TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball will begin the MIAA Tournament this week with a first round matchup against the No. 7 seed Nebraska-Kearney on Wednesday, March 6 at 2:15 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium from Kansas City, Mo. 

OPENING TIP

• After a one year hiatus Washburn women's basketball returns to the MIAA Championship Tournament this Wednesday against Nebraska-Kearney. 
• The No. 10 seed Ichabods will face the No. 7 seeded Lopers on March 6 at 2:15 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. 
• Washburn is coming off a 59-58 overtime win over Emporia State on senior day on Saturday, March 2. 
• WU is now 13-15 overall on the year and went gone 8-13 in the MIAA.
• They finished the regular season 9-4 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. 
• Nebraska-Kearney finished the regular season with an 18-10 overall record and went 12-10 in the MIAA finishing in 7th place. Last time out they lost 74-64 on the road in overtime to Fort Hays State. 
• Washburn finished in 10th place in the MIAA regular season, they were picked to finish 10th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches poll and were slotted 8th in the media vote. 

TOURNAMENT TIME

• Washburn's last appearance in the MIAA Championship Tournament came in the 2021-22 season which saw the Ichabods advance to the MIAA quarterfinals as the No. 9 seed after an opening-round victory over Pittsburg State. Washburn fell 62-54 to No. 1 Missouri Southern on March 3. 
• The only time the Ichabods and Nebraska-Kearney have faced eachother in the tournament was on March 6, 2021 in Hays, Kan. in the semifinals of the tournament. Aubree Dewey led Washburn with 16 points in a 59-40 loss. 
• The winner of Wednesday's game will face No. 2 Northwest Missouri State on Thursday at 2:15 p.m. 

BODS AND BITS

• As a team Washburn averages 67.7 ppg on 39.9% shooting from the floor and 30.3%  from deep. 
• Opponents average 64.9 ppg on 38.5% shooting and 29.0% from behind the arc. 
• WU is shooting 69.6% from the line this year going 402-578 overall while opponents are 391-515, for a 75.9% clip. 
• The Ichabods are pulling down 39.4 rpg while holding opponents to just 36.1 rpg. 
• Washburn extended its three point streak to 97 games with two triples on Saturday afternoon.
• 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 42.6% 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 35.5 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 9.3 rpg with 3.3 on the offensive end. She also leads WU in shooting at 55.7% from the floor and is doing so in just 24.8 mpg.  She has started 25 of 26 contests she has appeared in. 
• Mackenzie Gamble has made 19 starts and is averaging 22.2 mpg. She is scoring 6.1 ppg, dishing 1.2 apg with 2.7 rpg and is second on the team shooting 34.4% from three. 
• Aniah Wayne scores 7.5 ppg this season in 23.1 mpg with 21 starts. She also pulls down 2.6 rpg and is shooting 30.6% from the field and is tied for the team lead with 43 triples. 
• Amaya Davison is averaging 6.3 ppg playing every game with six starts shooting 34.8% from the floor with 2.4 rpg in 22.9 mpg.  
• Gabi Giovannetti is scoring 6.5 ppg in 18.4 mpg in 21 games with five starts. She has averages of 38.8% from the floor and is shooting a team-high 38.7% from deep.
• Lakyn Schieferecke has started 12 games for Washburn playing 18.8 mpg. She is averaging 3.7 ppg on 34.1% shooting and is pulling down 3.3 rpg .
• Madelyn Amekporfor has made 13 starts averaging 16.7 mpg and is scoring 4.6 ppg on 40.9% shooting with 0.8 steals per game. 
• Liz Boyd is averaging 4.7 ppg in just 11.5 mpg while shooting 44.6% from the field. She's also pulling down 2.9 rpg off the bench.
• Nia McKenzie has made five starts and appeared in 26 games playing 9.7 mpg and scoring 2.2 ppg with 2.4 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 39.36 rebounds per game, 67th in the nation and third in the MIAA. They are 49th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game. 
• The Ichabods are 58th in the nation committing only 14.4 turnovers per game, seventh least in the conference. 
• Washburn is fourth in the conference and 90th nationally in defending the three point line holding opponents to 29.0% shooting from behind the arc. 
• WU is first in the MIAA and 37th nationally shooting 20.64 free throws per game. They are 43rd in the nation knocking down 14.36 shots from the charity stripe per contest. 
• Aubree Dewey ranks 35th in the nation in assists per game with 4.6, that number is second among MIAA players. She is 29th nationally in total assists with 129. 
• She is also first in the conference averaging 35.47 mpg and fifth in scoring at 16.0 ppg. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is second in the MIAA and 41st nationally averaging 9.3 rpg. She is tied for 28th nationally and third in the conference with 11 double doubles on the year. 
• She is 12th in the conference in total blocks. 
• Aniah Wayne and Mackenzie Gamble are both tied for 12th in the conference in total 3-pointers made. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Aubree Dewey is 24 points away from reaching 1,000 in her career. She is also seventh place all-time with 319 career assists. She is seven minutes behind head coach Lora Westling for 12th place in all-time minutes played in her career. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is six points away from reaching 500 in her career, she is currently 14th in program history in offensive rebounding with 150 in her career.
• Mackenzie Gamble is tied for 10th in program history with 120 3-pointers made. 
• Lakyn Schieferecke is 16 minutes away from playing 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

Washburn 59, Emporia State 58 (OT) (March 2, 2024)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn rallied from down 13 points in the second half to deliver a 59-58 overtime victory over Emporia State on senior day Saturday afternoon. The Ichabods finish the regular season as the No. 10 seed in the MIAA and will take on No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament on Wednesday, March 6 at 2:15 p.m. in Kansas City, Mo.  

Seniors Aubree Dewey, Mackenzie Gamble and Lakyn Schieferecke were recognized prior to the game for their contributions over the last four years with Washburn women's basketball.  

It was a quick start for Washburn (12-15, 8-14 MIAA) with a pair of seniors, Dewey and Gamble starting the game on a 5-0 run. Over the next nearly five minutes of game time the Hornets (13-15, 10-12 MIAA) scored the next 10 points. The Ichabods ended the quarter on a 4-0 run, all coming at the line to make it 15-11 after one.  

Scoring was hard to come by for both teams in the second as they combined to shoot 7-32. Washburn held Emporia State scoreless in the final 4:48 on the quarter, in that time they finished the half on another 4-0 run to go into halftime down just 22-19.  

The Hornets came out of the half scoring the first five points but the Ichabods were able to weather the storm. A pair of free throws from Liz Boyd capped off a 5-0 run at the 4:32 mark in the third quarter. Emporia State would score 10 of the next 11 points, pushing the lead into double digits. The deficit grew to a game-high 13 points with 1:33 left in the quarter. For a third straight quarter the Ichabods ended it on a 4-0 run to make it a nine-point game heading into the fourth.  

Washburn started the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run, concluding with a 3-point play from Aubree Dewey with 8:15 left in regulation. Emporia State pushed the lead back up to six but the Ichabods battled back to tie the game with Yiibari Nwidadah knocking down a free throw with 42 seconds left. After the Hornets got a bucket to go Washburn was able to force overtime with Aubree Dewey sinking a jumper with 19 seconds left. Lakyn Schieferecke drew a charge on the final offensive possession for Emporia State to send the game to overtime.  

After Nwidadah got the first bucket of overtime the Hornets scored the next five, and led until Dewey drilled a jumper with 2:38 left to play. Washburn didn't get over the hump until Gabi Giovannetti knocked down a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left and those would be the final points of the game after back-to-back defensive stops for the Ichabods to win it 59-58 in overtime.  

Washburn shot 22-63 (34.9%) for the game, and made 13 free throws while Emporia State shot 22-58 (37.9%) and were 10-12 from the charity stripe. The tight game was most decided on the boards where the Ichabods grabbed five more rebounds than the Hornets, leading to 11 second chance points.  

Aubree Dewey led Washburn with 16 points and played all 45 minutes in the game. She dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds. Yiibari Nwidadah had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds and Amaya Davison had 13 points on 4-6 shooting off the bench.  

Faith Paramore had a game-high 20 points along with six rebounds. Tylieea Wallace had 16 for ESU off the bench.  

ABOUT THE NEBRASKA AT KEARNEY LOPERS

• The Lopers are 18-10 on the year and went 12-10 in MIAA play, finishing seventh in the conference. They enter the tournament on a three-game losing streak. 
• Nebraska-Kearney went 28-5 overall in 2022-23 with an 20-2 mark in the MIAA, falling in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament and in the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament. 
• On the year the Lopers are averaging 73.5 points on 43.4% shooting overall and 33.3% from deep. 
• Opponents are averaging 64.2 points on 38.8% shooting and 30.1% from behind the arc. 
• UNK went 1-0 in neutral court matches during the season. 
• The Lopers have strong advantages on the boards and in the assist column this season as they out-rebound teams by 10.2 rpg and average two more apg than opponents.
• On the year they have also made 98 more free throw attempts than opponents.
• Shiloh McCool leads a balanced scoring attack with 13.9 ppg on 46.1% from the floor while also pulling down a team-high 9.5 rpg and dishes 2.4 apg. 
• Jillian Aschoff leads the Lopers and the MIAA with 5.8 apg while also pulling down 6.5 rpg, scoring 10.0 ppg and coming away with 2.0 spg. 
• Meg Burns is second on the team in scoring at 11.0 ppg on 44.9% shooting along with 2.4 rpg and 1.5 apg while starting all 28 games. She leads the team with 57 made 3-pointers as well.
• Kia Wilson averages 10.0 ppg across 20 games played on a team-high 52.5% from the floor. She also pulls down 4.8 rpg in just 21.1 mpg. 
• Aschoff, McCool and Burns all play over 30.6 mpg and the trio have started and played in all 28 contests. 

HEAD COACH DREW JOHNSON

• is in his 1st season as the head coach at Nebraska-Kearney after being hired on May 9, 2023. 
• Spent the previous two seasons as the head coach at Newman, leading the Jets to the MIAA Tournament for the first time in program history in the 2022-23 season. 
• Got his start as a head coach at Bethel College from 2017-21. 
• he was a nine-year high school coach in Kansas (Valley Center, Derby and Clay Center) and co-founded Ohlde Elite, an AAU program
• Played football and got his bachelor's degree in education from Friends University in 2011. 

SERIES WITH NEBRASKA-KEARNEY

• Wednesday will be the 48th meeting all-time between the Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney with the Ichabods leading the series 28-19.
• The series began Jan. 14, 1977 with a 64-57 win for Washburn in Topeka. 
• The Ichabods are 0-1 against UNK in neutral court matchups with the only one coming on March 6, 2021 in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament. 
• Earlier in the season Nebraska-Kearney won 75-74 over Washburn in overtime in Kearney. 
• The Lopers have won the last six games in the series. 

LAST TIME VS NEBRASKA-KEARNEY

Nebraska-Kearney 75, Washburn 74 OT (January 27, 2024)
KEARNEY, Neb. -- Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney needed more than 40 minutes to decide things on Saturday afternoon but after 45 minutes the Ichabods ran out of time falling 75-74 in overtime to the Lopers. Washburn will stay on the road next week taking on Rogers State on Thursday, Feb. 1. at 5:30 p.m.  

The Lopers (14-5, 8-5 MIAA) offense got started first scoring the first four points of the game with the lead quickly expanding to seven points at the 7:53 mark of the first quarter. Washburn (11-8, 6-7 MIAA) battled back taking the lead after Nia McKenzie put in a layup at the 4:29 mark and held UNK scoreless for the entire stretch. Nebraska-Kearney continued to fire away, knocking down four 3-pointers in the quarter to re-take a 17-14 lead after one. 

After falling behind by five in the second quarter Washburn rattled off eight straight points going up by three on a triple from Aubree Dewey at the 5:55 mark in the quarter. Both teams had opportunities in the quarter, with 11 combined offensive rebounds, but the Ichabods made the most of them shooting 7-18 while holding UNK to 26.3% shooting for the quarter. Dewey converted on the final opportunity, knocking down a jumper as time expired to lead 32-29 at the break.  

After going back-and-forth most of the first half Washburn led for were tied for the entire third quarter. The lead reached a game-high seven points after Mackenzie Gamble connected on a 3-pointer to go up 45-38 with 3:51 left in the quarter. In the final minutes Nebraska-Kearney took advantage of a 14-8 rebound advantage in the quarter and scored the final five points and cut the lead to just one point going into the fourth.  

Neither team scored until Aniah Wayne sunk a pair of free throws with 7:32 left in the quarter. The Lopers tied the game and took the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter after hitting two free throws with 5:22 to play in regulation. In the final five minutes there were five lead changes and four ties including a tie at the end of the fourth quarter after Dewey was able to find Wayne under the basket for a layup on a play that started with four seconds left on the clock.  

Playing for the first time this season in overtime Yiibari Nwidadah sunk a pair of free throws with 3:41 remaining to break the tie. The Lopers didn't score until there was 1:55 left in the extra period on a two-point jumper. They took a one-point lead 42 seconds later and sunk another jumper with 18 seconds left to go up by three. Nwidadah connected on an extra chance layup but that would be the final score of the game with Washburn coming up one point short, 75-74.  

Washburn shot 29-72 in the game (40.3%) and were 10-11 at the line while holding UNK to 27-19 shooting (34.2%) and the Lopers were just 7-29 behind the arc. Nebraska-Kearney won the rebound battle 56-41 and grabbed 24 total offensive rebounds while also getting to the line 10 extra times creating separation in the close game.  

Aubree Dewey led all scorers with 21 points along with eight assists and three steals. She tied a career high with three 3-pointers and went over 20 points for the fifth time in her last six games. Yiibari Nwidadah tied a career high with 19 points on 8-10 shooting and made it a double double with 12 rebounds. Both Aniah Wayne and Mackenzie Gamble added eight points.  

Meg Burns scored 20 points for the Lopers to lead them. Shiloh McCool had a 15 point and 13 rebound double double while Jillian Aschoff had nine points, nine rebounds and 11 assists, the most of any Ichabod opponent this season.  

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 995-493-1 (.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

• If the Ichabods win they will take on the No. 2 seed, Northwest Missouri State in the quarterfinals round at 2:15 on Thursday, March 7.