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-58 5-10 47.
3-point shots – Missouri Western: 6-13 (Clarke 1-1, Budgetts 3-4, Cunningham 0-1, Haggard 2-4, Bonilla 0-1, Weishaar 0-1, Bala 0-1). Washburn 4-15 (Gamble 1-3, Bentley 2-4, Barrientos 0-1, Sanchez 1-5, Fulks 0-1, Glatczak 0-1). Rebounds – Missouri Western 42 (Cunningham 11), Washburn 36 (Doebele 7). Assists – Missouri Western 14 (Cunningham 4), Washburn 8 (Bentley, Doebele, Oliver 2). Turnovers – Missouri Western 13, Washburn 18. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
