TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball gets ready for game two of a four-game roadtrip on Saturday against Nebraska-Kearney at 2 p.m. 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn women's basketball heads north to Nebraska to take on Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday. 
• The Ichabods will face the Lopers at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27 in Kearney, Neb. 
• Washburn is coming off a 70-45 road loss against No. 19 Fort Hays State on Thursday evening. 
• WU is now 11-7 overall on the year and has gone 6-6 in the MIAA.
• They have gone 7-1 at home, 3-5 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. 
• Nebraska-Kearney is 13-5 overall to start the year and are 7-5 in the MIAA after defeating Emporia State 68-64 on Thursday night at home. 
• The Ichabods were picked to finish in eighth place in the MIAA Preseason Coaches poll and were slotted at 10th in the media vote. They are currently tied for 8th in the conference.

BODS AND BITS

• As a team Washburn averages 71.8 ppg on 41.9% shooting from the floor and 33.4% from deep. 
• Opponents average 63.3 ppg on 38.5% shooting and 27.9% from behind the arc. 
• WU is shooting 70.7% from the line this year going 270-382 overall while opponents are 233-313, for a 74.4% clip. 
• The Ichabods are pulling down 40.3 rpg while holding opponents to just 34.6 rpg. They also average 11.8 apg while opponents only average 10.8.
• Washburn extended its three point streak to 87 games with a pair of triples on Thursday evening. 
• The 12 player roster for Washburn is the smallest roster since the 2006-07 roster which also featured 12 players. 

THE BLUE CREW

• Aubree Dewey leads the Ichabod scoring attack at 16.3 ppg on 45.9% shooting from the floor. Dewey dishes out a team-high 4.7 apg and pulls down 5.2 rpg from the point guard position, second most on the team. She leads the team playing 33.6 and snags 1.8 spg. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is second on the team averaging 12.2 ppg and nearly averages a double double pulling down a team-high 9.9 rpg with 3.7 on the offensive end. She also leads WU in shooting at 53.8% from the floor and is doing so in just 24.5 mpg. 
• Aniah Wayne is averaging double figures, scoring 10.1 ppg this season in 27.3 mpg with 17 starts. She also pulls down 3.3 rpg and is shooting 33.1% from behind the arc, leading the Ichabods with 40 triples. 
• Mackenzie Gamble has made 12 starts and is averaging 22.5 mpg. She is scoring 6.1 ppg, dishing 1.4 apg with 2.7 rpg. She is second on the team shooting 39.2% from deep and is 81.8% from the free throw line. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is scoring 5.9 ppg in 15.1 mpg off the bench in 12 games. She has averages of 38.7% from the floor and leads the team shooting 39.5% from deep.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has started seven games for Washburn playing 20.2 mpg. She is averaging 4.7 ppg on 39.7% shooting and is pulling down 3.4 rpg .
• Amaya Davison is averaging 6.1 ppg off the bench on the year shooting 37.6% from the floor with 2.0 rpg in 19.8 mpg.  
• Madelyn Amekporfor has made 11 starts averaging 17.6 mpg and is scoring 5.4 ppg on 41.8% shooting with 1.0 steals per game. 
• Liz Boyd is averaging 5.0 ppg in just 11.8 mpg while shooting 44.0% from the field. She's also pulling down 3.4 rpg off the bench.
• Rebecca Snyder is scoring 1.1 ppg with 1.7 rpg playing 8.2 mpg with appearances in 17 games and six starts. 
• Nia McKenzie has made one start and appeared in 16 games playing 5.6 mpg and scoring 1.1 ppg. 

STACKING THE STATS

• WU is 68th in the nation in scoring margin as they have outscored teams by an average of 8.4 points per game. 
• Washburn is 74th nationally in field goal percentage at 41.9. That number is good for sixth among MIAA teams. 
• Washburn is crashing the glass and is 40th nationally in rebound advantage pulling down 5.7 more boards per game than opponents, third in the MIAA.
• The Ichabods are 56th in the nation in efficiency from deep shooting 33.4% for the year, the sixth best mark in the MIAA. They are 75th in the nation averaging 6.7 3-pointers per game. 
• Washburn is fifth in the conference and 75st nationally in defending the three point line holding opponents to 27.9% shooting from behind the arc. 
• WU is first in the MIAA and 33rd nationally shooting 21.22 free throws per game. They are 29th in the nation knocking down 15.00 shots from the charity stripe per contest. 
• Aubree Dewey ranks 36th in the nation in assists per game with 4.7, that number is third among MIAA players. She is 28th nationally in total assists with 84. 
• She is also sixth in the conference in field goal percentage at 45.9%.
• Yiibari Nwidadah is first in the MIAA and 23rd nationally averaging 9.9 rpg. She is tied for 14th nationally and first in the conference with eight double doubles on the year. 
• Aniah Wayne is third in the conference among qualified shooters in total 3-pointers made, threes per game, and three point percentage. She has made 40 triples on the year. 
• Mackenzie Gamble is 11th in the conference in total 3-pointers made with 29. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Yiibari Nwidadah is 9 points away from reaching 400 in her career. 
• Mackenzie Gamble needs to pull down five more rebounds to reach 200 at Washburn. 
• Madelyn Amekporfor is two points away from reaching 100 in her career. Liz Boyd is 10 points away from the same mark. 

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

Pittsburg State 70, Washburn 45 (Jan. 25, 2024)
HAYS, Kan. -- Washburn trailed by just two at halftime but could not keep up offensively in the second half against No. 19 Fort Hays State falling 70-45. The Ichabods take on Nebraska-Kearney at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27 in Kearney.  

The Tigers (15-3, 9-3 MIAA) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first 2:30 of the game before Yiibari Nwidadah got Washburn (11-7, 6-6 MIAA) on the board with 6:45 to play in the first half. Fort Hays State forced the Ichabods into five turnovers in the quarter leading to seven points in the quarter and a 20-5 lead at the 2:06 mark in the quarter. Washburn was able to finish the half on a 7-0 run to pull within single digits.  

Both offenses got off to slow starts in the second quarter with the Ichabods outscoring the Tigers 6-2 in the first five minutes. The run continued with Aubree Dewey scoring seven straight points for Washburn to tie the game with 17 seconds left in the quarter. Fort Hays State was able to score in the final seconds to take a 30-28 lead into halftime.  

Dewey got to the rim for a layup at the 8:03 mark in the third quarter after FHSU came out of halftime on a 7-0 run but it would be the last field goal of the quarter for the Ichabods. Fort Hays shot 8-17 in the quarter and turned Washburn over six times to lead 52-31 going into the fourth.  

Neither team scored for the first two minutes of the fourth quarter with Washburn getting its first basket from Amaya Davison with 5:30 left. The Tigers shot 7-12 in the quarter and pushed the lead to as many as 28 points before winning 70-45.  

For the game the Ichabods shot 17-51 while going just 2-18 from behind the arc while Fort Hays State shot 25-63 (39.7%) and were 14-16 from the free throw line. Washburn turned the ball over 20 times leading to 19 points for FHSU while the Ichabods scored just seven off 11 giveaways by the Tigers.  

Aubree Dewey led all players with 20 points on 8-20 shooting along with three steals. Aniah Wayne and Amaya Davison each scored seven points.  

Fort Hays State had three double digit scorers led by Katie Wagner with a 16 point and 11 rebound double double. Emma Ruddle had 13 and Olivia Hollenbeck added 12.  

ABOUT THE NEBRASKA AT KEARNEY LOPERS

• The Lopers are 13-5 on the year and 7-5 in MIAA play after a 68-64 home victory over Emporia State on Thursday evening. 
• Nebraska-Kearney went 28-5 overall in 2022-23 with an 20-2 mark in the MIAA, falling in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament and in the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament. 
• On the year the Lopers are averaging 74.1 points on 44.8% shooting overall and 35.4% from deep. 
• Opponents are averaging 59.1 points on 36.5% shooting and 28.6% from behind the arc. 
• UNK is 8-2 inside of the Health & Sports Center this season. 
• The Lopers have strong advantages on the boards and in the assist column this season as they out-rebound teams by 11.1 rpg and average 4.3 more apg than opponents. 
• Shiloh McCool leads a balanced scoring attack with 12.8 ppg on 46.2% from the floor while also pulling down a team-high 9.3 rpg and dishes 2.3 apg. 
• Kia Wilson averages 10.6 ppg while shooting a team best 54.7% from the field in just 20.9 mpg. She also grabs 4.9 rpg. 
• Jillian Aschoff leads the Lopers and the MIAA with 6.1 apg while also pulling down 6.9 rpg, scoring 10.3 ppg and coming away with 2.2 spg. 
• Meg Burns chips in 9.8 ppg and shoots a team-high 47.7% from behind the arc with 31 triples this season, more than double the next most on the team. 
• Aschoff, McCool and Burns have started an played in all 18 games with all three averaging at least 28.6 mpg. 

HEAD COACH DREW JOHNSON

• is in his 1st season as the head coach at Nebraska-Kearney after being hired on May 9, 2023. 
• Spent the previous two seasons as the head coach at Newman, leading the Jets to the MIAA Tournament for the first time in program history in the 2022-23 season. 
• Got his start as a head coach at Bethel College from 2017-21. 
• he was a nine-year high school coach in Kansas (Valley Center, Derby and Clay Center) and co-founded Ohlde Elite, an AAU program
• Played football and got his bachelor's degree in education from Friends University in 2011. 

SERIES WITH NEBRASKA-KEARNEY

• Saturday will be the 47th meeting all-time between the Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney with the Ichabods leading the series 28-18.
• The series began Jan. 14, 1977 with a 64-57 win for Washburn in Topeka. 
• The Ichabods are 22-20 against the Lopers in Kearney. 
• Last season Nebraska-Kearney won the only game between the two 55-51 in Lee Arena. 
• The Lopers have won the last five games in the series. 

LAST TIME VS Nebraska-kearney

Nebraska-Kearney 55, Washburn 51 (January 21, 2023)
TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn battled with No. 16-ranked Nebraska-Kearney and held an eight-point advantage at halftime, but the Lopers took the lead late in the third quarter and held on for the 55-51 win over the Ichabods Saturday afternoon. The Ichabods will continue their homestand next week with games against Rogers State (Jan. 26) and Northeastern State (Jan. 28).

Washburn (7-10, 3-8 MIAA) jumped out to a 12-3 lead at the 4:39 mark in the opening quarter with five different Ichabods contributing points. Gabi Artis banked in a shot at the buzzer to put the Ichabods up, 16-7, at the end of the first period. 

In the second quarter, Emma Chapman put together a 5-0 scoring run herself to push the Washburn lead to double-figures, 21-9, with 7:23 on the clock. The Lopers (18-3, 11-2 MIAA) used a 13-2 tear to pull within one, 23-22, with 3:20 left in the first half. Natalia Figueroa stopped the run with a three-pointer that started a 9-2 Washburn run to end the quarter in front, 32-24. The Ichabods shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and held the Lopers to shooting 32 percent.

Aubree Dewey scored a basket on the first possession of the second half to put the Ichabods back up by double-digits, 34-24, when Nebraska-Kearney started to chip away at the deficit. The Lopers ripped off a 14-4 rally in six and a half minutes of action to take their first lead since two minutes into the game at 3-2. UNK extended its lead to 41-38 with 20 seconds left before Dewey buried a triple in the waning seconds to level the score at 41 heading into the fourth.

The Lopers started the scoring in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and never trailed in the final nine and a half minutes. Yiibari Nwidadah made a layup at the 8:13 mark to tie the game at 45-all, but Washburn did not regain the lead again. The Ichabods trailed 54-51 with 14 seconds remaining and called a timeout, but committed a traveling violation shortly after inbounding the ball and did not get another shot off.

The Ichabods finished with a 43.2 field goal percentage and held the Lopers to a 35.3 clip. Nebraska-Kearney had one more three-pointer attempt and made one more triple than Washburn, going 5-of-15. At the free throw line, UNK was 14-of-22 and WU was 9-for-16. The Lopers outrebounded Washburn, 37-28, and forced 15 Washburn turnovers that they turned into 17 points. 

Chapman made 6-of-10 from the field and tied a career-high in scoring with 13 points. Dewey added 10 points and Artis had eight. Lakyn Schieferecke grabbed a career-best seven rebounds. 

Three Lopers finished in double-figures, led by Klaire Kirsch and Shiloh McCool who finished with 14 points apiece.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 993-485-1 (.672) 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 head south and will face Rogers State on Feb. 1 in Claremore, Okla. beginning at 5:30 p.m. 
• 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.