TOPEKA, Kan. -- MIAA Tournament bound Washburn women's basketball will wrap up the regular season on Saturday for senior day against Emporia State at 1 p.m. 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn women's basketball wraps up the regular season this weekend with senior day against Emporia State. 
• The Ichabods will face the Hornets on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Lee Arena. 
• Washburn is coming off a 66-51 loss on the road to Missouri Southern on Wednesday.
• WU is now 12-15 overall on the year and has gone 7-14 in the MIAA.
• They have gone 8-4 at home, 3-10 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. 
• Emporia State is 13-14 overall on the year and are 10-11 in the MIAA after losing a 72-56 road contest to Pittsburg State on Wednesday. 
• Washburn will finish in 10th place in the MIAA regular season and will take on Nebraska-Kearney in the first round of the MIAA Tournament on Wednesday, March 6 at 2:15 p.m. at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. 

THANK YOU SENIORS

• Before the game Washburn women's basketball will recognize its three seniors, Aubree Dewey, Mackenzie Gamble and Lakyn Schieferecke. 
• The trio has combined to play 258 total games and start in 170 of them across 12 combined years with Washburn. 
• In 105 career games Aubree Dewey has made 75 starts scoring 960 total points, grabbing 387 rebounds, dishing out 314 assists and making 121 steals. 
• She currently ranks seventh in program history in assists, 13th in defensive rebounding and 14th in minutes played. 
• In 90 career games Mackenzie Gamble has made 66 starts scoring 518 points, pulling down 220 rebounds, connecting on 119 3-pointers and making 106 assists.
• She is 11th in program history in 3-pointers made, 26th in 3-point percentage and 31st in minutes played. 
• Lakyn Schieferecke has played 63 career games making 29 starts scoring 163 points, grabbing 154 rebounds and playing 957 minutes. 
• She scored a career-high 10 points against Missouri Southern on Jan. 12, 2023 in Joplin. 

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 455-128 all-time in Lee Arena. 

BODS AND BITS

• As a team Washburn averages 68.0 ppg on 40.1% shooting from the floor and 30.9%  from deep. 
• Opponents average 65.1 ppg on 38.6% shooting and 29.0% from behind the arc. 
• WU is shooting 70.0% from the line this year going 389-556 overall while opponents are 381-503, for a 75.7% clip. 
• The Ichabods are pulling down 39.3 rpg while holding opponents to just 36.1 rpg. 
• Washburn extended its three point streak to 96 games with three triples on Wendesday 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 16.0 ppg on 42.7% shooting from the floor. Dewey dishes out a team-high 4.6 apg and pulls down 5.6 rpg from the point guard position, second most on the team. She leads the team playing 35.1 and snags 1.9 spg. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is second on the team averaging 12.5 ppg and nearly averages a double double pulling down a team-high 9.2 rpg with 3.3 on the offensive end. She also leads WU in shooting at 56.9% from the floor and is doing so in just 24.4 mpg.  She has started 24 of 25 contests she has appeared in. 
• Mackenzie Gamble has made 18 starts and is averaging 21.8 mpg. She is scoring 6.2 ppg, dishing 1.2 apg with 2.7 rpg and is second on the team shooting 35.6% from three. 
• Aniah Wayne scores 7.7 ppg this season in 23.7 mpg with 21 starts. She also pulls down 2.7 rpg and is shooting 30.8% from the field and leads the Ichabods with 43 triples. 
• Amaya Davison is averaging 6.0 ppg playing every game with six starts shooting 33.6% from the floor with 2.4 rpg in 22.5 mpg.  
• Gabi Giovannetti is scoring 6.6 ppg in 18.4 mpg in 20 games with four starts. She has averages of 38.8% from the floor and is shooting a team-high 39.4% from deep.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has started 11 games for Washburn playing 18.5 mpg. She is averaging 3.8 ppg on 35.7% shooting and is pulling down 3.3 rpg .
• Madelyn Amekporfor has made 13 starts averaging 17.2 mpg and is scoring 4.7 ppg on 41.3% shooting with 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. 
• Liz Boyd is averaging 4.7 ppg in just 11.5 mpg while shooting 44.4% from the field. She's also pulling down 3.0 rpg off the bench.
• Nia McKenzie has made five starts and appeared in 25 games playing 9.5 mpg and scoring 2.1 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 averages 39.3 rebounds per game, 74th in the nation and fourth in the MIAA. They are 51st in the nation in defensive rebounds per game. 
• The Ichabods are 60th in the nation committing only 14.4 turnovers per game, eighth least in the conference. 
• Washburn is fourth in the conference and 95th nationally in defending the three point line holding opponents to 29.0% shooting from behind the arc. 
• WU is first in the MIAA and 36th nationally shooting 20.59 free throws per game. They are 42nd in the nation knocking down 14.41 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 29th nationally in total assists with 124. 
• She is also first in the conference averaging 35.12 mpg and fifth in scoring at 16.0 ppg. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is first in the MIAA and 38th nationally averaging 9.2 rpg. She is tied for 36th nationally and fourth in the conference with 10 double doubles on the year. 
• She is ninth in the conference in blocks on the year and blocks per game. 
• Aniah Wayne is ninth in the conference in total 3-pointers made while Mackenzie Gamble is 13th in the MIAA. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Aubree Dewey is 40 points away from reaching 1,000 in her career. She is also seventh place all-time with 314 career assists. She is six points away from passing head coach Lora Westling for 27th in program history in scoring. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is 17 points away from reaching 500 in her career, she is currently 15th in program history in offensive rebounding.
• Mackenzie Gamble is 11th in program history in career 3-pointers made. 
• Amaya Davison is five points away from 250 in her career and just four rebounds away from 100. 

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 Southern 66, Washburn 51 (Feb. 28, 2024)
JOPLIN, Mo. -- Washburn got the first basket of the game but was unable to recapture the lead after that as they fell 66-51 to Missouri Southern on Wednesday evening. The Ichabods will finish up the regular season with senior night at home against Emporia State on Saturday at 1 p.m.  

The Lions (20-7, 16-5 MIAA) got out to a quick start leading 12-4 at the 3:49 mark of the first quarter. Aubree Dewey went on a personal 7-0 run for Washburn (12-15, 7-14 MIAA) over the next 1:06 of play to pull within one point after a 3-pointer. Over the final two minutes of play the Lions finished the quarter on a 4-0 run to lead 16-11.  

A 3-pointer by Gabi Giovannetti cut the lead to two points at the 7:46 mark in the second quarter. The next 11 points all came from the home team with Missouri Southern extending its lead up to 13 points as the quarter moved past the halfway point. The Lions shot 7-14 in the quarter and led 35-22 at halftime.  

Washburn stayed even with Missouri Southern for the entire third quarter, shooting 5-10 and getting to the line nine times in the quarter, but they were unable to cut into the lead. The score stayed between 11 and 15 points for the entire quarter with neither side scoring for the final 1:25 and MSSU led 52-38 going into the fourth quarter.  

Early in the fourth quarter the Lions pushed the lead up to 17. The Ichabods used a 7-2 run in the middle quarter, ending with a free throw from Madelyn Amekporfor to get the lead back down to 11 but that was as close as it got. Washburn didn't score in the final 4:28 of the game and Missouri Southern held on to win 66-51.  

The Ichabods shot 19-52 (36.5%) in the game and were just 3-17 from behind the arc. The Lions were 26-62 (41.9%) overall and made eight 3-pointers on 22 attempts. A 43-30 rebound advantage and eight blocks for MSSU to zero for Washburn created the most separation.  

Yiibari Nwidadah led the Ichabods in scoring with 14 points on 5-10 shooting in just 19 minutes. Aubree Dewey had 13 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds with three steals as well. Ten players cracked the scoring column for the Ichabods.  

Three from Missouri Southern finished in double figures led by Kryslyn Jones who had 19 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Ryan Franklin had 18 points and eigh rebounds. 

ABOUT THE EMPORIA STATE LADY HORNETS

• Emporia State is 13-14 overall on the year and 10-11 inside the MIAA coming off a 72-56 road loss to Pittsubrg State on Wednesday. 
• The Lady Hornets went 14-15 overall in 2022-23 with a 9-13 mark in the MIAA, losing in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament. 
• On the year Emporia State is averaging 65.1 points on 37.2% shooting overall and 29.6% from deep. 
• Opponents are averaging 65.8 points on 41.3% shooting and 31.0% from behind the arc. 
• ESU is 3-8 away from White Auditorium this season.
• Emporia State averages 2.1 less turnovers than opponents while averaging one less rebound and 2.9 less assists. 
• Faith Paramore leads the Lady Hornets at 14.4 ppg on 36.9% shooting. She also leads the squad pulling down 8.6 rpg while dishing out 2.5 apg in 30.3 mpg. 
• Queen Ulabo is third on the team averaging 9.6 ppg and second in rebounding with 8.0. She has played and started in all 27 games averaging 28.6 mpg. 
• Gracie Gilpin averages 10.8 ppg with 2.3 rpg and leads the team with 72 made 3-pointers. 
• Katie Horyna chips in 9.5 ppg along with a team-high 3.7 apg and 3.3 rpg. 

HEAD COACH BRIAN OSTERMANN

• is in his first season as the head coach of the Lady Hornets after being hired on May 2, 2023. 
• is in his 35th season as a collegiate coach with a history record of success at all levels of the collegiate game.  He has 15 years of NCAA Division I experience, with the last nine years at K-State, to go with 20 years at the NCAA Division II and junior college levels
• prior to his time at K-State, Ostermann served as the Associate Head Coach at Texas Christian University from 2008-14
• He started out as a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State University from 1989-91. After a season at PSAC member Mercyhurst College he returned to the MIAA as an assistant coach for both the men and women at Missouri Western State University.  He was in St. Joseph from 1992-96.
• A 1988 graduate of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a bachelor of science degree in physical education.

SERIES WITH EMPORIA STATE

• Saturday will be the 113th meeting between the Ichabods and the Hornets with Emporia State leading the all-time series 63-49. 
• The series began in the 1974-75 season on Dec. 6, 1974 with a 73-52 ESU win over Washburn in Lee Arena. 
• The Ichabods are 22-30 against the Hornets in Lee Arena. 
• Emporia State won the matchup between the two teams earlier this season 60-57 in Emporia on Dec. 2. 
• The Hornets have won the last four matchups between the two teams. 

LAST TIME VS EMPORIA STATE

Emporia State 60, Washburn 57 (December 2, 2024)
EMPORIA, Kan. -- Washburn led through three quarters but an early fourth quarter run by Emporia State led to the Ichabods falling 60-57 to open MIAA competition. There will be a full week before Washburn is back on the court, hosting Rogers State on Dec. 9 at 1 p.m.  

The Ichabods (5-2, 0-1) got off to a strong start thanks to holding the Hornets to 0-12 from the floor to begin the game. Wasbhurn was able to jump ahead 11-6 with 3:07 left in the first quarter after an and one by Liz Boyd. Emporia State (3-3, 1-0) went on an 8-1 run to take the lead before the Ichabods tied it up at 14 to end the quarter.  

Cold shooting fell upon Washburn in the second quarter as they shot 4-14. The Hornets scored the first bucket of the quarter and stayed ahead for the remainer of the half with 6-0 and 5-0 runs boosting the lead up to as many as six. An old fashioned three point play was converted by ESU to conclude the scoring for the half and put them in the lead 30-25.  

After making only eight field goals in the entire first half the Ichabods shot 8-12 in the third quarter alone. The hot shooting gave them a lead at 35-34 with 6:11 left after a Lakyn Schieferecke 3-pointer. A fastbreak layup by Gabi Giovannetti pushed the lead up to five with 2:13 left in the period before Emporia State responded with a quick five-point burst. Aburee Dewey put Washburn back up 45-43 with two free throws at the quarters end.  

After the score was tied at 47 early in the fourth quarter the Hornets went on an 8-2 run to lead by six with 4:00 left in the game. The next basket came from Aniah Wayne with 2:16 left in the game to cut the lead down to four. A 3-pointer by Wayne would cut the lead down to three but the Ichabods never got closer than that, falling 60-57.  

Washburn outshot Emporia State hitting 38.9% of its shots while holding the Hornets to 33.3% shooting. The deficit in percentages was made up by Emporia State grabbing a 45-36 rebounding advantage. The Hornets had an advantage at the line, knocking down 16-24 free throws while the Ichabods made just 11-19 at the charity stripe.  

Yiibari Nwidadah grabbed a third straight double double with a team-high 15 points coupled with 10 rebounds on 7-10 shooting. Aniah Wayne and Liz Boyd each added nine points for Washburn with Boyd going a perfect 3-3 from the floor.  

Emporia State had a trio of players finish in double figures led by Katie Horyna who had 14 points and had five of ESU's six assists for the game.  

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 994-493-1 (.668) 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 will take on Nebraska-Kearney in the first round of the MIAA Tournament on Wednesday, March 6  at 2:15 p.m. in Kansas City, Mo. at the Municipal Auditorium. 
• The MIAA Championship Tournament begins March 6 in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.