TOPEKA, Kan. -- After two games 2,268 miles from home Washburn women's basketball stays on the road but goes just 116 miles east to Warrensburg to face Central Missouri at 1 p.m. on Saturday. 
 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn women's basketball returns to the MIAA as they take on Central Missouri in the final game in 2024.
• The Ichabods will take on the Jennies at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21 in the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center in Warrensburg, Mo.
• Washburn is 6-6 on the year after finishing out the Puerto Rico Clasico with a 100-43 win over Ana G Mendez on Tuesday. 
• They are coming off a 13-16 season in 2023-24, finishing 10th in the MIAA with an 8-14 record in the conference and advancing to the first round of the MIAA Tournament. 
• The Ichabods were picked to finish 9th in the MIAA Preseason Media Poll and were tabbed 10th by the coaches.  
• Central Missouri moved to 8-5 after an 89-56 non-conference win over Lincoln on Dec. 7. They are 0-2 inside the MIAA.

BODS AND BITS

• Washburn returns eight letterwinners from last season's roster while adding seven total new faces with five incoming freshmen and two junior transfers rounding out the 15-player roster.  
• The five freshmen are flanked by four sophomores and a junior class that is six players deep. It is the first roster without a senior going back to the 1980's.  
• The Ichabods are scoring 75.8 ppg on 45.5% shooting overall and 30.0% from behind the arc. 
• They are grabbing 38.7 rpg while giving out 15.4 apg. On the defensive end they come away with 10.2 spg and swat away 2.8 bpg. 
• Opponents average 63.6 ppg on 40.6% shooting and 25.3% from deep. 
• Washburn is 2-0 inside of Lee Arena while going 2-4 in road contests and 2-2 in neutral court games.  
• Washburn hit four triples against Ana G Mendez to extend its streak of games with a made triple to 110 games. 
• Saturday's meeting with Central Missouri will be the 73rd all-time meeting between the two teams. 

BLUE REPORT

• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team offensively scoring 17.4 ppg while also shooting a team-high 72.2% from the field. She grabs a team-best 7.3 rpg and swats away 1.3 bpg while snagging 1.1 spg as well. The junior has started all ten games she has played in logging 26.1 mpg. She has shot over 50.0% in every game this season and has two double-doubles. The Olathe, Kan. native has the best field goal percentage in the nation while ranking 3rd in the MIAA in scoring , 7th in blocks per game and 8th in rpg. 
• Payton Sterk is second on the team scoring 16.1 ppg while starting all 12 contests and playing a team-high 29.2 mpg. She is shooting 45.3% from the floor and a team-high 41.8% from deep while dishing out 2.7 apg, tied for the highest mark on the squad. The Colorado Springs native has drilled a team-high 28 3-pointers. She has 15+ points in seven games this year. Sterk is 2nd in the MIAA in total points, third in 3-pointers and 4th in 3-point percentage. She ranks in the top-50 nationally in all three categories. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is third on the team in scoring at 11.7 ppg while shooting 42.3% from the floor. The junior has started all 12 games playing 26.6 mpg. She is adding 2.9 rpg with 2.4 apg and a team-best 1.6 spg. She is second on the team with 19 made triples and has made a 3-pointer in all but two games. Among MIAA players she is 10th in steals and 11th in 3-pointers. 
• Madelyn Amekporfor is scoring 6.6 ppg on 43.9% shooting while starting ten of 11 games that she has appeared in and logging 21.6 mpg. She is grabbing 3.6 rpg while adding 2.6 apg. On the defensive end she comes away with 1.3 spg. She has multiple assists in nine straight games she has played in. 
• Aniah Wayne is scoring 7.9 ppg in 18.0 mpg off the bench while playing in ten games. She adds 2.6 rpg and 1.1 spg. Her five games with double figure scoring off the bench lead the team. She has made a 3-pointer in five straight appearances. 
• Brooke Gomez has played in all 12 games making 11 starts in her freshman season logging 20.1 mpg. She averages 4.4 ppg while adding 3.0 rpg and 1.3 spg. Her 2.7 apg are tied for the most on the team. She has 3+ assists in five of the last six games. 
• Amaya Davison has played in all 12 games and started two logging 15.5 mpg. She scoring 4.0 ppg on 39.5% shooting while giving out 1.3 apg and coming away with 1.2 spg.  
• Rebecca Snyder has played in ten games with two starts logging 12.8 mpg and scoring 3.0 ppg with 2.7 rpg.  
• Nia McKenzie has played in all 12 games while making one start averaging 13.1 mpg. She is grabbing 3.8 rpg and scoring 3.8 ppg. She has grabbed 4+ rebounds in three straight games including a career-high 11 last time out. 
• Emajin McCallop has played in ten games scoring 1.5 ppg across 10.5 mpg.  
• Willow Gideon has played 9.0 mpg across eight appearances while scoring 3.3 ppg on 47.1% shooting. 
• Liz Boyd has appeared in 11 games off the bench playing 6.1 mpg and scoring 1.3 ppg. 
• Cloie Jansky has played in three games scoring 3.0 ppg with 1.3 rpg in 7.3 mpg. 
• Lauren Luebbert has logged 7.4 mpg of action in 10 appearances off the bench. 

STAT STACKING

• Washburn forces 18.92 turnovers per game, second most in the MIAA and 84th nationally. 
• The Ichabods are 30th nationally scoring 75.8 ppg, fourth highest mark in the conference. 
• With 13.6 orpg, Washburn is second in the MIAA at creating extra offensive opportunities. A mark that is good for 66th in the nation.
• The Ichabods are shooting 45.5% from the floor, third best in the conference and 25th best in the nation. 
• With 14.3 assists per game Washburn is dishing the 4th most in the MIAA and 50th in the nation. 

 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 177 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 9th in program history. She is nine boards away from moving up to No. 8. In overall rebounds she ranks 26th in Washburn history with 464. 
• Her career rebounding average of 7.5 rpg is sixth highest in program history. With an average of 2.9 orpg she has the third highest offensive average of any Ichabod. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is tied for 18th in program history with 84 career 3-pointers made. She will move up to 17th with two more triples.  

HEAD COACH LORA WESTLING

• Lora Westling is in her third season as head coach at her alma mater entering the 2024-25 season. She has a 30-39 record with Washburn and is 107-117 at the DII level. 
• Westling comes back to Topeka 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 becoming a head coach Westling had stints as an assistant at Missouri-St. Louis from 2007-10 and Truman State from 2010-13.
• 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 also played one season of soccer for the Lady Blues.

 

WASHBURN ASSISTANT COACHES

• Assistant coaches Matt Barreiro and Katie Dalton along with student assistant Karly Neufeld round out the coaching staff.
• Barriero enters his second year on the staff. He is a 2005 graduate of Arizona Christian and got his masters from Walden University in 2012. 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 as the head coach at Central Christian College in McPherson, Kan. for two years.
• Dalton joins the staff for the 2024-25 season. She reunites with Westling who she played for at Western Colorado from 2017-22 and was a two-time All-RMAC selection. She graduated from Western Colorado in 2022. 
• She is originally from Magnolia, Texas and has spent time as a head rehabilitation technician and a physical therapy technician.
• Karly Neufeld joins the coaching staff after spending the 2023-24 season on the Ichabod roster.  

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 100, Ana G Mendez 43 (December 17, 2024)
BAYAMON, P.R. -- Washburn hit the century mark as it wrapped up its time at the Puerto Rico Clasico with a 100-43 win over Ana G Mendez on Tuesday afternoon. The Ichabods get back to .500 on the year as they return to conference action against Central Missouri in Warrensburg on Saturday at 1 p.m.  

Yiibari Nwidadah picked up where she left off the day before scoring the first six points of the game for Washburn (6-6, 0-2 MIAA) to help build a 9-1 lead at the 5:28 mark. The advantage grew to double figures with 3:17 to go at 17-6. The Trinos scored the next five points to pull within six in the final minutes before the Ichabods finished on a 6-0 run to lead 23-11 after one.  

The Ichabods began the second quarter with a 13-0 run capped by a fastbreak layup from Madelyn Amekporfor at the 7:33 mark. The lead grew to 30-points after Payton Sterk made a pair of free throws with 4:05 left in the half. Washburn's defense tightened up after the first quarter, holding the Trinos to 1-16 (6.25%) in the quarter and just four points to lead 52-15 at halftime.  

Coming out of the break the Ichabods started on an 8-2 run which pushed the lead over 40 points after a pair of baskets by Nwidadah. Ana G Mendez played even the rest of the quarter, sinking a pair of 3-pointers to leave the game at 72-28 heading into the fourth.  

Early in the fourth quarter the Trinos brought the lead back down under 40-points. The Washburn offense heated up from that point on, shooting 12-17 (70.6%) in the quarter to finish the game on a 17-4 run to reach 100 points for the first time this season and win by 57-points.  

For a second straight game the Ichabods shot over 50.0% at 53.3% on 40-75 shooting. They were 16-33 at the line and made four 3-pointers. They held Ana G Mendez to 11-52 (21.2%) shooting while the Trinos shot 5-21 from beyond the arc. Washburn had a massive 57-54 advantage on the boards. Fifty-seven rebounds is tied for the eighth most in a game in program history.  

Points in the paint went in the Ichabods' favor 72-10, as did bench points 48-11 and points off turnovers 31-4.  

Five players scored in double figures for Washburn, led by Yiibari Nwidadah with 16 on 8-9 shooting in just 15 minutes. Payton Sterk had 15 points with eight rebounds. Madelyn Amekporfor and Aniah Wayne each had 11 points while Willow Gideon had a career-high 10 off the bench. Nia McKenzie had eight points with a career-high 11 rebounds to lead the team.  

Lyann Lopez nearly had half of the points for Ana G Mendez scoring 21 on 5-15 shooting.  

ABOUT THE CENTRAL MISSOURI JENNIES

• Central Missouri is 8-5 on the year but 0-2 in the MIAA. Last time out they defeated Lincoln 89-56 in Warrensburg on Tuesday. 
• Last season the Jennies went 21-8 overall and 15-7 inside the MIAA. They advanced to the quarterfinal round of the MIAA Championship Tournament before falling. 
• This season, Central Missouri is 4-1 inside of the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center while going 3-2 in road contests and 1-2 in neutral court games.
• The Jennies average 67.0 ppg on 43.7% shooting while allowing 60.6 ppg to opponents. They pull down 37.8 rpg while dishing out 11.2 apg.  
• They are first in the MIAA at protecting the ball with just 12.2 turnovers per game. They are second in both fouls per game at 14.0 and with a 74.5% free throw shooting. 
• Reese Schaaf leads the team scoring 17.8 ppg on 54.5% shooting while also grabbing a team-high 9.2 rpg. She has started all 13 games playing 33.3 mpg. She leads the MIAA with five double-doubles and in rpg. Her scoring average is second in the conference.
• Lauren Frost is scoring 11.8 ppg on 41.3% shooting while playing a team-high 33.6 mpg and starting all 13 games. She dishes out a team-high 4.3 apg with 4.4 rpg and 1.5 spg. She has the most total assists in the MIAA and 11th in the nation. 
• Taylor Weishaar has played all 13 games logging 29.1 mpg as a freshman. She is scoring 10.5 ppg while shooting 45.5% shooting and grabs 7.3 rpg while making 1.5 bpg. She has the most total blocks in the MIAA. 
• Allie Clevenger is scoring 9.5 ppg while shooting 38.6% and a team-high 40.0% from beyond the arc. She has connected on 22 3-pointers, most on the team, while also adding 2.9 rpg. 
• Cierra Smith is chipping in 8.4 ppg across 24.2 mpg starting all 13 games. She also adds 3.0 rpg and 1.5 spg. 

HEAD COACH DAVE SLIVER

• Is in his 21st season as the head coach at Central Missouri where he has a 429-184 career record. 
• Among active head coaches, Slifer is the second winningest active head coach in Division II and ranks in the top-10 among all three divisions with his 813 career victories in 35+ years as a head coach.
• Prior to UCM, Slifer was Missouri Western's mentor, where he posted a record of 206-69. 
• Slifer received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Mount Mercy in 1982, and a master's degree in business administration from Eastern Illinois in 1985.   

LAST TIME VERSUS CENTRAL MISSOURI

Central Missouri 69, Washburn 56 (February 24, 2024)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn held with Central Missouri for three quarters but a fourth-quarter offensive burst from the visitors separated them from the Ichabods for a 69-56 win on Saturday afternoon. Washburn will head on the road for its final home game of the season on Wednesday against Missouri Southern at 5:30 p.m.  

Baskets were hard to come by for both teams early in the game, a jumper by Mackenzie Gamble put the Ichabods (12-14, 7-13 MIAA) up 8-6 with 3:08 left in the first quarter. The Jennies (19-7, 13-7 MIAA) scored the next five points in under a minute and led 16-12 after 10 minutes of action.  

Central Missouri pushed its lead up to nine points with 8:49 left in the second quarter. A jumper from Amaya Davison sparked a 6-0 run but it was short-lived with UCM growing the lead to double digits at 28-18 with 4:35 left in the quarter. Washburn shot 6-11 from the field but saved the offense for the end of the quarter ending it on a 7-0 run to make it 30-27 at halftime.  

The Ichabods didn't score until the 6:21 mark in the third quarter but were able to cut the lead down to just two after Gamble sunk a 3-pointer with 5:41 left. A 5-0 Washburn run capped off by a pair of free throws from Aubree Dewey put the home team ahead in the final two minutes of the quarter and they would head to the fourth tied at 46.  

After shooting under 38% in the first three quarters Central Missouri exploded offensively shooting 8-14 (57.1%) from the floor and went 5-8 from the free throw line. They scored the first three points of the quarter and pushed the lead up to six. A three from Gamble and layup by Dewey pushed it down to one point with just over six minutes to play but that was as close as the Ichabods could get. Central Missouri put the lead into double digits with 1:13 left and held on to win 69-56.  

Washburn shot 19-48 (39.6%) in the game and were 14-21 from the free throw line. The Jennies shot 25-64 (39.1%) and went 15-22 at the charity stripe. Eighteen offensive rebounds for Central Missouri and 24 turnovers from the Ichabods were the difference in the game.  

Aubree Dewey led the home team with 14 points along with seven rebounds and four assists, both team-highs. Gabi Giovannetti had 12 points on 5-9 shooting and Yiibari Nwidadah had eight points with six rebounds.  

Brooke Littrell led all scorers with 29 points for Central Missouri on 11-16 shooting and added three steals and four blocks.

SERIES HISTORY WITH CENTRAL MISSOURI

• Washburn leads the all-time series with Central Missouri 43-29.
• They have gone 18-16 in Warrensburg. 
• The series began on Jan. 17, 1990 with a 75-66 win for the Ichabods in Topeka. 
• The Jennies have won each of the last four meetings in the series, including 69-56 and 84-71 victories last year. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,001-500-1 (.667) all-time and are in the 56th year of the program's history. They became the 11th team to reach 1,000 wins on Dec. 16 after defeating Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras.  
• 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

• Washburn will be back in action next year on the road in Emporia against the Hornets at 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 4.
• The home finale for the Ichabods will come on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 1p.m. against Rogers State.  
• The MIAA Basketball Championship Tournament will be held in Kansas City, Mo. at the Municipal Auditorium from March 5-9.