TOPEKA, Kan. – The Blue Tigers used a huge third quarter to erase a 20-point halftime deficit. Timely rebounding and a hot first half, however, helped Washburn hold off the Lincoln women's basketball team, 77-66, on Monday night (Dec. 19).
 
Washburn (9-3, 3-1 MIAA) was hot from beyond the arc in the first half, sinking nine shots from downtown for an accuracy rate of .429. Lincoln (1-9, 0-4 MIAA) stiffened up defensively in the second half, allowing the Ichabods to make just one of their 12 three-point attempts. The Blue Tigers won the turnover battle, forcing 20 while giving away the ball 13 times, but Washburn held a 51-30 advantage in rebounding.
 
The game started slow for the Blue Tigers, as Washburn out-scored Lincoln 23-6 in the opening period. Lincoln rallied in the second quarter with 19 points, but ended up going into halftime trailing the Ichabods 45-25. Washburn held a 31-15 advantage in rebounding in the first half and forced LU into seven turnovers.
 
The contest started to turn around in the third quarter, however, as Lincoln finished the period on a 17-2 run to pull within 55-47 of the Ichabods. Azaria Nave scored 11 of those points while the Blue Tigers forced Washburn into six turnovers during the run. For the quarter, Lincoln out-scored Washburn, 22-10.
 
Washburn regained control of the contest early in the fourth quarter, opening the period on an 11-4 run to re-take a 15-point lead. Lincoln clawed back to cut the Ichabod lead down to 10, but Washburn held on for the victory.
 
Nave led the Blue Tigers with 22 points and four steals while dishing four assists and pulling down four rebounds. Tempary Gunter tied Asia McCaskill for the team-high with five rebounds and scored 13 points. McCaskill finished with seven points, as did Citlali Lopez, who dished five assists and grabbed three boards.
 
Erica Gibbons also finished in double-digits, scoring 12 points to go with three blocks, two steals and a pair of rebounds. Khadijah Ellison added three points to the Lincoln cause while Jordan Matthews rounded out the scoring by making her only field goal attempt. Hunter Yoakum provided the Blue Tigers with three rebounds, an assist and a steal while Kailey Foster also dished an assist.
 
The Blue Tigers will be off for the holiday break until Dec. 30, when Lincoln travels to Lebanon, Ill. to wrap up its non-conference slate against McKendree. Tip-off for that game is set for 5:30 p.m. CST.