The women’s basketball team squared off against the Emporia State Hornets Saturday, Jan. 6 to keep a perfect record in MIAA conference. However, the Ichabods would struggle in the first half, unable to combat the Hornets as they brought out a well-executed defense.

{{tncms-inline content=”<p><span>“I think we played a good three quarters, but we definitely did not do enough in the fourth” -Regan Phelan</span></p>” id=”eb594700-32ec-45b4-b671-5d17c6fed4c7″ style-type=”quote” title=”Phelan Pullquote” type=”relcontent”}}

The Ichabods would struggle to get in the paint, players like Alexis McAfee would keep the game somewhat close with a 2-3 three point field goal performance in the first half, but Emporia State would continue to have its way on the court running an efficient offense.

After running isolation plays that seemingly did not pan out for the Ichabods, change came around the middle of the first period under the basket.

{{tncms-inline alignment=”left” content=”<p>Mackenzie Loe</p> <p>9-11 Field Goals</p> <p>3-4 Free Throws</p> <p>21 Points</p> <p>23 Minutes</p>” id=”ac2271d9-fe5e-4b9b-83e9-d367243e849a” style-type=”bio” title=”Performance of the Night” type=”relcontent”}}

“The girls did a good job of finding the post and looking inside,” said freshman Mackenzie Loe. “We definitely worked a lot on defense and performing the game plan.”

The game plan ultimately ended up with Loe adding fifteen points to her first-half total. While the attack down low seemed to work well for the Ichabods with a 38-32 halftime score, Emporia State head coach Jory Collins would prepare with major adjustments for the second half.

{{tncms-inline content=”<p>Washburn trails the Hornets in the all time overall record with 44 wins and 55 losses, this is the 100th meeting between these two teams.</p>” id=”c17683b1-5d70-4927-957f-b555f98f88a9″ style-type=”question” title=”Did You Know?” type=”relcontent”}}

The third period would start off similar to the start of the game as Emporia State started fighting back against the Ichabods’ defense. The Hornets would start off with a 5-0 run in the third period and cut the halftime lead to 38-37 score.

That would not spell trouble for the Ichabods, however, as they pulled away even more tacked on with a crucial three from sophomore, Regan Phelan in the third period.

“I think we played a good three quarters, but we definitely did not do enough in the fourth,” said Phelan.

With a great early third period, the Ichabods would look like they were in control, until the Hornets fought back once again for the final time of the game. The Hornets would get multiple trips to the charity stripe, ending the third period with just a 53-51 Ichabod lead.

They would not stop there. In the fourth period, the Hornets would take control of the game and would keep it for the final. They would emphasize control of the game with a dagger three pointer at the 3:16 mark in the fourth and never give up the lead.

Emporia State would end up with a major victory in Lee Arena against the Ichabods with a final score of 70-62. This would put Washburn’s record at 12-2 on the season and 4-1 in conference most likely costing them the lead in the MIAA rankings.

{{tncms-inline content=”<p>Washburn v. Northeastern State University</p> <p>Lee Arena</p> <p>Thursday, January 11th</p> <p>5:30pm</p>” id=”a44c9cfa-1c4a-4e52-9925-6a8159993358″ style-type=”fact” title=”Up Next…” type=”relcontent”}}

Up next for the Ichabods is another home game against Northeastern State University Thursday, Jan. 11 at Lee Arena. The Ichabods look to bounce back from their loss against the Hornets with a homestand against the RiverHawks.