Head Coach Lora Westling and her Washburn Ichabods had a well rounded winter break with six conference games, plenty of practices and time spent together as a team.
“We had some good practices, especially with our young team just being able to dig into some of our skill sets and grow,” Westling said. “We had a couple good wins, too, but on the flip side it has been boring for [the team] to be the only ones on campus, so I think they’re ready to get back into routine.”
For college athletes, many have to balance school and sports for their full season. Basketball is one of the few that allows the players to get a small glimpse at what full-time basketball really looks like.
“Basketball during school and during break are pretty different,” said Aubree Dewey, senior guard. “During break we are full time athletes, which allows for more gym time, film time and team bonding time.”
Both players and coaches enjoy the extra time spent together to make connections and improve their game. Westling, similar to Brett Ballard, the men’s head basketball coach, refers to the time as “pro time.” It is basketball day-in and day-out, which is very reflective of how professional basketball players spend their time.
Their record during winter break was split down the middle, winning three games and losing three, but that is still quite the impressive performance for Washburn due to the competition within the MIAA.
“The MIAA is the best Division II basketball conference in the country, and I don’t think it’s arguable,” Westling said. “Everyone just beats up on everyone every night.”
Washburn currently sits eighth out of 14 teams in the league and is continuing to battle against some of the toughest teams in the nation. One of their wins against a conference opponent, the University of Central Oklahoma, ended with a last second layup form their star player, Aubree Dewey.
“Situationally we knew we could have the last shot while the game was still tied. We were trying to get some movement to see what shot we were going to be able to get off, and it happened to be that layup,” Dewey said. “There was still almost two seconds left on the clock, so it came down to the last defensive possession, and as a team we took away any chance of them getting a shot off.”
Both the coaches and the players were pleased with how they performed, but believe there is still plenty of room for improvement. As the season carries on, the Ichabods are looking forward to showing how much they’ve improved in many conference matchups in the near future.
The women’s and men’s teams will play against the Missouri Southern State University Lions Jan. 17 and the Pittsburg State University Gorillas Jan. 20. This will not only be the first matchup of the year against both schools, but will also be the home opener for the 2024 spring semester, so be sure to support the Washburn Ichabods!
If you would like to see how the men’s team spent their winter break, click here to read more.
Edited by Aja Carter and LeSha’ Davis
