TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball will face the Newman Jets for the first time this season as they wrap up a season-long four-game homestand on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn women's basketball will wrap up its season-long four-game homestand as they host Newman. 
• The Ichabods will take on the Jets inside of Lee Arena at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16. 
• Washburn is 9-8 on the year and 3-4 in the MIAA after knocking off Emporia State 88-73 in Lee Arena on Wednesday night. It is the second time in three games with the exact same final score going in the Ichabods' favor. 
• 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.  
• Newman is 6-10 on the year overall while going 1-6 inside the MIAA. Last time out they fell 83-41 to Central Missouri on Thursday evening 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 460-129 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 75.4 ppg on 45.1% shooting overall and 31.7% from behind the arc. 
• They are grabbing 38.6 rpg while giving out 14.6 apg. On the defensive end they come away with 8.6 spg and swat away 2.9 bpg. 
• Opponents average 65.8 ppg on 40.6% shooting and 29.2% from deep. 
• Washburn is 4-1 inside of Lee Arena while going 3-5 in road contests and 2-2 in neutral court games.  
• Washburn hit 12 triples against Emporia State to extend its streak of games with a made triple to 115 games. 
• Saturday's contest against Newman will be the 18th 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 66.6% from the field. She grabs a team-best 7.8 rpg and swats away 1.1 bpg. The junior has started all 15 games she has played in logging 27.1 mpg. She has shot at or above 50.0% in all but one game and has four double-doubles. The Olathe, Kan. native has the best field goal percentage in the nation while ranking 3rd in the MIAA in ppg , 4th in rpg and 11th in bpg. She has 15+ points in ten games this year. 
• Payton Sterk is second on the team scoring 15.9 ppg while starting all 17 contests and playing a team-high 30.2 mpg. She is shooting 44.7% from the floor and a team-high 40.4% from deep while dishing out 2.4 apg and grabbing 3.7 rpg. The Colorado Springs native has drilled a team-high 38 3-pointers. She has 15+ points in nine games this year. Sterk is 3rd in the MIAA in total points and in 3-point percentage, in total 3-pointers she ranks fifth. She is top-50 nationally in all three categories.
• Gabi Giovannetti is third on the team in scoring at 10.9 ppg while shooting 40.2% from the floor. The junior has started all 17 games playing 27.1 mpg. She is adding 2.6 rpg with 2.4 apg while snagging 1.3 spg. She is second on the team with 27 made triples and has made a 3-pointer in all but two games. Among MIAA players she is 12th in total 3-pointers.
• Madelyn Amekporfor is scoring 7.9 ppg on 46.0% shooting while starting 15 of 16 games that she has appeared in, logging 24.4 mpg. She is grabbing 4.5 rpg while adding 2.4 apg. On the defensive end she leads the way with 1.4 spg. Over the last four games she is averaging 7.0 rpg.
• Aniah Wayne is scoring 7.5 ppg in 18.4 mpg off the bench while playing in 15 games. She is shooting 38.9% from the floor and 32.8% from deep while adding 2.8 rpg. Her six games with double figure scoring off the bench leads the team. She is shooting a team-high 79.3% from the free-throw line. 
• Brooke Gomez has played in all 17 games making 16 starts in her freshman season logging 20.8 mpg. She averages 5.0 ppg while adding 3.0 rpg and 1.1 spg. Her 2.8 apg are a team-high. 
• Amaya Davison has played in all 17 games and started two logging 15.6 mpg. She scoring 4.2 ppg on 41.8% shooting while giving out 1.3 apg and coming away with 0.9 spg.  
• Nia McKenzie has played in all 17 games while making one start averaging 14.5 mpg. She is grabbing 4.0 rpg and scoring 3.6 ppg. She has pulled down at least four rebounds in seven of the last eight 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 15 games scoring 1.2 ppg across 8.1 mpg.  
• Willow Gideon has played 8.4 mpg across eight appearances while scoring 3.6 ppg on 50.0% shooting. 
• Cloie Jansky has played in four games scoring 2.5 ppg with 1.0 rpg in 6.0 mpg. 
• Lauren Luebbert has logged 7.3 mpg of action in 12 appearances off the bench. 

STAT STACKING

• The Ichabods are shooting 45.1% from the floor as a team, third best in the conference and 24th in the nation. 
• Washburn is 27th nationally scoring 75.4 ppg, fourth highest mark in the conference. 
• With a scoring margin of +9.6 they have the fourth best mark in the conference and 57th in the nation.
• The Ichabods are shooting 31.7% from beyond the arc, sixth best in the conference and 97th nationally.
• With 12.8 orpg, Washburn is second in the MIAA at creating extra offensive opportunities. A mark that is good for 87th in the nation. In overall rebound margin they rank 46th nationally at +6.3.
• Giving out 14.6 apg the Ichabods are fifth in the conference and 69th nationally when it comes to sharing the rock. 
• Washburn attacks the basket and gets to the line averaging 19.80 free throw attempts per game, 3rd most in the MIAA and 64th nationally.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 190 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 8th in program history. She is two boards away from moving up to No. 7. In overall rebounds she is 15th in Washburn history with 508. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .580 is the second best in program history. In scoring she ranks 38th with 760 career points. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is tied for 16th in program history with 92 career 3-pointers made. She needs 17 triples to move into the top-15. 
• Last time out Payton Sterk reached 1,000 career collegiate points between her time at Cal State East Bay and Washburn.  

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 33-41 record with Washburn and is 110-119 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, Emporia State 73  (January 15, 2025)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn picked up its first regular-season series sweep of the season Wednesday night as they knocked off Emporia State for the second time in 11 days by the score of 88-73. The Ichabods will finish out the homestand on Saturday hosting Newman at 1 p.m.  

After scoring the first two baskets of the game Washburn (9-8, 3-4 MIAA) found itself trailing 7-5 nearly four minutes into the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers, first by Gabi Giovannetti then by Aniah Wayne, put them in front 11-7 at the 5:01 mark. The lead grew to nine points after Yiibari Nwidadah got two of her six first-quarter points to go. The Lady Hornets (7-9, 2-5 MIAA) shot just 4-19 (21.1%) in the first quarter as Washburn led by seven.  

After a layup by Emporia State with 6:27 to play in the half a pair of free throws by Payton Sterk began a 5-0 scoring run for the Ichabods, pushing the lead to double figures at 32-21. The Lady Hornets were contained offensively to begin the quarter but were able to shake loose for nine straight points shortly after, cutting the deficit down to one with 2:13 remaining in the half. Nwidadah put an end to the run with a layup and Washburn would score the last five points heading into the half after a Sterk triple leading 41-33.  

Both teams came out of the locker room with quick scoring. The first four for the Ichabods came from Nwidadah, who had a double-double in the first half alone. Emporia State kept pace, shooting 6-13 from the floor in the quarter and 5-5 at the line. On the other side though Washburn shot 11-17 (64.7%) and made four triples in the quarter. One of those, coming from Sterk with 53 seconds left, pushed the lead to a game-high 13 which is what the margin would be heading into the fourth.  

Sterk kept finding the bottom of the net to begin the fourth quarter, making two 3-pointers in the first four minutes. The second extended the lead to 20-points at 78-58 with 6:16 left. The Lady Hornets never got the deficit back lower than 15, which came in the final seconds as the Ichabods wrapped up an 88-73 victory. 

Washburn shot 32-69 (46.4%) for the game while going 12-29 (41.4%) from beyond the arc. On the opposite side, Emporia State was held to 23-59 (39.0%) shooting but were able to connect on nine triples.  

On the boards the Ichabods had a 40-36 advantage as well as in assists, where they dished out a season-high 24 assists to just 13 from the Lady Hornets. Paint scoring went in Washburn's favor 38-20 along with second chance points 17-9 as the Ichabods took control from the inside out.  

Payton Sterk led the way with a game-high 26 points on 7-11 shooting from beyond the arc. She reached 1,000 career points with her first bucket of the night. Yiibari Nwidadah stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points on 10-14 shooting with 12 rebounds for a double-double while adding a pair of blocks. Gabi Giovannetti had 12 points and a career-high six assists.  

Gracie Gilpin led Emporia State with 18 points on four made 3-pointers. Katie Horyna and Macey Gandee each had 10.      

ABOUT THE NEWMAN JETS

• Newman fell to 6-10 on the year and 1-6 in the MIAA after an 83-41 loss to Central Missouri on Thursday evening in Warrensburg. 
• Last season the Jets were just 2-26 overall while going 1-21 in MIAA play, missing out on the MIAA Tournament. 
• This season, Newman is 4-3 when playing in Wichita, 1-6 on the road and has gone 1-1 in neutral court contests. 
• The Jets average 50.9 ppg on 35.6% shooting while allowing 29.1 ppg to opponents. They pull down 35.7 rpg while dishing out 11.7 apg.  
• They are second in the MIAA and 26th nationally taking 25.1 3-pointers per game, they are fifth in the conference making 7.3 of them. They also protect the ball with just 10.7 turnovers per game, third least in the MIAA. 
• Jaeden McMillin leads Newman scoring 11.9 ppg on 38.9% shooting overall and 35.0% from deep. She has started all 16 games playing 25.9 mpg and grabs 5.8 rpg with a team-best 1.2 spg. 
• Paige Craft is second on the team scoring 8.4 mpg in 26.4 mpg with starts in every game. She adds on 2.6 rpg and 2.3 apg. 
• Delainey Wylie averages 14.2 mpg off the bench in all 16 games but swats away a team-high 1.0 bpg while chipping in 3.9 ppg. She is second in the MIAA and top-25 in the nation in blocks. 
• Valeriya Lioukina scored 8.1 ppg on a team-high 45.5% shooting while also grabbing 5.3 rpg in just 19.2 mpg. 
• Saige Grampsas gives out a team-high 2.8 apg while scoring 6.6 ppg and grabbing 4.6 rpg. She has started all 16 games logging a team-high 32.4 mpg. 

HEAD COACH AMY BRIGGS

• Is in her 2nd season at the helm of the Jets women's basketball program where she has an 8-36 record. 
• Briggs spent the previous three seasons at Truman State where she was an assistant for two seasons before being promoted to Associate Head Coach before the 2022-23 season.
• Began her coaching career at Missouri Valley College as a graduate assistant
• Briggs began her playing career at Johnson County (Kan.) Community College before transferring to Truman State where she earned All-GLVC honors. 

LAST TIME VERSUS NEWMAN

Washburn 84, Newman 58  (January 6, 2024)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn put up 53 points in the second half on 52.6% shooting on Saturday afternoon to fly past Newman 84-58 for a third straight win. The Ichabods head on the road and face Central Missouri at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 10.  

Washburn (10-3, 5-2 MIAA) was strong in the paint all 40 minutes, scoring 36 points inside the blue starting from the jump with Yiibari Nwidadah scoring the first four points of the game. The Jets (2-12, 1-7 MIAA) quickly tied the game back up and took a 10-7 lead midway through the quarter. Aniah Wayne drilled a 3-pointer with 4:47 left in the quarter to spark a 10-0 Ichabod run, helping put Washburn up 19-14 after a quarter.  

Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter with defenses tightening up. The Ichabods first field goal came with 6:33 left on a 3-pointer from Mackenzie Gamble. While Washburn had offensive trouble in the second quarter, shooting 17.7% in the frame, it did not impact the defense as they were able to hold Newman to just 4-13 shooting in the second period. The Jets were able to tie the game late in the quarter but never took the lead and Lakyn Schieferecke was able to give the Ichabods a 31-28 lead before the half, hitting a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left.  

The game quickly flipped for Washburn in the second half, shooting 12-20 overall (60%) in the third quarter. Back-to-back hits from Gamble behind the arc made it a 10-point game at the 8:03 mark. From 3:29 to 1:03 The Ichabods rattled off a 10-0 run with a pair of baskets by Nia McKenzie pushing the lead up to 21 near the end of the quarter.  

Washburn saved its best defense for last holding the Jets to 23.5% shooting throughout the fourth quarter. The frame began with seven straight points for the home team with Aubree Dewey delivering the final four. The lead reached a game-high 26 on a triple by Aniah Wayne with 6:25 left and that would be the deficit at the final horn with the Ichabods on top 84-58.  

For the game Washburn shot 44.4% from the field and 41.7% from deep with 10 makes from behind the arc. They held Newman to 33.3% shooting on the other end. The Ichabods secured double-digit advantages in rebounding, points in the paint, points off turnovers and in bench scoring.  

Yiibari Nwidadah led the balanced charge with 15 points on 6-12 shooting and eight rebounds. Aubree Dewey had 14 points, seven boards and three assists while Mackenzie Gamble had 12 points on 4-8 shooting. Liz Boyd added nine points and eight boards off the bench.  

Monica Redondo and Jaeden McMillin both scored 11 off the bench to lead Newman.  

SERIES HISTORY WITH NEWMAN

• Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 12-5. 
• The Ichabods have gone 8-3 against the Jets inside of Lee Arena. 
• The series began on Dec. 9, 1975 with a 61-52 win for Washburn in Wichita. 
• The Ichabods average 63.18 points per game all-time against Newman. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,004-502-1 (.666) 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 head back out on the road to take on Northwest Missouri State next Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m.  
• 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.