By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn women's basketball team dropped a 69-56 MIAA road game at Pittsburg State on Saturday, falling to 5-9 overall and 3-5 in the MIAA.
Pittsburg State jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Abby Oliver scored at the 6:21 mark of the first quarter started a 6-0 run for the Ichabods.
Abby Oliver
The Gorillas (11-5, 6-4) responded with a 7-2 run over the next 1:45 to extend their lead to 15-8. Aubree Dewey scored the final points of the opening quarter with a jump shot to cut the Ichabods' deficit to 20-15.
Shae Sanchez's layup to start the second quarter pulled Washburn within three points and the Ichabods made it a four-point contest on four occasions, but got no closer in the second as Pittsburg State went into halftime with a 32-25 advantage.
The Ichabods came out firing in the second half and scored on three of their first four possessions to make it a two-pointgame (34-32) with 7:34 on the clock.
But the Gorillas created some space again with an 8-1 run and ended the quarter on a 6-0 burst to lead 53-42 heading into the final stanza.
The Gorillas maintained their double-digit lead until Oliver's layup sparked a 6-0 rally midway through the fourth quarter to trim Washburn's deficit to 64-56. That would be the final points for Washburn, though, as Pittsburg scored the last five points to close out the 13-point victory.
Washburn finished the afternoon shooting 40.7 percent from the field while Pittsburg State shot 50 percent. The Gorillas made seven of 18 from 3-point range and the Ichabods were four of 12 from deep. Both teams went exactly eight of 11 from the free throw line. The Washburn bench scored 36 points on the afternoon.
Nine out of the 10 Ichabods that played scored at least one point.
Oliver contributed 16 points, six rebounds, four blocks, one steal and one assist for Washburn while Hunter Bentley added eight points and three assists. Macy Doebele made all six of her free throw attempts and grabbed four rebounds.
Threeplayers from Pittsburg State scored double-digit points, led by Jayme Jackson, who was 7-of-11 from the field and made three 3s to total 17 points.
The Ichabods return home to take on Northwest Missouri at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
