TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball will put its undefeated home record to the test on Saturday as they host Northwest Missouri for a 1 p.m. contest. 
 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn women's basketball will continue its homestand taking on Northwest Missouri State to wrap up the week. 
• The Ichabods will take on the Bearcats for the first this season at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11 inside of Lee Arena. 
• Washburn is 8-7 on the year and 2-3 in the MIAA after winning its second straight game with an 88-73 takedown of Missouri Western on Wednesday. 
• 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.  
• Northwest Missouri ended a six-game losing streak and picked up its first MIAA win to move to 8-7 on the year and 1-4 in conference after defeating Central Missouri 66-58 on Jan. 9 in Warrensburg. 

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

• The 2024-25 season marks the 41st season of play in Lee Arena as the facility opened in the 1983-84 season.
• Washburn is 459-128 all-time in Lee Arena. 

BODS AND BITS

• Washburn returns seven letterwinners from last season's roster while adding seven total new faces with five incoming freshmen and two junior transfers rounding out the 14-player roster.  
• The five freshmen are flanked by three 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 75.5 ppg on 45.2% shooting overall and 30.5% from behind the arc. 
• They are grabbing 38.7 rpg while giving out 14.4 apg. On the defensive end they come away with 8.9 spg and swat away 2.9 bpg. 
• Opponents average 65.3 ppg on 41.0% shooting and 27.6% from deep. 
• Washburn is 3-0 inside of Lee Arena while going 3-5 in road contests and 2-2 in neutral court games.  
• Washburn hit nine triples against Missouri Western to extend its streak of games with a made triple to 113 games. 
• Saturday's meeting with Northwest Missouri State will be the 79th all-time meeting between the two teams. 

BLUE REPORT

• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team offensively scoring 17.0 ppg while also shooting a team-high 70.1% from the field. She grabs a team-best 7.5 rpg and swats away 1.1 bpg. The junior has started all 13 games she has played in logging 26.1 mpg. She has shot at or above 50.0% in every game this season and has three double-doubles. The Olathe, Kan. native has the best field goal percentage in the nation while ranking 3rd in the MIAA in ppg , 6th in rpg and 10th in bpg. She has 15+ points in nine games this year. 
• Payton Sterk is second on the team scoring 15.9 ppg while starting all 15 contests and playing a team-high 30.6 mpg. She is shooting 43.2% from the floor and a team-high 37.3% from deep while dishing out 2.5 apg and grabbing 3.9 rpg. The Colorado Springs native has drilled a team-high 31 3-pointers. She has 15+ points in eight games this year. Sterk is 4th in the MIAA in total points, sixth in 3-pointers and 3rd in 3-point percentage. She ranks in the top-60 nationally in all three categories. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is third on the team in scoring at 11.0 ppg while shooting40.4% from the floor. The junior has started all 15 games playing 26.3 mpg. She is adding 2.6 rpg with 2.2 apg and is tied for the team-lead with 1.4 spg. She is second on the team with 24 made triples and has made a 3-pointer in all but two games. Among MIAA players she is 11th in total 3-pointers.
• Madelyn Amekporfor is scoring 8.1 ppg on 50.0% shooting while starting 13 of 14 games that she has appeared in and logging 23.4 mpg. She is grabbing 4.2 rpg while adding 2.2 apg. On the defensive end she is tied for a team-high with 1.4 spg. She has recorded a steal in five straight games and is shooting 76.0% in the last four contests.
• Aniah Wayne is scoring 7.6 ppg in 17.8 mpg off the bench while playing in 13 games. She adds 2.6 rpg and 0.8 spg. Her six games with double figure scoring off the bench leads the team. She has six games with multiple made 3-pointers including each of the last two.
• Brooke Gomez has played in all 15 games making 14 starts in her freshman season logging 20.7 mpg. She averages 4.9 ppg while adding 3.0 rpg and 1.1 spg. Her 2.7 apg are a team-high. In the last five games she has shot 50.0% or better in four of them. 
• Amaya Davison has played in all 15 games and started two logging 15.5 mpg. She scoring 4.1 ppg on 39.6% shooting while giving out 1.3 apg and coming away with 1.0 spg.  
• Nia McKenzie has played in all 15 games while making one start averaging 14.2 mpg. She is grabbing 3.9 rpg and scoring 3.6 ppg. She has pulled down at least four rebounds in five of the last six games. 
• Rebecca Snyder has played in ten games with two starts logging 12.8 mpg and scoring 3.0 ppg with 2.7 rpg.  
• Emajin McCallop has played in 13 games scoring 1.2 ppg across 8.6 mpg.  
• Willow Gideon has played 9.0 mpg across eight appearances while scoring 3.3 ppg on 47.1% shooting. 
• Cloie Jansky has played in three games scoring 3.0 ppg with 1.3 rpg in 7.3 mpg. 
• Lauren Luebbert has logged 7.5 mpg of action in 11 appearances off the bench. 

STAT STACKING

• The Ichabods are shooting 45.2% from the floor, third best in the conference and 24th best in the nation. 
• Washburn is 27th nationally scoring 75.5 ppg, third highest mark in the conference. 
• With a scoring margin of +10.3 they have the fourth best mark in the conference and 53rd in the nation.
• They also defend beyond the arc with opponents shooting 27.6% from three-point range, fifth best in the conference and 80th nationally.
• With 12.9 orpg, Washburn is second in the MIAA at creating extra offensive opportunities. A mark that is good for 86th in the nation. In overall rebound margin they rank 47th nationally at +6.2.
• Giving out 14.4 apg the Ichabods are fifth in the conference and 75th nationally. 
• Washburn attacks the paint and gets to the line averaging 20.47 free throw attempts per game, 2nd most in the MIAA and 49th nationally.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 185 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 9th in program history. She is two boards away from moving up to No. 8. In overall rebounds she is 21st in Washburn history with 489, two away from entering the top-20. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .584 is the second best in program history. In scoring she ranks 39th with 726 career points. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is 17th in program history with 89 career 3-pointers made. She will move up to 16th with four 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 32-40 record with Washburn and is 109-118 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 88, Missouri Western 73  (January 8, 2025)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn opened up the 2025 calendar year inside Lee Arena with a double-digit win over Missouri Western, snapping the Griffons' seven-game winning streak with an 88-73 victory. The Ichabods will remain at home as they take on Northwest Missouri at 1 p.m. on Saturday.  

Missouri Western (9-4, 4-1 MIAA) opened the game with a pair of triples that put them up 6-2 at the 7:50 mark of the first quarter. The Washburn (8-7, 2-3 MIAA) offense got going, with five straight points from Madelyn Amekporfor that put the Ichabods in front 11-8. It was a balanced offensive effort for Washburn as it built a nine-point lead with 1:23 left in the quarter after Aniah Wayne connected from deep off the bench. Amaya Davison got a layup to go just before the buzzer to make it 28-22 after one.  

After shooting 61.1% in the first quarter the Ichabods maintained their pace in the second, shooting 6-11 (54.6%). With a 5-0 run in the middle of the quarter Washburn pushed the lead to double figures at 42-32 after Yiibari Nwidadah got a jump hook to fall. For a second straight quarter Davison ended it at the buzzer, this time draining a 3-pointer to make it 47-34 heading into the locker rooms.  

The Ichabods held Missouri Western from scoring for the first 2:07 of the quarter. Once the Griffons got the lead back down to 12 a triple by Madelyn Amekporfor began a 6-0 burst to make the deficit a game-high 18-points. Once again, Washburn added to the lead just before the end of the quarter, this time with Payton Sterk working her way into the paint for a layup to make the score 64-49.  

The beginning of the fourth quarter started strong for the Ichabods again, with back-to-back layups for Nwidadah followed by a free throw by Davison to make it a 20-point game at the 7:40 mark. Missouri Western began fouling early and often in the quarter to attempt a comeback. Washburn did what it needed to do at the charity stripe, shooting 11-14 in the quarter to never allow the lead to get below 11 in the final quarter, holding on for a 88-73 victory.  

With the victory, the Ichabods move to over .500 for the first time all season as they shot 50.9% (28-55) from the field. They were efficient from all areas going 9-20 (45.0%) from deep and 23-28 (82.1%) at the line. On the other end the Griffons shot 44.1% (26-59) and drained 14 triples but attempted just 10 free throws, making seven.  

Rebounding went big in Washburn's favor, 40-22, leading to a 34-24 advantage in paint scoring. The Ichabods kept Missouri Western off the offensive glass with just three offensive rebounds but were held scoreless on second chance opportunities.  

Yiibari Nwidadah finished strong, scoring 17 of her 21 points in the second half while shooting 7-11 overall and grabbing a game-high 11 boards for a double-double. Payton Sterk scored 18 points with eight rebounds and Madelyn Amekporfor had 16 on 4-5 shooting overall and went 4-4 from three-point land. Amaya Davison and Aniah Wayne each had 10 points off the bench.  

Marie Sepp led Missouri Western with 21 points on 9-13 shooting while Alyssa Bonilla had 16 points to go along with nine rebounds.  

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS

• Northwest Missouri State is 8-7 on the year and 1-4 in the MIAA after winning its first MIAA contest of the season on Thursday on the road at Central Missouri, 66-58. 
• Last season the Bearcats went 23-8 overall and 16-6 in the MIAA. They advanced to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament and the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament. 
• This season, Northwest Missouri is 5-2 in neutral court games, 2-2 on the road and just 1-3 in games played in Bearcat Arena. 
• The Bearcats average 62.1 ppg on 39.4% shooting while allowing 59.0 ppg to opponents. They pull down 36.7 rpg while dishing out 11.3 apg.  
• They rank third in the MIAA and 24th in the nation at protecting the ball with just 13.5 turnovers per game. On defense they rank 4th in the conference  and 57th nationally allowing just 59.1 ppg. 
• Caely Kesten leads the team in scoring with 13.1 ppg on 43.2% from the field and a team-high 48.8% from deep. She has started all 13 games logging a team-high 29.3 mpg and has drained a team-best 40 3-pointers. The senior adds 2.8 rpg and 2.1 apg. Among conference players she is tops in 3-point percentage and third in total triples made. 
• Kelsey Fields scored 10.7 ppg on a team-high 53.0% shooting from the field. The post player leads the team with 7.7 rpg as well while playing and starting all 15 games logging 24.5 mpg. She is 7th in the MIAA in total rebounds and 2nd in offensive boards per game. 
• Molly Hartnett has started all 15 games logging 28.3 mpg. She adds 7.9 ppg along with a team-high 3.1 apg and 4.6 rpg. 
• Lindsey Kelderman scores 7.3 ppg on 29.9% shooting overall and 37.0% from beyond the arc. 
• Sadie Maas adds 4.3 ppg on 62.0% shooting and grabs 4.1 rpg in 14.7 mpg off the bench. 

HEAD COACH AUSTIN MEYER

• Is in his seventh season leading the Bearcat women's basketball program where he has a 90-95 record. 
• 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 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.

LAST TIME VERSUS NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

Northwest Missouri 62, Washburn 50  (February 10, 2024)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn made a push late but were unable to overcome an early deficit falling 72-59 to Missouri Western State TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn led into the second half but an offensive burst from Northwest Missouri State was too much to overcome Saturday afternoon in a 62-50 loss. The Ichabods head to Edmond to take on Central Oklahoma on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 1:30 p.m.  

The Bearcats (18-5, 12-5 MIAA) jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first two minutes. After trailing 11-6 with 3:23 left in the quarter Washburn (11-12, 6-11 MIAA) scored the final eight points capped off by free throws from Aubree Dewey in the final seconds of the quarter.  

Washburn extended the lead to seven with the first four points of the second quarter, Northwest Missouri State responded with a 8-0 run to take the lead at the 4:51 mark. The Ichabods got a pair of free throws from Nia McKenzie with 2:02 left in the half but still went into the break with a 24-23 lead.  

The Bearcats retook the lead with the first basket of the third quarter but Washburn quickly took it back and led by as many as four three times, the final coming after Yiibari Nwidadah suck a pair of free throws with 3:56 left. Northwest got going offensively, scoring the last nine points of the quarter while shooting 8-12 in the third to lead 41-36 going into the fourth.  

Northwest pushed its lead up to eight early in the fourth quarter but a pair of jumpers from Dewey and a layup by Nwidadah cut it down two with 5:42 left. Dewey got another jumper to go with 4:48 left but just like the quarter before NWMSU got hot offensively going on a 10-1 run over the next four minutes with the final six points all coming at the free throw line. The lead didn't reach double figures until the final minute when it got up to as many as a dozen which was the final deficit with the Bearcats winning 62-50. 

The Ichabods shot just 18-63 in the game (28.6%) while Northwest Missouri was 22-52 (42.3%). Washburn stayed in the game with 14 rebounds and by winning the turnover battle 17-12, but they shot just 1-19 from behind the arc in the loss.  

Aubree Dewey led all players with 20 points on 7-18 shooting while adding a pair of steals. Yiibari Nwidadah had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. No other player had more than six for the home squad.  

Three Bearcats finished in double figures led by Caely Kesten and Molly Hartnett who each had 16 in the game.  

SERIES HISTORY WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI

• Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 62-14.
• The Ichabods have gone 35-4 against the Bearcats inside of Lee Arena. 
• The series began on Dec. 11, 1981 with a 75-54 win for Northwest Missouri in Topeka. 
• Both teams split the season series last year with each team winning the road game in the season-series. 
• The Ichabods average 70.38 ppg all-time in games against the Bearcats. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,003-501-1 (.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 wrap up the season series at home against Emporia State on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m. for Bods Care Night Empowered by Envista/Can Emporia. 
• 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.