TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn travels east for a mid-week matchup against Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m. in Bearcat Arena. 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn women's basketball begins a two game swing in the Show Me State against the Bearcats on Wednesday.
• The Ichabods will face Northwest Missouri at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 13. 
• Washburn is coming off a 56-44 win at home over Rogers State on Dec. 9.  
• WU is now 6-2 overall on the year and has gone 1-1 in the MIAA. 
• They have gone 3-0 at home, 2-1 on the road and 1-1 in neutral court games. 
• The Ichabods 2022-23 season came to an end with in the regular season with a ninth place finish in the MIAA after going 11-17 overall and 7-15 in the conference.
• Washburn returns six players from last seasons roster including three players who started in at least 50% of games. The Ichabods round out the roster with five freshmen and one transfer. 
• The Beracats are off to an 8-1 start on the year and are 3-1 in the MIAA with the only loss coming to No. 18 Fort Hays State. 
• The Ichabods were picked to finish in eighth place in the MIAA Preseason Coaches poll and were slotted at 10th in the media vote. 

BODS AND BITS

• As a team Washburn averages 77.5 ppg on 45.6% shooting from the floor and 37.5% from deep. 
• Opponents average 55.0 ppg on 32.2% shooting and 22.1% from behind the arc. 
• The Ichabods are pulling down 42.8 rpg while holding opponents to just 32.8 rpg. They also average 14.8 apg while opponents only average 8.4.
• Washburn extended its three point streak to 78 games with three triples on Saturday. 
• The Ichabods have a 1.0 assist to turnover ratio while opponents average 0.5 assist for every giveaway. 
• The 12 player roster for Washburn is the smallest roster since the 2006-07 roster which also featured 12 players. 

THE BLUE CREW

• Yiibari Nwidadah is averaging a double-double for the Ichabods and has picked up one in six games this season. She is leading the team averaging 13.1 ppg while also pulling down a team-best 11.1 rpg including 4.3 orpg. Nwidadah also leads WU shooting 60.3% from the floor and is playing just 23.9 mpg. 
• Aubree Dewey is second on the squad at 13.0 ppg on 47.1% shooting while playing a team high 31.9 mpg starting every game.. She also leads the passing game averaging 6.5 apg. From the point guard position Dewey is second on the team averaging 5.5 rpg and has come away with 2.0 steals per contest this season as well. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is scoring 11.0 ppg in just 19.8 mpg off the bench. She has averages of 52.6% from the floor and is shooting a team-high 48.1% from behind the arc. Defensively she has come away with a team-high 1.2 bpg and snagged 0.8 spg. 
• Aniah Wayne is averaging double figures, scoring 11.0 ppg this season in 26.1 mpg with seven starts. She also pulls down 3.5 rpg and is shooting 41.3% from behind the arc, leading the Ichabods with 19 triples. 
• Lakyn Schieferecke has started seven for Washburn playing 21.1 mpg. She is averaging 5.5 ppg on 48.6% shooting and is pulling down 4.4 rpg .
• Amaya Davison is averaging 6.4 ppg off the bench on the year shooting 40.9% from the floor. She is 40.0% from three point range in 18.1 mpg. 
• Mackenzie Gamble has made two starts and is averaging 22.8 mpg so far. She is scoring 5.9 ppg, dishing 2.3 apg with 0.8 spg. She is third on the squad at 40.6% from behind the arc this season. 
• Liz Boyd is averaging 7.4 ppg in just 11.9 mpg while shooting 51.2% from the field. She's also pulling down 3.6 rpg off the bench.
• Madelyn Amekporfor made six starts averaging 17.4 mpg and is scoring 6.5 ppg on 42.9% shooting with 0.8 steals per game. 
• Rebecca Snyder is scoring 1.4 ppg with 2.3 rpg playing 7.8 mpg with appearances in every game and one start. 
• Nia McKenzie has made one start and appeared in every game playing 6.8 mpg.

STACKING THE STATS

• WU is 9th in the nation in scoring margin as they have outscored teams by an average of 22.5 points per game. 
• Washburn is 20th nationally in field goal percentage at 45.6. That number is good for second among MIAA teams. 
• On the defensive end the Ichabods are 5th in the nation in field goal percentage defense with opponents shooting a combined 32.2%. That ranks first in the conference.
• Washburn is crashing the glass and is 19th nationally in rebound advantage pulling down 10 more boards per game than opponents. 
• The Ichabods are 18th in the nation in efficiency from deep shooting 37.5% for the year, the best mark in the MIAA. 
• Washburn is also first in the conference and 12th nationally in defending the three point line holding opponents to 22.1% shooting from behind the arc. 
• Aubree Dewey ranks fourth in the nation in assists per game with 6.5, that number is first among MIAA players. She is 10th nationally in total assists with 52. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is first in the MIAA and 7th nationally averaging 11.1 rpg. She is also 18th in the nation in field goal percentage at 60.3% which puts her second in the conference. 
• Nwidadah is tied for second nationally with six double doubles on the season. 
• Aniah Wayne is fourth in the MIAA in three point percentage at 41.3% and is fifth in total 3-pointers made with 19. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Aubree Dewey is 8 assists away from 250 in her career. 
• Mackenzie Gamble needs 10 more triples to reach 100 in her Ichabod career, she is also two points away from 400 in her career.  
• Gabi Giovannetti is four points away from 250 career points. 
• Lakyn Schieferecke reached the 100 career rebound mark against Roger State

HEAD COACH LORA WESTLING

• Former Washburn women's basketball student-athlete Lora Westling is in year two as the head coach in Topeka for the 2023-24 season. 
• Westling returns to her alma mater after six seasons at Western Colorado, where she compiled a record of 77-78 and led the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament selections – the first two in program history.
• Her overall victories is second on the Western all-time list and her 63 RMAC wins is tied for second in program history.
• Prior to Western Colorado, Westling spent three seasons as the head coach at the Division III program, Illinois College.
• Before accepting the head job at Illinois College, Westling was the top assistant at Truman State from 2010-13.
• Westling's first full-time position came at University of Missouri-St. Louis where she was the top assistant from 2007-10.
• She got her start in coaching at Washburn, where she served as a graduate assistant for the women's basketball and women's soccer teams.
• Westling was a standout member of Washburn's women's basketball team from 2001-05 and helped the Lady Blues to the school's first NCAA Division II national championship in 2005. 
• She is currently sixth in games played (132), sixth in career three-pointers made (144), 10th in assists (299), and 14th in three-point field goal percentage (.363).
• She also played one season of soccer for the Lady Blues.

WASHBURN ASSISTANT COACHES

• The Ichabods will have three fresh faces on the sidelines with an all new assistant coaching staff in year two of the Lora Westling era. 
• Matt Barreiro and Monique M. Scott join the staff as assistant coaches while Damiel Fulp is a volunteer assistant in his first season with WU. 
• Barriero is a 2005 graduate of Arizona Christian and got his masters from Walden University in 2005. He played basketball at both Washington State and Arizona Christian.  
• He has several years of head coaching experience with seven years at the helm at The King's University in Canada and most recently spending the last two years as the head coach at Central Christian College in McPherson, Kan. 
• Scott is a 2019 graduate of Xavier University and received her masters degree from Liberty University in 2022. 
• While at Xavier she worked as a manager on the women's basketball teams and has been a coach and teacher at the prep ranks. 
• Fulp is a 2020 graduate of The King's University where he played after transferring from the University of Alaska Anchorage. 
• He has experience working and attending basketball camps and conferences to develop training methods. 

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn, 56, Rogers State 44 (Dec. 9, 2023)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn overcame a slow start to earn its first conference win of the season Saturday knocking off Rogers State 56-44. The Ichabods travel to Northwest Missouri State on Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m.  

Washburn (6-2, 1-1 MIAA) scored just 15 points in the first half but held the Hillcats (4-5, 0-4) to just 23.7% shooting in the game to even up its record in MIAA play this season.  

Rogers State scored the first two baskets of the game with the Ichabods not getting on the board until there was 5:25 left in the first quarter on a pair of free throws by Mackenzie Gamble. Shooting struggles persisted throughout the first quarter for both teams as they shot a combined 5-31 in the first 10 minutes with the Hillcats leading 9-6.  

Rogers State began the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers and the Washburn was not able to find the bottom of the net until there was 6:10 left in the quarter on a jumper by Aubree Dewey. The lead grew to nine before the Ichabods ended the quarter on a 5-0 run capped off by a 3-pointer from Aniah Wayne to trail 19-15 going into the break.  

Coming out of halftime Washburn went on a 7-2 run, taking the lead after Yiibari Nwidadah knocked down a pair of free throws. The lead went back one to the Hillcats before the Ichabods reeled off a 10-2 run ended with a 3-pointer by Madelyn Amekporfor to go up by eight. Lakyn Schieferecke ended the quarter with an old fashioned three-point-play to put WU ahead 37-29.  

After holding Rogers State to 21.4% shooting in the third quarter Washburn's defense continued to stay locked in, forcing the Hillcats to shoot 22.2% in the final frame. The Ichabods scored the first eight points of the quarter, pushing the lead into double figures on another triple by Amekporfor with 8:27 remaining. The lead never dropped below nine from that point and Washburn was able to ease into a 56-44 victory.  

The Ichabods shot just 28.3% for the game, but held RSU to 14-59 (23.7%) shooting. The difference in the game came off the bench, with the WU crew outscoring the Hillcats 25-14. On the boards Washburn also held a 51-40 rebound advantage, pulling down 11 offensively.  

Yiibari Nwidadah pulled down another double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Ichaobds in scoring. Madelyn Amekporfor had 12 points on 3-5 shooting with five boards. Aubree Dewey did a bit of everything finishing with nine points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.  

Destiny Jones and Breanna Fowler were the lone Hillcats to finish in double figure scoring with 11 and 10 respectively.

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS

• The Bearcats are 8-1 on the year and 3-1 in MIAA play after a 67-65 win over Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday. 
• Northwest Missouri went 15-15 overall in the 2022-23 season with a 9-13 mark in the MIAA, advancing to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament. 
• On the year the Bearcats are averaging 73.7 points on 42.8% shooting overall and 34.2% from deep. 
• Opponents are averaging 63.3 points on 39.8% shooting and 35.6% from behind the arc. 
• NWMSU is 4-0 inside of Bearcat Arena in the 2023-24 season. 
• Northwest Missouri averages 4.9 more rebounds than opponents this season while dishing out 3.6 more assists per game than the opposition. 
• Molly Hartnett leads the Bearcats scoring attack at 12.3 ppg this season on 38.4% shooting. She also leads the squad in assists at 3.4 per game and swipes 1.8 steals per contest. 
• Kelsey Fields is second on the team averaging 10.8 ppg while shooting 62.1% from the floor and pulling down a team best 8 rpg. She is steady on the defensive end averaging 1 spg and 0.8 bpg. 
• Caely Kesten is also in double figures scoring at 10.3 ppg while shooting 39.8% overall. She pulls down 3.8 rpg in 26.4 mpg. 
• Lindsey Kelderman leads Northwest Missouri in minutes at exactly 30 per game. She adds 9.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 2.6 apg and shoots 55.6% from behind the arc. 

HEAD COACH AUSTIN MEYER

• is in his sixth season as head coach since being hired on March 19, 2018. 
• served as a full time member of the men's basketball staff at Northwest from 2008-18. Starting in 2015, he served as the program's associate head coach.
• was a four-year letter winner for the Bearcat men's basketball team from 2002-06. He scored 1,294 career points and held the then-Northwest career record with 215 made three-pointers
• graduated from Northwest with his bachelor's degree in corporate recreation in 2006 and earned his master's in physical education in 2008. He served as a graduate assistant on Steve Tappmeyer's staff for two seasons before being promoted to assistant coach prior to the 2008-09 season

SERIES WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

• Wednesday will be the 75th meeting all-time between the Ichabods and the Bearcats with Washburn leading the series 61-13. 
• The series began Dec. 11, 1981 with a 75-45 win for NWMSU in Topeka. 
• The Ichabods are 24-9 against Northwest Missouri in Maryville. 
• Both games last season went into overtime with each team winning its home game. 

LAST TIME VS NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

Washburn 62, Northwest Missouri 59 (Feb. 14, 2023)
TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and made crucial free throws to avenge its overtime loss at Northwest Missouri from 10 days ago with a 62-59 overtime win at home against the Bearcats on Tuesday evening. The Ichabods will play their next two games on the road this week, first at Lincoln on Thursday.

It was back-and-forth scoring to start the game with neither team leading by more than two points until Natalia Figueroa buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Washburn (10-14, 6-12 MIAA) an 11-8 advantage at the end of the opening quarter. 

The score continued to stay within two or fewer points for the entire second quarter with ties at every odd number starting at 11 until Yiibari Nwidadah broke the 17-all score with a free throw with 1:38 left in the quarter. That would be the final point for either team as the Ichabods held an 18-17 lead at halftime.

Emma Chapman and Aubree Dewey teamed up to score the Ichabods' first nine points of the second half and grew the lead to 27-23 at the 5:59 mark. Northwest Missouri (13-12, 8-11 MIAA) closed out the quarter strong, going on a 13-3 tear in the final 5:46 to lead 36-30 heading into the fourth.

The Bearcats hit two free throws to start the final stanza to go up by a game-high eight points. Washburn quickly trimmed the deficit down to one with a pair of jumpers from Dewey and a three-pointer from Gabi Artis. Northwest Missouri answered with a three of its own and led 46-43 when Figueroa hit another big triple to level the score with 3:12 to go in regulation.

With just under three minutes left, the Bearcats went 1-of-2 at the free throw line and then a 56 seconds later, Chapman was fouled and made both of her shots from the charity stripe to put the Ichabods ahead, 48-47. Chapman found herself back at the free throw line with 46 seconds to go and again, made both to make it 50-47 in favor of Washburn. NWMSU called a timeout to advance the ball and made a three-pointer with 35 seconds to tie the game. Washburn turned the ball over with 32 seconds remaining to allow Northwest Missouri one more shot, but the three-point attempt was off target and sent the game to extra time.

Washburn led from start to finish in overtime as the duo of Chapman and Dewey got the scoring started again, this time with a 6-1 run. The Bearcats made a three-pointer with 11 seconds to go to pull within 60-59, but Macy Doebele followed that up with two free throws to push the lead back to three and the Bearcats' final heave was off-line again. Doebele made six free throws in a row in the final 27 seconds to secure the overtime win.

Northwest Missouri finished the evening shooting 32.1 percent from the field while Washburn shot slightly less at a 31.7 clip. The Bearcats went 8-of-22 from three-point range and the Ichabods were 3-for-14 from deep. At the free throw line, Washburn was 19-of-27 and Northwest Missouri was 15-for-19. NWMSU grabbed one more rebound than WU, 43-42. 

Four of Washburn's starters finished in double-figure scoring. Dewey was 6-of-15 from the field for a team-high 15 points. Chapman notched her first double-double as an Ichabod with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Figueroa and Doebele had 12 points apiece.  

Molly Hartnett led the Bearcats with 17 points and went 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 988-480-1 (.673) all-time and are in the 55th year of the program's history.
• Washburn claimed the 2005 NCAA National Championship over Seattle Pacific with a 70-53 win to cap off a 35-2 season.
• Washburn has made 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and is 26-16 all-time in those postseason games.
• The program has won 18 total MIAA Championships, earning nine regular season conference titles and winning nine MIAA Tournament championships.
• There have been 30 All-American awards given to Washburn players, with 11 of those coming from the WBCA.
• Washburn has finished 14 seasons with 25 wins and four seasons with 30 victories.

LOOKING AHEAD

• The Ichabods stay in Missouri to take on Missouri Western State at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16. 
• Senior day for Washburn will be on March 2 against Emporia State
• The MIAA Championship Tournament begins March 6 in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.