TOPEKA, Kan. (Jan. 9, 2014) – The way Taylor Ignoto and Washburn (Kan.) shot 3-pointers in the first half against Oklahoma Christian, there might not have been a team in NCAA Division II that could have beaten the Ichabods on Thursday night.
Ignoto, making her first career start for Washburn, had a half for the ages, hitting all six of her 3-point attempts, scoring all 21 of her points and staking the Ichabods to a 22-point halftime lead that they were eventually able to ride to a 79-66 win over OC at Schendel Court at Lee Arena.
OC (6-7) – which scheduled the late nonconference game because its Heartland Conference travel partner, Dallas Baptist (Texas), does not have a women's basketball team – made a spirited second-half run but couldn't dig out of the hole against a Washburn team that was ranked No. 16 in Division II earlier this season.
Freshman McKenzie Stanford, making her second start in as many games, led the Lady Eagles with 14 points, while seniors Roz Hamilton and Krista Stevens scored 12 points each and Hamilton added two blocked shots.
But the Lady Eagles, who entered the game with a 6.1 per-game rebound advantage over their opponents, were on the wrong end of a 50-28 result on the boards against Washburn (8-5), the two-time defending champion of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Ignoto was playing in just her fifth game for Washburn after sitting out for 1½ seasons after transferring from a junior college. She made the most of her starting opportunity, hitting three 3-pointers in the first 1:38 of the game to stake the Ichabods to a 9-2 lead.
Washburn ended up shooting 58.1 percent from the field in the first half (18 of 31) and an almost-unbelievable 77.8 percent from 3-point range (7 of 9). The Ichabods led by as many as 23 points before settling for a 48-27 halftime lead.
"They were shooting lights-out at first and it shell-shocked us a bit," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "We tried to match her threes but we were missing and dug a hole for ourselves."
OC fought back, however. The Lady Eagles opened the second half on a 13-4 run and pulled within 52-40 with 14:53 left when Stevens went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line.
A layup by Casyn Buchman (who had 19 points and eight rebounds) and a three-point play by Honor Duvall pushed Washburn's lead back to 17 points, however, and the Ichabods led 69-47 with 8 minutes left on a layup by Kara Lee.
The Lady Eagles scored the next eight points and were within 69-55 with 6:05 left after two free throws by Stevens, but couldn't cut the gap any more until closing the game on an 8-0 run to pull within 13 points.
"I was really proud of our effort in the second half," Findley said. "We kept our heads and our energy up, executed better and held (Ignoto) scoreless, but their size inside proved to be the difference. They were taller and outweighed us by maybe 100 pounds! It was the most physical game we've played so far this season."
Lee finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Washburn, while Duvall scored 13 points in the first-ever game between the Ichabods and OC.
OC will be off until next Thursday, when the Lady Eagles will return to conference play, hosting Oklahoma Panhandle State.
