TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball hosts Central Missouri on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the penultimate home contest of the 2023-24 season. 
 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn women's basketball plays its second to last home game of the season on Saturday against Central Missouri. 
• The Ichabods will host the Jennies on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Lee Arena. 
• Washburn is coming off a 71-62 win over Lincoln at home on Thursday evening. 
• WU is now 12-13 overall on the year and has gone 7-12 in the MIAA.
• They have gone 8-3 at home, 3-9 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. 
• Central Missouri is 18-7 overall on the year and are 12-7 in the MIAA after losing a 76-63 road contest to Emporia State on Wednesday. 
• 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 in 10th place in the conference. 

BODS AND BITS

• As a team Washburn averages 69.2 ppg on 40.2% shooting from the floor and 31.1%  from deep. 
• Opponents average 65.0 ppg on 38.4% shooting and 28.6% from behind the arc. 
• WU is shooting 70.5% from the line this year going 365-518 overall while opponents are 360-473, for a 76.1% clip. 
• The Ichabods are pulling down 40.0 rpg while holding opponents to just 35.8 rpg. 
• Washburn extended its three point streak to 94 games with four triples on Thursday evening. 
• The 12 player roster for Washburn is the smallest roster since the 2006-07 roster which also featured 12 players. 

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

• The 2023-24 season marks the 40th season of play in Lee Arena as the facility opened in the 1983-84 season.
• Washburn is 455-127 all-time in Lee Arena. 

THE BLUE CREW

• Aubree Dewey leads the Ichabod scoring attack at 16.2 ppg on 42.2% shooting from the floor. Dewey dishes out a team-high 4.7 apg and pulls down 5.4 rpg from the point guard position, second most on the team. She leads the team playing 35.0 and snags 1.9 spg. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is second on the team averaging 12.6 ppg and nearly averages a double double pulling down a team-high 9.6 rpg with 3.5 on the offensive end. She also leads WU in shooting at 57.1% from the floor and is doing so in just 24.6 mpg.  She has started 22 of 23 contests she has appeared in. 
• Aniah Wayne scores 8.4 ppg this season in 24.8 mpg with 21 starts. She also pulls down 2.8 rpg and is shooting 31.5% from the field and leads the Ichabods with 43 triples. 
• Mackenzie Gamble has made 18 starts and is averaging 22.0 mpg. She is scoring 6.2 ppg, dishing 1.3 apg with 2.9 rpg and is second on the team shooting 35.8% from three. 
• Amaya Davison is averaging 6.2 ppg playing every game with four starts shooting 34.8% from the floor with 2.4 rpg in 22.1 mpg.  
• Gabi Giovannetti is scoring 6.3 ppg in 17.6 mpg in 18 games with two starts. She has averages of 37.4% from the floor and is shooting a team-high 40.3% from deep.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has started nine games for Washburn playing 18.7 mpg. She is averaging 3.9 ppg on 37.7% shooting and is pulling down 3.2 rpg .
• Madelyn Amekporfor has made 13 starts averaging 17.3 mpg and is scoring 4.8 ppg on 41.0% shooting with 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. 
• Liz Boyd is averaging 4.9 ppg in just 1147 mpg while shooting 44.2% from the field. She's also pulling down 3.0 rpg off the bench.
• Nia McKenzie has made five starts and appeared in 23 games playing 9.3 mpg and scoring 2.2 ppg with 2.3 rpg. 
• Rebecca Snyder is scoring 1.0 ppg with 1.6 rpg playing 8.5 mpg with appearances in 19 games and six starts. 

STACKING THE STATS

• Washburn is 72nd nationally in bench points per game with an average of 22.2 ppg coming from the reserves. That number is sixth in the conference. 
• Washburn is crashing the glass and is 67th nationally in rebound advantage pulling down 4.1 more boards per game than opponents, fourth in the MIAA.
• The Ichabods are 40th in the nation committing only 14.1 turnovers per game, seventh least in the conference. 
• Washburn is fourth in the conference and 75th nationally in defending the three point line holding opponents to 28.6% shooting from behind the arc. 
• WU is first in the MIAA and 32nd nationally shooting 20.71 free throws per game. They are 37th in the nation knocking down 14.60 shots from the charity stripe per contest. 
• Aubree Dewey ranks 34th in the nation in assists per game with 4.7, that number is third among MIAA players. She is 34th nationally in total assists with 117. 
• She is also first in the conference averaging 34.94 mpg and sixth in scoring at 16.2 ppg. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is first in the MIAA and 31st nationally averaging 9.6 rpg. She is tied for 28th nationally and four in the conference with 10 double doubles on the year. 
• She is 16th in the nation and 2nd in the conference shooting 57.1% from the floor this season. 
• Aniah Wayne is ninth in the conference in total 3-pointers made while Mackenzie Gamble is 14th in the MIAA. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Aubree Dewey is 67 points away from reaching 1,000 in her career. She is also ninth place all-time with 307 career assists. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is 28 minutes away from reaching 1,000 in her career and is 39 points away from 500. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is 42 minutes away from 1,000 on the court for Washburn. 

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 71, Lincoln 62 (Feb. 22, 2024)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn snapped a seven-game losing streak Thursday evening with a 71-62 win over Lincoln at home. The Ichabods stay at home on Saturday hosting Central Missouri at 1:00 p.m.  

The Blue Tigers (6-19, 2-17 MIAA) got off to a quick start offensively leading 14-9 at the 4:53 mark of the first quarter. The Lead grew to as many as six points before Yiibari Nwidadah ended the quarter on a personal 6-0 run, finishing with 10 points in the first 10 minutes, to leave the game tied at 18.  

In the second quarter Washburn (12-13, 7-12 MIAA) took over on the defensive end, holding Lincoln to 1-11 (9.1% shooting) and just four points in the quarter. Washburn began the second quarter on a 7-0 run capped off by a layup from Gabi Giovanetti with 6:04 remaining before halftime. The Blue Tigers scored their final points of the quarter with 4:21 left and with a fastbreak layup by Aubree Dewey the Ichabods went into halftime up by 14, 36-22.  

After halftime the game slowed down but Washburn was able to continue building the lead at the free throw line, shooting 9-13 in the quarter. A shot from the charity stripe by Giovannetti pushed the lead to 19 with 6:48 left in the quarter. Lincoln was efficient offensively in the quarter shooting 7-15 but never got the lead below twelve and went into the fourth quarter trailing 57-42.  

The Ichabods kept control throughout the middle of the fourth quarter, pushing the lead back up to 17 after Nia McKenzie got a free throw to go with 3:27 left in the game. The next eleven points all came from the Blue Tigers, cutting the lead to just six with 41 seconds remaining. Washburn salted the game away with Gamble, Lakyn Schieferecke and Amaya Davison hitting free throws to give the Ichabods a 71-62 pink out night victory.  

Washburn shot 22-63 (34.9%) for the game while going 23-35 from the line. The Blue Tigers were held to just 17-55 shooting overall (30.9%) but went 25-26 from the line to stay in the game. The Ichabods won the rebounding battle 46-40, and the turnover battle 15-9 to take control in the game.  

Aubree Dewey led all players with 19 points while also dishing out seven assists, making three steals and grabbing six rebounds. Yiibari Nwidadah had 15 points on 7-11 shooting along with nine rebounds and three blocks. Mackenzie Gamble added nine points and six rebounds.  

Four players scored in double figures for Lincoln led by Ashlyn Alloway with a 16 point, 12 rebound double double and Steph Torres with 14 points.  

ABOUT THE CENTRAL MISSOURI JENNIES

• The Jennies are 18-7 on the year and 12-7 in MIAA play after a 76-63 loss to Emporia State on the road Wednesday evening. 
• Central Missouri went 25-5 overall in 2022-23 with an 19-3 mark in the MIAA. They advanced to the Championship of the MIAA Tournament and the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 
• On the year the Jennies are averaging 74.6 points on 45.1% shooting overall and 29.0% from deep. 
• Opponents are averaging 63.9 points on 40.7% shooting and 29.8% from behind the arc. 
• UCM is 8-3 in true road games away from the UCM Multipurpose Building this season.
• Central Missouri has strong advantages in rebounding and in assists this season, pulling down 5.4 more rpg and dishing out 3.3 more apg than opponents.
• Brooke Littrell leads the MIAA in scoring at 19.0 ppg on 48.4% while also hitting 20 3-pointers. She is fourth in the conference grabbing 8.6 rpg while also dishing out 2.7 assists and making 1.1 spg in 30.0 mpg. 
• Olivia Nelson is second on the squad averaging 15.3 ppg on 46.3% from the floor and a team-high 40.0% from deep with 40 makes on the year. She leads the team with 4.0 assists and in steals with 2.0 per game in a team-high 32.8 mpg. 
• Ashley Tull averages 10.5 ppg on a team-high 62.9% shooting along with 6.1 rpg and a team best 1.2 bpg in just 15.8 mpg off the bench. 
• Graycen Holden chips in 8.0 ppg while shooting 51.0% and pulls down 5.5 rpg. 
• Olivia Nelson and Lauren Frost have started all 25 games this season for the Jennies. Brooke Littrell has started all 24 games she has appeared in. 

HEAD COACH DAVE SLIFER

• is in his 20th season at the helm of the Jennies basketball program.
• has led the Jennies to 12 NCAA postseason berths and a National Championship in 2017-18 with the Jennies best record in team history.
• Slifer is the second winningest active head coach in Division II and ranks in the top-10 among all three divisions with his 784 career victories.
• Prior to UCM, Slifer was Missouri Western's mentor, where he posted a record of 206-69. The winningest coach in Missouri Western women's basketball history
• Before his stint at Missouri Western, Slifer served six seasons at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  He won at least 28 games all six seasons
• 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.

SERIES WITH CENTRAL MISSOURI

• Saturday will be the 72nd meeting all-time between the Ichabods and the Jennies with Washburn leading the series 43-28.
• The series began Jan. 17, 1990 with a 75-66 win for Washburn in Topeka.  
• The Ichabods are 21-11 against Central Missouri in Lee Arena.
• Central Missouri has won the last three games including a 84-71 victory in Warrensburg earlier in the season. Aubree Dewey led Washburn with 28 points in the game. 

LAST TIME VS CENTRAL MISSOURI

Central Missouri 84, Washburn 71 (January 10, 2024)
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Washburn trailed No. 17 Central Missouri by double digits after one quarter on Wednesday evening and wasn't able to mount a comeback, falling 84-71 on the road. The Ichabods stay in Missouri, taking on Lincoln at 1 p.m. on Saturday.  

Less than five minutes into the game the Ichabods (10-4, 5-3) faced a double-digit deficit after a layup from UCM (11-3, 5-3) with 5:17 left in the first quarter made the game 15-5. Yiibari Nwidadah had the first five points for Washburn, and added two blocks in the first quarter as well, but Central Missouri was able to get to the line for 11 free throws in the first quarter alone and made every one to lead 25-14. 

The offensive of the Jennies didn't slow down in the second quarter and the lead was pushed to 20 points at the 5:44 mark of the quarter. Aubree Dewey scored eight points for the Ichabods in the first five minutes of the quarter but Central Missouri was able to withstand the scoring by shooting 61.1% in the second quarter. The lead grew to as high as 27 points before Aniah Wayne converted a four-point play with 3:24 left in the half. Washburn still went into the half trailing 53-31.  

The Ichabods began the third quarter on a 10-7 run, getting the lead under 20 on a three-point play from Dewey with 6:45 left in the quarter. After a quick opening stretch, the Ichabod offense slowed down until the final 90 seconds of the quarter with Washburn ending it on an 8-0 run with two triples from Dewey included. Washburn outscored UCM 20-17 in the quarter to trail 70-51 after three.  

The Ichabods began the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run capped by a layup from Dewey to make it a 10-point game with 7:13 to play. The deficit was sliced to seven after Mackenzie Gamble trained a corner 3-pointer at the 5:31 mark. The lead stayed under 10 until a 4-0 run for the Jennies with just over three minutes left. That is where it stayed for the final 180 seconds with Washburn falling on the road 84-71. 

The Ichabods shot 42.6% from the floor and knocked down seven triples, one more than the Jennies. UCM shot 46.2% from the floor and were a perfect 18-18 from the charity stripe. Central Missouri won the turnover battle 13 to seven and scored 24 points off the giveaways while only allowing five.  

Aubree Dewey finished with a career-high 28 points on 11-21 shooting to lead the Ichabods. Yiibari Nwidadah had a double-double with 13 points going 5-7 from the floor with a team-high 11 rebounds along with three blocks. Mackenzie Gamble added nine points on three triples.  

Central Missouri had four players score in double figures led by Brooke Littrell who had 24 points on 9-16 shooting. Olivia Nelson added 14 with three assists.  

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 994-491-1 (.669) 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 play their final road game of the regular season against Missouri Southern on Wednesday, Feb. 28 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.