Complete Game Notes
Game #26: Lincoln (3-22, 0-16 MIAA) at Washburn (15-10, 9-7 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020
Time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Site: Lee Arena (3,904) in Topeka, Kan.
Tickets: Available at Site
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/
Live Stats: https://wusports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/

THE TIP OFF:  The penultimate weekend of the season finds the Lincoln women's basketball team in Topeka, Kan. for a rematch with Washburn on Saturday (Feb. 22). Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CST as Lincoln tries to avenge a 66-49 loss that came in Jefferson City back on Jan. 29. The Blue Tigers, who most recently dropped a 74-45 decision to Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo. on Tuesday night (Feb. 18), will try to slow down a WU squad that has won seven of its last nine games. The only losses in that span have come to Central Missouri, with the Ichabods most recently falling to the nationally-ranked Jennies, 70-59, at home on Thursday (Feb. 20). With three games remaining in the 2019-20 campaign, all three of which are on the road, LU will attempt to end the year on a positive note, starting on Saturday.

FAST BREAKS
- On Saturday, Lincoln and Washburn will meet for the 30th time.

- The Blue Tigers are playing for their first victory in the series, as the Ichabods have won each of the past 29 games.

- The Ichabods are 8-3 at home in 2019-20 while the Blue Tigers are 0-10 in true road games.

- A win would be the first for LU since beating Eureka 84-75 to end the 2019 calendar year.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  With 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per night, Vivian Chigbu is averaging close to a double-double and leads LU on the glass. Kaloni Pryear is scoring a team-high 15.8 points per game, and Kyessence Collins leads Lincoln with 2.9 assists per contest and averages 6.9 points. Alecia Gulledge, meanwhile, has been an all-around asset to the Blue Tigers with 6.2 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 38 steals and 10 blocks.

HEAD COACH AYANA McWILLIAMS:  A five-year veteran of the Division I ranks, McWilliams is in her fourth year as the head coach at Lincoln. Last season, McWilliams led the Blue Tigers to a 7-0 start, the best in program history. McWilliams previously worked as an assistant at South Carolina Upstate, a Division I program, and also was an assistant at Elizabeth City.

LAST TIME OUT:  Central Missouri, ranked No. 20 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II poll, held the Blue Tigers to 18 points in the first half en route to a 74-45 win on Tuesday evening (Feb. 18). Natasha Elliott led Lincoln with 14 points, Nia McCaskill pulled down a team-high five rebounds and Kaloni Pryear scored 12 while dishing four assists.

SCOUTING THE ICHABODS:  Shelbe Piggie (13.0 ppg.), Hunter Bentley (12.7 ppg.) and Reagan Phelan (12.4 ppg.) are Washburn's top scorers, with Phelan leading the team with 4.7 assists per night. Bentley averages a team-high 7.1 rebounds, and Alexis McAfee is tallying 9.4 points and 5.9 boards. Bentley also leads the team in steals with 49 and in blocks with 16.

WU HEAD COACH RON McHENRY:  In his 20 seasons leading the Ichabods, McHenry has won over 450 games, including the 2004-05 Division II National Championship. McHenry has won eight MIAA regular season and seven tournament titles, winning more than 200 conference games in the process. McHenry previously served on the WU men's coaching staff for 11 seasons.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED...:  No team in the MIAA is better at recovering from a missed shot than the Blue Tigers, as Lincoln leads the league with 14.3 offensive rebounds per night. Two LU players are among the top-five in the conference on the offensive glass, as Vivian Chigbu is third in the conference (3.3 orpg.) while Kaloni Pryear (2.8) is tied for fifth.

DOUBLE THE FUN:  Vivian Chigbu has reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding in seven games in 2019-20 and averages 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Chigbu, who twice has eclipsed 20 points in a game, grabbed at least 10 rebounds in six of the first eight games and has pulled down at least five boards in 16 games. She trails only Central Missouri's Nija Collier, who has nine, for the most double-doubles this season by an MIAA player.

...AND ONE:  Virja Lewis also has recorded a double-double this season, as she grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 24 points against Rogers State. Lewis, who also had a 10-rebound night vs. Washburn, had 10 points and eight boards against Central Missouri.

OFF THE BENCH:  Kiara Shoulders started LU's home finale on the bench, but ended up playing 21 minutes and scoring eight points while pulling down seven rebounds. On the season, she tallies 4.4 points and 4.2 boards per night.

ON THE REBOUND:  The Blue Tigers have established themselves as one of the MIAA's best rebounding teams, as Lincoln is sixth in the league in total rebounds per game (38.5) and leads the conference in offensive boards (14.3). Nationally, LU is 40th in DII in offensive boards.

GOOD ON THE GLASS:  Vivian Chigbu reached double figures in rebounding in each of the first four games and currently is seventh in the MIAA in rebounds per game with 7.8. Her total of 195 rebounds is the fifth-most in the MIAA.

A GLOBAL TEAM:  The 2019-20 Blue Tigers are representing six countries: Australia (Natasha Elliott and assistant coach Graham McFall); Spain (Anna Munoz Vidueira); Nigeria (Vivian Chigbu); Uruguay (Natasha Dolinsky); Bosnia & Herzegovina (Vedrana Radosavljevic); and, of course, the United States of America.

PRYEAR SUCCESS:  Kaloni Pryear, who started 14 games and made 19 total appearances a year ago, is Lincoln's scoring leader in 2019-20. Pryear opened the year with 18 points against Southern Arkansas and has reached double digits 18 times this year. Pryear has notched six 20-point performances, including a career-high 26 vs. Maryville.

TO THE TENS:  Kaloni Pryear is having an outstanding season offensively, averaging 15.8 points per game to lead LU and rank fifth in the MIAA. In 21 of the 24 games she's played, Pryear has scored at least 10 points, and she has reached the 20-point plateau six times. Pryear has made 148 field goals, the fourth-most in the MIAA, while her .451 field goal percentage is ninth in the league.

STEAL-GULL:  Alecia Gulledge leads Lincoln with 38 steals, with her 1.7 takeaways per game ranking 11th in the MIAA. Gulledge, who joins Vivian Chigbu (1.5, 17th) in the top-20 of the MIAA rankings for steals per game, has helped Lincoln post the conference's sixth-best team average of 8.4 takeaways per contest.

BOTH SIDES OF THE GLASS:  Whether she's on offense or defense, very few players rebound as well as Vivian Chigbu. Her 3.3 offensive boards per game are third in the MIAA and rank 42nd nationally while her 4.5 defensive boards per game are 12th in the conference.

THE ROTATION KEEPS SPINNING:  Lincoln has changed up its lineup in nearly every game, using 17 different starting fives in 24 games in 2019-20. Ten Blue Tigers have made at least three starts, with only Vivian Chigbu having made as many as 23.

GEAR UP FOR THE GAME:  Get your Blue Tiger jerseys, apparel, accessories, office supplies and much, much more at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store of LU athletics. You can get everything you will need for basketball season, with a portion of all sales going directly to support all 12 LU athletic programs.

NEXT UP:  The Blue Tigers travel to Pittsburg, Kan. next Wednesday (Feb. 26) to play Pittsburg State at 5:30 p.m. CST.