TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball hosts Northwest Missouri State on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Lee Arena. 
 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn women's basketball welcomes another Missouri team to Lee Arena as they take on Northwest Missouri State on Saturday. 
• The Ichabods will face the Bearcats at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10 inside of Lee Arena. 
• Washburn is coming off a 72-59 loss at home to Missouri Western State on Wednesday evening. 
• WU is now 11-11 overall on the year and has gone 6-10 in the MIAA.
• They have gone 7-2 at home, 3-8 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. 
• Northwest Missouri State is 17-5 overall to start the year and are 11-5 in the MIAA after defeating Emporia State 86-52 in Emporia on Wednesday evening. 
• 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 70.0 ppg on 40.8% shooting from the floor and 32.3% from deep. 
• Opponents average 64.5 ppg on 38.2% shooting and 27.7% from behind the arc. 
• WU is shooting 71.3% from the line this year going 323-453 overall while opponents are 306-413, for a 74.1% clip. 
• The Ichabods are pulling down 39.9 rpg while holding opponents to just 35.8 rpg. They also average 11.7 apg while opponents average 11.2.
• Washburn extended its three point streak to 91 games with a trio of triples on Wednesday 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 16.1 ppg on 43.0% shooting from the floor. Dewey dishes out a team-high 4.6 apg and pulls down 5.5 rpg from the point guard position, second most on the team. She leads the team playing 34.7 and snags 1.9 spg. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is second on the team averaging 12.4 ppg and nearly averages a double double pulling down a team-high 9.8 rpg with 3.6 on the offensive end. She also leads WU in shooting at 56.1% from the floor and is doing so in just 24.4 mpg.  She missed two games with an injury but has started in all 20 other contests.
• Aniah Wayne nearly scores 9.1 ppg this season in 26.1 mpg with 20 starts. She also pulls down 3.0 rpg and is shooting 32.8% from the field and leads the Ichabods with 42 triples. 
• Mackenzie Gamble has made 16 starts and is averaging 22.2 mpg. She is scoring 6.2 ppg, dishing 1.4 apg with 2.8 rpg and is second on the team shooting 37.2% from three. 
• Amaya Davison is averaging 6.5 ppg playing every game with two starts shooting 36.9% from the floor with 2.2 rpg in 21.6 mpg.  
• Gabi Giovannetti is scoring 5.5 ppg in 15.5 mpg off the bench in 15 games. She has averages of 37.0% from the floor and is shooting a team-high 41.4% from deep.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has started eight games for Washburn playing 19.2 mpg. She is averaging 4.2 ppg on 37.5% shooting and is pulling down 3.3 rpg .
• Madelyn Amekporfor has made 13 starts averaging 17.6 mpg and is scoring 5.2 ppg on 41.4% shooting with 0.9 steals per game. 
• Liz Boyd is averaging 5.1 ppg in just 12.2 mpg while shooting 43.0% from the field. She's also pulling down 3.3 rpg off the bench.
• Nia McKenzie has made three starts and appeared in 20 games playing 8.1 mpg and scoring 2.1 ppg with 2.0 rpg. 
• Rebecca Snyder is scoring 1.0 ppg with 1.6 rpg playing 8.5 mpg with appearances in 19 games and six starts. 

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 454-126 all-time in Lee Arena. 

STACKING THE STATS

• Washburn is 59th nationally in bench points per game with an average of 23.1 ppg coming from the reserves. That number is fourth in the conference. 
• Washburn is crashing the glass and is 69th nationally in rebound advantage pulling down 4.1 more boards per game than opponents, sixth in the MIAA.
• The Ichabods are 50th in the nation committing only 14.3 turnovers per game, seventh least in the conference. 
• Washburn is fourth in the conference and 54th nationally in defending the three point line holding opponents to 27.7% shooting from behind the arc. 
• WU is first in the MIAA and 44th nationally shooting 20.59 free throws per game. They are 37th in the nation knocking down 14.68 shots from the charity stripe per contest. 
• Aubree Dewey ranks 36th in the nation in assists per game with 4.6, that number is third among MIAA players. She is 25th nationally in total assists with 102. 
• She is also eighth in the conference in field goal percentage at 43.0%.
• Yiibari Nwidadah is first in the MIAA and 23rd nationally averaging 9.8 rpg. She is tied for 18th nationally and first in the conference with nine double doubles on the year. 
• Aniah Wayne is fourth in the conference in total three pointers and fifth in three pointers per game. 
• Mackenzie Gamble is 10th in total number made and 12th per game. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Mackenzie Gamble is 12 points away from 500 in her Ichabod career. 
• Aubree Dewey is 8 assists away from 300 in her Washburn career, she is currently 14th in program history in the category. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is 105 minutes away from reaching 1,000 in her career. 

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

Missouri Western 72, Washburn 59 (Feb. 7, 2024)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn made a push late but were unable to overcome an early deficit falling 72-59 to Missouri Western State on Wednesday evening. The Ichabods play one more at home against Northwest Missouri State on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. before going back on the road.  

Washburn (11-11, 6-10 MIAA) got the first four points of the game within the first minute but the next seven came from the Griffons (18-4, 13-3) and they would never relinquish the lead. An 8-0 run for the visitors opened the game up and the lead was pushed to double digits with 2:34 left in the quarter after a 3-pointer. The Ichabods shot just 4-17 in the quarter but scored the final four points of the quarter to trail just 20-12.  

After Missouri Western's lead crept up to 12 early in the second quarter Washburn went on a 6-0 run with four points from Aubree Dewey to pull within six with 4:12 in the quarter. In the final four minutes the offense of the Griffons going, scoring 12 points as MWSU shot 58.33% in the quarter to go into halftime up 38-26.  

Offense was hard to come by for both teams in the third quarter with both teams shooting a combined 9-32. Washburn got its first 3-pointer of the game to fall, with Lakyn Schieferecke knocking one down at the 5:19 mark. Missouri Western went on a 6-0 run to push the lead up to 15 points before Amaya Davison sunk a pair of free throws. The Griffons would get the final bucket of the quarter and lead 52-37 going into the fourth.  

The Ichabods had their most effective offensive quarter in the fourth, shooting 8-14 from the floor with two 3-pointers and going 4-4 at the line. The visitors were able to withstand the offensive punches shooting 8-17 themselves for the quarter. After MWSU went up by 17 Washburn went on a 7-0 run to cut it to 10 and put it in single digits on a basket by Madelyn Amekporfor with 54 seconds left but it was too late with Missouri Western winning 72-59.  

The Ichabods shot 32.8% for the game on 20-61 shooting and were just 3-16 from behind the arc. Missouri Western shot 25-60 (41.7%) and went 17-22 at the free throw line. Both teams turned the ball over 15 times, but the Griffons were able to net 17 points on those to Washburn's 10. The bench unit for MWSU also chipped in 31 points, a 15 point advantage over the Ichabods.  

Amaya Davison led Washburn with 14 points on 4-8 shooting and was 6-6 from the line. Aubree Dewey had 10 points with four steals and Nia McKenzie had 10 points and eight rebounds.  

Tiani Ellison led a balanced attack for the Griffons with 15 points off the bench. Brionna Budgetts had 14 and Connie Clarke had eight points and 15 rebounds.  

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS

• The Bearcats are 17-5 on the year and 11-5 in MIAA play after a 86-52 win over Emporia State on the road Wednesday evening. 
• 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 68.8 points on 40.4% shooting overall and 31.3% from deep. 
• Opponents are averaging 60.6 points on 40.5% shooting and 32.3% from behind the arc. 
• NWMSU is 7-2 away from Bearcat Arena this season. 
• Northwest Missouri averages 2.3 more rebounds than opponents this season while dishing out 1.8 more assists per game than the opposition. 
• Molly Hartnett leads the Bearcats scoring attack at 13.0 ppg this season on 40.5% shooting. She also leads the squad in assists at 2.9 per game and swipes 1.7 steals per contest. 
• Kelsey Fields leads NWMSU on the boards pulling down 5.9 per game and chips in 7.4 ppg on a team-high 53.8% shooting from the floor.
• Caely Kesten is second on the team scoring 11.3 ppg and pulls down 3.6 rpg with a steal per game. She has started all 22 games. 
• Lindsey Kelderman scores 8.6 ppg on 40.2% shooting from the floor and a team-high 40.4% from behind the arc with 42 made triples on the year. 

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 76th meeting all-time between the Ichabods and the Bearcats with Washburn leading the series 62-13. 
• The series began Dec. 11, 1981 with a 75-45 win for NWMSU in Topeka. 
• The Ichabods are 35-3 against Northwest Missouri in Lee Arena. 
• Washburn took down the Bearcats 66-64 on Dec. 13 this season with Aubree Dewey hitting a game-winning 3-pointer with 19 seconds left and leading WU with 18 points. 
• Both games last season went into overtime with each team winning its home game. 

LAST TIME VS NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

Washburn 66, Northwest Missouri 64 (December 13, 2023)
MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Washburn completed a 14-point second half comeback on Wednesday night to knock off No. 23 Northwest Missouri State 66-64. The Ichabods will take a two-game conference winning streak to St. Joseph on Saturday against Missouri Western State.  

The Bearcats (8-2, 3-2) led from the jump of the game although Washburn (7-2, 2-1) was right behind, tying the game three times in the first quarter alone, but never breaking through. Five different Ichabods scored in the opening quarter to keep the squad down just 16-14.  

Washburn took its first lead of the game with 9:08 left in the second quarter after a 3-pointer by Madelyn Amekporfor. Northwest Missouri quickly took the lead back but the Ichabods were able to keep it close. After NWMSU extended the lead to seven points Yiibari Nwidadah scored the final two points of the half to make it a 33-28 game heading into the break.  

The Ichabods kept it close out of halftime but a 9-0 run for the Bearcats put the game into double figures before Amaya Davison ended the spell with a layup. Washburn was able to go on a 7-0 run shortly after, with Aubree Dewey knocking down a jumper and converting a three-point play. Washburn's offense led the way in cutting into the lead with the Ichabods shooting 8-14 in the frame to trail by just seven going into the fourth.  

Washburn wasted no time continuing to cut into the lead starting the quarter on an 8-1 run to tie the game. Northwest Missouri quickly went back in the lead, but by no more than three points the rest of the way. With 1:08 left in the game Nwidadah converted a three-point play to tie the game at 62. 

The lead would finally flip back to Washburn's favor with 18 seconds to play on a 3-pointer by Aubree Dewey from just behind the top of the key to go up by three. Dewey was able to put on the finishing touch with one more free throw to secure the 66-64 road victory.  

The Ichabods shot 42.9% for the game while shooting just 5-16 from behind the arc. Northwest Missouri shot 39.1% overall but were 42.1% from deep (8-19). Washburn made up that difference with 13 free throws on 19 attempts to just six makes for the Bearcats.  

Dewey led all scorers with 18 points, including 16 in the second half. She also added seven rebounds and a team-high five assists. Nwidadah had 17 points on 7-14 shooting and added eight rebounds along with a career high three blocks. Amaya Davison had 13 off the bench on 5-8 shooting from the floor.  

Four players scored in double figures for Northwest Missouri led by Caely Kesten who had 17 on 7-11 shooting. Molly Hartnett had a 14 point and 11 rebound dobule double.  

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 993-489-1 (.670) 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 have a full week off before heading to Edmond to take on Central Oklahoma at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17. 
• 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.