By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball kicks off a three-game road swing with a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday night MIAA game at Missouri Western on Wednesday.
Washburn won back-to-back games at home last week with victories over Rogers State and Northeastern State to improve to 9-10 overall and 5-8 in the MIAA.
Junior point guard Aubree Dewey leads Washburn in scoring, assists and minutes played entering Wednesday's MIAA game at Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Missouri Western (18-5, 12-3 MIAA) saw its 11-game win streak come to an end on Saturday with a 91-55 loss at Nebraska-Kearney.
The Griffons won the first matchup against WU earlier this season, taking a 57-44 decision on Dec. 17 at Lee Arena.
At the beginning of this week the Griffons are tied for third in the MIAA standings and the Ichabods are sitting in eighth.
Washburn is second in the league and ranks 20th in Division II for fewest points allowed per game, holding opponents to 56.2 points a game.
WU has limited opponents to 49 or fewer points in four games, including the Ichabods' 61-49 win over the RiverHawks last Saturday.
Junior point guard Aubree Dewey leads Washburn with 10.3 points, 3.7 assists and 32.5 minutes per game while also averaging 4.1 rebounds.
Dewey led the Ichabods in scoring for the eighth time this season in Saturday's game against Northeastern State as she finished with 12 points, in the second half. Eight of those came in the fourth quarter.
Freshman Natalia Figuerora leads Washburn with 33 three-pointers and has a .333 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. She has made a triple in five-straight games and at least one in 17 games this season.
Figueroa has started all 19 games and averages 8.5 points.
Macy Doebele cracked double-digits in both games last week and is now averaging 7.4 points and a team-high 4.9 rebounds.
The Ichabods recorded their first double-double of the season on Jan. 18 against Fort Hays State and now have had a double-double in three of the last four games.
Yibari Nwidadah is responsible for two of the double-doubles as the freshman had 11 points and13 rebounds against FHSU and then put up 13 and 13 against Rogers State.
Doebele achieved the lastest double-double, recording 11 points and grabbing 10 boards against Northeastern State for her second career double-double.
Missouri Western's win over Washburn on Dec. 17 started an 11-game winning streak that just ended in a loss at Nebraska-Kearney last time out.
Brionna Budgetts leads the Griffons with 17.0 points per game and has a 52.4 field goal percentage. Her 47.3 shooting percentage from 3-point range ranks seventh in Division II.
Connie Clarke is just above Budgetts in field goal percentage, shooting at a 52.9 clip. Overall, Clarke averages 14.8 points and 8.9 rebounds and has compiled a team-best 62 steals.
Washburn will continue its road swing on Saturday at Northwest Missouri (1 p.m. tipoff).
