After a 10-day layoff Washburn women’s basketball returned to action Dec. 29 for a non-conference matchup against Bethany College. While the game counted as an exhibition for the Swedes the Ichabods would still have a chance to improve on its 3-7 record in the final home game of 2021.

Washburn’s defense was not rusty to begin the game, as they held Bethany to just five field goal attempts in the first quarter and forced 11 turnovers. The Swedes connected on four of the five shots to keep pace. Offensively, the Ichabods had success going inside, led by sophomore forward Abby Oliver who scored nine of the 20 first quarter points, building a ten-point lead.

Washburn began the second quarter holding the Swedes scoreless the first 6:50 of the quarter, going on a 9-0 run over the time to extend the lead to 19 points, with five coming from
sophomore guard Macy Doebele. Nine turnovers in the quarter by the Ichabods allowed Bethany to go on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes. A three by senior guard Hunter Bentley stopped the run before Washburn went into halftime with a 32-21 lead.

“I thought Bethany did a great job of pressuring us up, they have little guards but they just worked us all full court, and that first half we just turned it over incredibly fast, both teams did,” said head coach Ron McHenry.

The Ichabods struggled defensively coming out of the break, allowing the Swedes to go on an 11-4 run in the first four minutes to pull within four points. That is all the scoring that Washburn would allow in the quarter as they finished the half on a 15-0 run which included seven points by Doebele and six from freshman guard Aubree Dewey. The burst made it a 51-32 game after three.

“Her (Macy Doebele) and Aubree Dewey and even Emma (Chapman) came in there and had a nice stretch … we went from six up to 15 in a row … I thought that group really came and picked us up,” McHenry said.

Bethany started the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run, but the Ichabods were able to respond with a couple of three pointers and push the lead back over 20 points by the five-minute mark. Washburn continued to rotate through its bench, playing 17 total players en route to securing a 71-50 win.

“I think it got us a chance to get some of the rust off of us because we did have that break,” Doebele said. “Some people who do not always get to play the most minutes got a chance to step in and play some good minutes.”

The Ichabods were led by Doebele who tied a career high with 14 points. Oliver joined her in double-digits finishing with 11, while Bentley scored nine and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

“I think it was a positive for us, we got a win number one, number two we got to play a lot of kids, and we got pushed, and had to fight our way back out,” McHenry said.

The win moves Washburn to 4-7 on the year as they get set for a quick turnaround, hitting the road to face the University of Central Missouri Dec. 31.

Edited by Ellie Walker and Alyssa Storm