By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Washburn women’s basketball faced off with Emporia State Saturday in the 108th all-time meeting in the Turnpike Tussle.
The Ichabods got a boost pregame with the return of longtime head coach Ron McHenry after missing one game due to COVID-19 protocols and it carried over to a 72-67 win over the Hornets in Lee Arena.
“It was a great win, and for me being away for a week and not seeing them til this morning, I didn’t see them until 11 o’clock … it was just good to be back on the court,” McHenry said.
A 16-rebound advantage propelled Washburn in a game that moved them to 7-9 on the year, 5-5 in MIAA play and completed an undefeated week.
“We know like everybody has their role and we stick to that and it feels good,” said Ichabod senior Nuria Barrientos. “We knew we had to get stops but you know play-by-play we don’t really think like if we are going to win or not, we just went with the flow and kind of got the win that way.”
Senior Hunter Bentley led Washburn with 18 points and had four assists in Saturday's 72-67 win over Emporia State. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Senior Nuria Barrientos scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Washburn's 72-67 MIAA win over Emporia State Saturday. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Emporia State got off to a hot start from deep, knocking down three triples in the first 4:08, creating a four-point lead. The Ichabods responded with two deep shots right back from seniors Barrientos and Hunter Bentley who each had five points in the first quarter.
Four first-quarter turnovers gave the Hornets a few easy baskets to result in a 20-17 advantage after a high-scoring 10 minutes.
In the second quarter it was Washburn who got after it defensively, forcing four turnovers in the first five minutes, one of which was a fullcourt steal and score by the senior transfer Shae Sanchez to put the Ichabods ahead, 24-22.
Bentley and Barrientos played a strong second quarter, combining for six points and four assists to push Washburn’s lead to as many as six before they entered halftime with a 35-32 advantage.
In the third quarter Washburn erupted for 22 points, including five trips to the free throw line.
“We found some things that work well (offensively), and that is because we have some players that can create some matchup problems,” McHenry said.
Early on it was Bentley knocking down two jumpers before sophomore Abby Oliver took over on the inside.
In the quarter Oliver went to the line six times by herself and scored eight in the quarter.
“Abby had a real run there when we went inside … they were playing all guards on the floor so we kind of did go little, as small as we are,” McHenry said. “They did a great job of passing … and I thought offensively we went and found the things that were working.”
The tough inside play grew the lead up to nine points with 10 minutes left to play. In the fourth quarter it quickly ballooned up to 13 points after a driving layup by Barrientos at the 8:12 mark.
The lead stayed in double-digits after back-to-back jumpers by freshman Aubree Dewey forced an Emporia State timeout with just under five minutes to play.
The Hornets began to full-court press forcing some missed shots and were able to cut the lead in half down to six points with 2:39 to play. The lead was cut in half again on two occasions as the game moved to the final minute.
On the Ichabods' next offensive possession Dewey ran the shot clock down to the final seconds before finding Bentley under the basket who was fouled and converted an old-fashioned three-point play to push the lead to six with 35 seconds remaining.
Emporia State knocked down another 3-pointer but two more free throws by Bentley and a stop defensively put the game out of reach as Washburn came away with the five-point win.
Washburn was led by 18 points and four assists from Bentley, who shot six of 10 from the floor and added two steals.
Oliver finished with 13 points and four assists of her own while Barrientos scored 15 and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
“If I see a rebound is going to come to me, I’m just going to go for them … I think it was great getting them,” Barrientos said.
“We had that big break before (Missouri) Southern because of COVID so when you have that it is hard to keep some rhythm,” McHenry said. “But then we kind of found that rhythm again.”
Next up for the Ichabods is a midweek matchup against Newman Jan. 26.
EMPORIA STATE WOMEN 67, WASHBURN 72
Emporia State 20 12 16 19 -- 67
Washburn 17 18 22 15-- 72
Emporia State (9-8, 4-7)
Scoring: Jobe 6-13 2-4 15, Martin 3-8 0-0 7, Price 3-11 6-6 12, Schultz 2-11 4-4 10, Hartman 4-10 2-2 12, Sheats 0-3 0-0 0, Walsh 2-3 0-0 5, Weathers 2-3 2-2 6. Totals 22-62 16-18 67.
Washburn (7-9,5-5)
Scoring: Cassaday 2-4 0-0 4, Gamble 0-5 0-0 0, Bentley 6-10 5-5 18, Barrientos 7-14 0-1 15, Doebele 3-9 1-1 7, Oliver 4-8 5-8 13, Sanchez 1-3 2-2 4, Chapman 1-1 0-0 2, Broadie 0-0 0-0 0, Sanz 1-1 0-0 3, Dewey 3-4 0-2 6. Totals 28-59 13-19 72.
3-point shots – Emporia State: 7-30 (Jobe 1-5, Martin 1-3, Price 0-3, Schultz 2-8, Hartman 2-7, Sheats 0-3, Walsh 1-1). Washburn: 3-13 (Gamble 0-3, Bentley 1-2, Barrientos 1-3, Doebele 0-2, Sanchez 0-1, Sanz 1-1, Dewey 0-1). Rebounds – Emporia State 30 (Jobe, Schultz, Hartman 5). Washburn 46 (Barrientos 14). Assists – Emporia State 8 (Price 3). Washburn 14 (Bentley, Oliver 4). Turnovers – Emporia State 11, Washburn 16. Fouled out – Emporia State (Price). Technical fouls – None.
