LIBERTY, Mo. -- Washburn women's basketball rolled to its first win of the season Tuesday night as they downed William Jewell 80-58. The Ichabods will play one more road contest against Truman State at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 in Kirksville, Mo.  

Through the first three minutes of the game it was all Washburn (1-4) as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead starting with a triple by Gabi Giovannetti to open the game. The Cardinals (1-2) nudged their way back to tie the game at seven before back-to-back triples, first by Giovannetti then by Payton Sterk, started a 10-2 run putting the Ichabods up 17-9 at the 2:07 mark. William Jewell finished the quarter on a 6-0 run to make it just a two-point game.  

Both sides got off to a slow start in the second quarter with just one basket for either team in the first two and a half minutes. A layup by Giovannetti and an and-one by Madelyn Amekporfor ignited what would become a 24-point quarter for Washburn. The lead grew to double digits as Sterk connected on a triple with 4:18 to play in the half. On the defensive end, the Ichabods held William Jewell to 2-13 (15.4%) shooting. Giovannetti ended the half with a buzzer-beating triple of cap off a 7-0 run and make it 41-23 at the break.  

After the Cardinals scored the first bucket out of halftime the next nine points went to Washburn as Sterk connected on two triples and Giovannetti dialed up another one from long range, putting the visitors up by a game-high 25. After a pair of free throws by Sterk to end the quarter the Ichabods still led by 21 after a run by Jewell.  

Washburn's offense went cold to start the first quarter as the Cardinals had the first eight points over the first three minutes. A jumper by Yiibari Nwidadah ended the run at the 6:39 mark. William Jewell never got closer than 13 the rest of the way and the Ichabods were able to push the lead back up over 20 as Amaya Davison wrapped up the game with four free throws to make it 80-58.  

It was the most efficient offensive game of the season for Washburn shooting 26-55 (47.3%) overall while nailing eight triples and creating 30 free throw opportunities while converting on 20. Defensively, they held the Cardinals to 20-55 (36.4%) shooting and just 9-14 at the line.  

A 40-31 rebounding advantage helped give the Ichabods an edge, along with outscoring William Jewell 30-20 in the paint and holding the Cardinals to just five second chance points.  

Payton Sterk led the way with a Washburn career-high of 25 points on 8-14 shooting and 4-8 from deep. She added a team-high four assists. Gabi Giovannetti also made four triples, going 4-7 from beyond the arc and 7-11 overall for 18 points. Madelyn Amekporfor had seven points and 10 rebounds while Yiibari Nwidadah scored nine with three blocks.  

Kristen Hauck had 20 points on 7-8 shooting and 5-6 from deep to lead William Jewell. Kate Hillyer added 17 points.