TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn reached the 80-point mark in a third straight game on Tuesday night in a 86-66 win over William Jewell in the 2023-24 home opener. The Ichabods stay in Topeka for one more game hosting Barclay College at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25.
Washburn (4-1) led wire-to-wire in its fourth straight victory with back-to-back buckets by Liz Boyd off the bench putting the Ichabods up 10-5 with 5:14 in the first. Amaya Davison ended the quarter with a pair of baskets to make it 19-13 over the Cardinals (1-4) after one.
After a slow offensive start Washburn picked up the pace in the second quarter shooting 76.9% from the floor going 3-4 from behind the line and 5-6 from the charity stripe. The lead grew to double digits at the 7:28 mark after a 3-pointer by Gabi Giovannetti. The triple was part of a 17-0 run which began with a triple by Aubree Dewey and was capped off by another basket by Giovannetti to make the game 40-19. Yiibari Nwidadah was able to get a bucket inside the paint with 2:07 to extend the lead up to 24 points before the Ichabods went into the half leading 47-27.
William Jewell had its highest scoring quarter of the game in the third quarter notching 21 points and going 11-12 at the line. Washburn was able to keep pace shooting 47.5% in the quarter and only committing one turnover in the frame. Another triple by Giovannetti put the lead at the quarter century mark before the Cardinals ended the quarter with the final two baskets.
The Ichabods didn't score until the 7:49 mark of the final quarter but still led by 21 after Davison delivered the first bucket. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Dewey made it a 77-52 game with 6:16 left. William Jewell was able to cut the lead down to 16 with 2:42 remaining but a Mackenzie Gamble 3-pointer and two layups were able to salt the game away for Washburn to win 86-66.
Dewey led the Ichabods with a career-high 23 points on 9-15 shooting, she also tossed out eight assists reaching the eight-assist mark for a third straight game. Yiibari Nwidadah notched her third double-double of the season with 13 points on 6-11 shooting and adding 15 rebounds. Gabi Giovannetti scored 17 points off the bench going 5-8 from behind the arc.
Washburn shot 47.9% from the floor and went 10-22 (45.5%) from deep while holding the Cardinals to 32.8% shooting. The Ichabods controlled the glass, pulling down 50 boards while William Jewell grabbed just 31. The extra opportunities led to a 46-16 points in the paint advantage.
Emree Zars led three Cardinals finishing in double-figures with 15 points and grabbed six rebounds.
