By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Ten different Ichabods scored in the first half as Washburn University, returning from its holiday break, jumped out to a double-digit advantage on the way to a 57-40 non-conference victory over Bethany College Thursday night at Lee Arena.
Junior Aubree Dewey scored 12 points and freshman Gabi Artis a career-high 11 to lead a balanced Ichabod attack as Washburn improved to 5-5 on the season.
Washburn coach Lora Westling talks to her team during Thursday's 57-40 non-conference win over Bethany at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Macy Doebele (30) drives to the basket Thursday night against Bethany in Washburn's 57-40 non-conference win. Doebele scored eight points as the Ichabods improved to 5-5. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn, which had been off since Dec. 17, returned to practice on Tuesday to get ready for Thursday's game, which wrapped up the Ichabods' non-conference schedule.
"I thought there were some bright spots,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said. "We had a chance to work on some things that we needed to work on and shake some rust off, but some of our old demons were still lurking around -- our aggressiveness on offense and lack there of and how we turned the ball over too often.
"We've just got to continue to work on those things but credit to Bethany. They're a quality team and really well-coached and it was nice to get out and play.''
After surrendering the first basket of the game four seconds into the contest, the Ichabods shot 50 percent (7 of 14) from the field in the opening quarter while holding the Swedes to just 23.1 percent (3 of 13) en route to opening up a 15-7 advantage.
Artis opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer to push Washburn's lead to double figures and the Ichabods led by as many as 15 points en route to a 30-20 advantage at the break.
The Ichabods maintained a double-digit lead for the entire second half and held the Swedes to just five points in the third quarter.
Washburn closed out the third quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 41-25 lead into the final stanza.
Washburn remained in control in the fourth quarter and tallied nine of the final 11 points to cap the 17-point victory.
The Ichabods finished the evening shooting 42.1 percent (24 of 57) from the floor and limited the Swedes to 27.1 percent shooting (13 of 48).
Washburn made 3 of 10 attempts from 3-point range, with Artis hitting all three treys, while Bethany made just 1 of 9 from deep.
The Ichabod bench contributed 30 of the 57 total points, led by Artis' 11 points.
R'Manie Pulling led the Swedes, who played the game as an exhibition, with 12 points.
Washburn will return to MIAA action on Saturday afternoon at Central Oklahoma, with the Ichabod women playing at 1:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3:30.
WASHBURN WOMEN 57, BETHANY 40
Bethany 7 13 5 15 -- 40
Washburn 15 15 11 16 -- 57
BETHANY (9-5)
Dunn 0-2 4-4 4, Unruh 0-2 3-4 3, Garrett 1-5 0-0 2, Weathers 2-6 1-1 5, Reiner 1-5 0-0 2, Pulling 5-15 2-3 12, Lopez 0-1 1-2 1, Green 0-2 1-2 1, Gleason 3-3 0-0 6, Becker 0-3 0-0 0, Noll 0-2 0-0 0, Aeschliman 1-2 1-2 4, Breshears 0-0 0-0 0, Toerber 0-0 0-0 0, McGuire 0-0 0-0 0, Ballard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-48 13-18 40.
WASHBURN (5-5)
Chapman 3-5 0-1 6, Gamble 2-3 0-0 4, Dewey 5-11 2-4 12, Schieferecke 0-4 1-2 1, Figueroa 2-7 0-0 4, Nwidadah 1-2 1-4 3, Doebele 4-6 0-0 8, Artis 3-9 2-2 11, Davison 2-4 0-0 4, Cassaday 2-4 0-0 4, Newfarmer 0-0 0-0 0, Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Broadie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 6-13 57.
3-point shots – Bethany 1-9 (Aeschliman 1-1, Pulling 0-3, Unruh 0-2, Noll 0-2, Green 0-1), Washburn 3-10 (Artis 3-6, Figueroa 0-2, Davison 0-2). Rebounds – Bethany 31 (Unruh 5, Lopez 5), Washburn 43 (Figueroa 8, Artis 7). Assists – Bethany 8 (Dunn 2, Pulling 2), Washburn 9 (Gamble 2, Figueroa 2, Cassaday 2). Turnovers – Bethany 18, Washburn 17. Total fouls – Bethany 17, Washburn 20. Fouled out – Green. Technical fouls – none.
