TOPEKA, Kan. -- After four games at home Washburn women's basketball will leave Topeka beginning with a Wednesday evening battle with Northwest Missouri State at 5:30 p.m. 
 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn women's basketball leaves the friendly confines of Lee Arena and will head on the road to face Northwest Missouri.
• The Ichabods will take on the Bearcats at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22 inside of Bearcat Arena. 
• Washburn is 10-8 on the year and 4-4 in the MIAA after defeating Newman 77-66 on Saturday afternoon to wrap up the four-game homestand.
• 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 is 9-9 overall and 2-6 inside the MIAA after falling 84-60 to No. 7 Fort Hays State on the road on Saturday. 

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 45.0% shooting overall and 32.0% from behind the arc. 
• They are grabbing 38.7 rpg while giving out 14.4 apg. On the defensive end they come away with 8.4 spg and swat away 2.8 bpg. 
• Opponents average 65.8 ppg on 40.3% shooting and 29.8% from deep. 
• Washburn is 5-1 inside of Lee Arena while going 3-5 in road contests and 2-2 in neutral court games.  
• Washburn hit five triples against Newman to extend its streak of games with a made triple to 116 games. 
• Wednesday's contest against Northwest Missouri will be the 80th all-time meeting between the two teams. 

BLUE REPORT

• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team offensively scoring 17.3 ppg while also shooting a team-high 66.7% from the field. She grabs a team-best 7.8 rpg and swats away 1.1 bpg. The junior has started all 16 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 , 5th in rpg and 10th in bpg. She has 15+ points in 11 games this year. She was named the MIAA Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week on Monday for the first time in her career. 
• Payton Sterk is second on the team scoring 15.5 ppg while starting all 18 contests and playing a team-high 30.2 mpg. She is shooting 44.0% from the floor and a team-high 40.0% from deep while dishing out 2.4 apg and grabbing 3.7 rpg. The Colorado Springs native has drilled a team-high 40 3-pointers. She has 15+ points in nine games this year. Sterk is 4th in the MIAA in total points, 3rd in 3-point percentage and ranks fifth in total 3-pointers. She is top-60 nationally in all three categories.
• Gabi Giovannetti is third on the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg while shooting 41.2% from the floor. The junior has started all 18 games playing 27.3 mpg. She is adding 2.6 rpg with 2.3 apg while snagging 1.3 spg. She is second on the team with 29 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 7.6 ppg on 45.6% shooting while starting 16 of 17 games that she has appeared in, logging 24.2 mpg. She is grabbing 4.5 rpg while adding 2.5 apg. On the defensive end she is tied for a team-high with 1.3 spg. She has at least three assists in each of the last three games.
• Aniah Wayne is scoring 7.4 ppg in 18.4 mpg off the bench while playing in 16 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 80.6% from the free-throw line. 
• Brooke Gomez has played in all 18 games making 17 starts in her freshman season logging 20.7 mpg. She averages 5.1 ppg while adding 3.1 rpg and 1.1 spg. Her 2.8 apg are a team-high. 
• Amaya Davison has played in all 18 games and started two logging 15.5 mpg. She scoring 4.2 ppg on 42.4% shooting while giving out 1.3 apg and coming away with 0.9 spg.  
• Nia McKenzie has played in all 18 games while making one start averaging 14.7 mpg. She is grabbing 3.9 rpg and scoring 3.7 ppg.
• 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 1 games scoring 1.1 ppg across 7.9 mpg.  
• Willow Gideon has played 8.4 mpg across eight appearances while scoring 3.6 ppg on 50.0% shooting. 
• Lauren Luebbert has logged 7.8 mpg of action in 13 appearances off the bench. 
• Cloie Jansky has played in four games scoring 2.5 ppg with 1.0 rpg in 6.0 mpg. 

STAT STACKING

• The Ichabods are shooting 45.0% from the floor as a team, third best in the conference and 23rd in the nation. 
• Washburn is 23rd nationally scoring 75.5 ppg, fourth highest mark in the conference. 
• With a scoring margin of +9.7 they have the fourth best mark in the conference and 52nd in the nation.
• The Ichabods are shooting 32.0% from beyond the arc, seventh best in the conference and 85th nationally.
• With 12.5 orpg, Washburn is third in the MIAA at creating extra offensive opportunities. A mark that is good for 100th in the nation. In overall rebound margin they rank 43rd nationally at +6.4.
• Giving out 14.4 apg the Ichabods are fifth in the conference and 78th nationally when it comes to sharing the rock. 
• Washburn attacks the basket and gets to the line averaging 21.17 free throw attempts per game, 2nd most in the MIAA and 31st nationally.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 193 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 7th in program history. She needs 24 offensive boards to move up to 6th. In overall rebounds she is 15th in Washburn history with 516. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .582 is the second best in program history. In scoring she ranks 38th with 782 career points. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is 16th in program history with 94 career 3-pointers made. She needs 15 triples to move into the top-15. 
• Payton Sterk currently sits 9th in single-season three-point percentage in program history shooting 40.8% from beyond the arc. 

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 34-41 record with Washburn and is 111-119 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 77, Newman 66  (January 18, 2025)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn used a 30-point third quarter to overcome a halftime deficit and fly past Newman 77-66 on Saturday afternoon in Lee Arena. The Ichabods will head back out on the road next week taking on Northwest Missouri State at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22.  

The Jets (6-11, 1-7 MIAA) got out to a fast start with a pair of 3-pointers to build a 10-3 lead at the 5:20 mark in the first quarter. Washburn (10-8, 4-4 MIAA) scored the next five points, but Newman remained in front the whole quarter. Payton Sterk got a driving layup to go on the final possession of the half to make it just a one-point lead at 18-17 after one.  

Amaya Davison began the second quarter with a driving layup to give Washburn its first lead of the game. After two free throws from Nia McKenzie they led 25-20 with 7:40 left in the half. From that point the Jets scored the next seven points to regain the lead. Washburn was able to get to the line, making eight free throws in the quarter, but shot just 3-12 from the field as Newman ended the half with a 3-pointer to lead 34-31.  

A bucket from Yiibari Nwidadah and a 3-pointer by Payton Sterk tied the game up for the Ichabods in the opening minutes of the third quarter. They took the lead at 45-44 after Nwidadah got a tip to go, Gabi Giovannetti followed with a 3-pointer which was part of a 16-3 run for the Ichabods, going up double-digits with 2:09 to play in the quarter after Nwidadah got another layup to go. The lead remained in double figures at 11 points heading to the fourth as Washburn shot 8-12 from the floor in the quarter.  

The Ichabod offense continued to churn to begin the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 18 points after an 8-0 run capped off by a layup from Davison. The Jets responded with eight straight of their own but were unable to cut the deficit below 10 as Washburn held on for its tenth win of the season, 77-66.  

From the field the Ichabods shot 22-47 (42.6%) while holding Newman to 22-62 (35.5%), but it was at the line that Washburn created an advantage as they shot 32-44 from the charity stripe to just 13-19 for the visitors.  

A 40-32 rebounding advantage went in the Ichabods favor, leading to a 30-24 advantage in points in the paint. Both sides were near even in assists with 11 for Washburn and eight for the Jets.  

Yiibari Nwidadah had a game-high 22 points on 7-10 shooting with eight rebounds. Gabi Giovannetti scored 18 points on 4-5 shooting and 8-8 at the free throw line while also snagging two steals. Payton Sterk chipped in nine points.  

Newman had four score in double figures led by Jaeden McMillin with 15 and Valeriya Lioukina with 14.  

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS

• Northwest Missouri State is 9-9 on the year and 2-6 in the MIAA after losing its second straight game, 84-60 to No. 7 Fort Hays State on Jan. 18. 
• 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, 3-4 on the road and just 1-3 in games played in Bearcat Arena. 
• The Bearcats average 62.3 ppg on 39.3% shooting while allowing 61.2 ppg to opponents. They pull down 35.2 rpg while dishing out 10.9 apg.  
• They rank second in the MIAA and 9th in the nation at protecting the ball with just 12.8 turnovers per game. On defense they rank 4th in the conference  and 91st nationally allowing just 61.2 ppg. 
• Caely Kesten leads the team in scoring with 13.6 ppg on 42.8% from the field and a team-high 49.0% from deep. She has started all 18 games logging a team-high 29.8 mpg and has drained a team-best 50 3-pointers. The senior adds 2.7 rpg and 2.0 apg. Among conference players she is tops in both total 3's made and three point percentage. She is top-10 nationally in both. 
• Kelsey Fields scored 10.1 ppg on a team-high 51.9% shooting from the field. The post player leads the team with 7.4 rpg as well while playing and starting all 18 games logging 24.9 mpg. She is 5th in the MIAA in total rebounds and 2nd in offensive boards per game. 
• Molly Hartnett has started all 16 games logging 29.3 mpg. She adds 9.6 ppg along with a team-high 3.4 apg and 4.7 rpg. 
• Lindsey Kelderman scores 6.8 ppg on 30.3% shooting overall and 37.0% from beyond the arc. 
• Sadie Maas adds 3.6 ppg on 60.8% shooting and grabs 3.7 rpg in 14.4 mpg off the bench. 

HEAD COACH AUSTIN MEYER

• Is in his seventh season leading the Bearcat women's basketball program where he has a 91-97 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

Northwest Missouri 66, Washburn 61 (OT)  (January 11, 2025)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn came up on the wrong end of its first overtime game of the season on Saturday afternoon as they fell 66-61 to Northwest Missouri State in 45 minutes. The Ichabods will remain at home next week as they take on Emporia State on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m.  

Through the first six minutes of play Washburn (8-8, 2-4 MIAA) jumped ahead to a 12-6 lead with half of the points coming from Payton Sterk. Amaya Davison knocked down a triple to move the lead up to seven points at the 2:26 mark in the quarter. The Bearcats (9-7, 2-4 MIAA) were held to just 2-7 shooting in the frame as the Ichabods built a 15-10 lead.  

Northwest Missouri bounced back offensively with two made triples to begin the second quarter and tied the game at 18 on a layup. Two more connections from deep from the Bearcats quickly put them up by six as they went 5-8 from 3-point range in the quarter. Washburn settled in on defense, keeping Northwest Missouri off the board for nearly four minutes as they went on an 8-0 run to take the lead. The advantage changed once more before the half and flipped back to the Ichabods after Aniah Wayne sank a 3-pointer to go up 31-29 at the break.  

Both teams went back and forth to begin the third quarter with nine lead changes and 12 ties in the entire game. Washburn led by four with 4:02 left after Madelyn Amekporfor made a pair of free throws. The Ichabods held the Bearcats to 3-11 (27.3%) shooting in the third but the visitors were able to keep pace shooting 6-6 at the line in the frame. They trailed by just one after a pair of free throws in the final minute to make it 44-43 in favor of the home team.  

Washburn started the fourth quarter with three straight points from Amekporfor, going up by four again. That would be the biggest margin on either side for the remainder of regulation. A 3-point lead for the Ichabods in the final five minutes was erased after a triple on the other end. Northwest Missouri went in front with 1:19 to play after a putback layup went in. Brooke Gomez went coast-to-coast just eight seconds later for a layup to tie the game at 57 and that is how it would stay after 40 minutes of play.  

The Bearcats scored the first five points of overtime to lead 62-57 with 3:16 left. Washburn pulled within three after Gabi Giovannetti got a 3-pointer to fall with 1:18 remaining in overtime. That was all they could muster in the final minutes as Northwest Missouri put the game at the way at the free throw line to win 66-61.  

The Ichabods finished the game shooting 42.1% overall and 4-10 from deep. The Bearcats shot 17-16 (37.0%) and were 8-20 from beyond the arc. The free throw advantage went to the visitors as they shot 24-27 at the line to just 9-13 for Washburn.  

Rebounding went in the Ichabods' favor, 36-26, as did a 38-16 points in the pant advantage. The Washburn bench also outscored Northwest Missouri's reserves 21-5.  

Caely Kesten led the way for the Bearcats playing 43 minutes and scoring 22 points with four 3-pointers. Holly Hartnett added 14 and Emree Zars had 11.  

SERIES HISTORY WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI

• Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 62-15.
• The Ichabods have gone 25-9 against the Bearcats in Maryville. 
• The series began on Dec. 11, 1981 with a 75-54 win for Northwest Missouri in Topeka. 
• The Bearcats won the first meeting between the two teams earlier in the month with a 66-61 overtime win in Topeka on Jan. 11.
• Washburn was led in scoring by Yiibari Nwidadah with 11 points and 7 rebounds. 
• The Ichabods average 70.26 ppg all-time in games against the Bearcats. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,005-502-1 (.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

1. Washburn will continue its trip through the Show Me State as they face Missouri Western at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. 
2. The home finale for the Ichabods will come on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 1p.m. against Rogers State.  
3. The MIAA Basketball Championship Tournament will be held in Kansas City, Mo. at the Municipal Auditorium from March 5-9.