TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball returns home for three games beginning with a rematch against No. 8 Fort Hays State on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. 
 

OPENING TIP

• Returning back home Washburn will play host to No. 8 Fort Hays State on Thursday evening. 
• The Ichabods will face the Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 inside of Lee Arena for FSL Night. 
• Washburn is 11-9 on the year and 5-5 in the MIAA after suffering a 62-56 loss to Missouri Western on the road last Saturday. 
• 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.  
• Fort Hays State won a third straight game last time out defeating Central Oklahoma 81-72 on the road Jan. 25. 

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 74.3 ppg on 44.5% shooting overall and 31.2% from behind the arc. 
• They are grabbing 39.0 rpg while giving out 14.2 apg. On the defensive end they come away with 8.1 spg and swat away 3.1 bpg. 
• Opponents average 65.3 ppg on 39.7% shooting and 29.4% from deep. 
• Washburn is 5-1 inside of Lee Arena while going 4-6 in road contests and 2-2 in neutral court games.  
• Washburn connected six times from deep last time out against Missouri Western to extend its streak with a made 3-pointer to 117 games. 
• Thursday's contest against Fort Hays State will be the 89th 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 65.8% from the field. She grabs a team-best 7.5 rpg and swats away 1.0 bpg. The junior has started all 18 games she has played in logging 27.1 mpg. She has shot at or above 50.0% in all but two games 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 , 7th in rpg and 10th in bpg. She has 15+ points in 12 games this year. 
• Payton Sterk is second on the team scoring 15.2 ppg while starting all 20 contests and playing a team-high 30.3 mpg. She is shooting 44.8% from the floor and a team-high 39.8% from deep while dishing out 2.2 apg and grabbing 3.7 rpg. The Colorado Springs native has drilled a team-high 43 3-pointers. She has 15+ points in ten games this year. Sterk is 5th in the MIAA in total points, 3rd in 3-point percentage and ranks fifth in total 3-pointers. She is top-70 nationally in all three categories.
• Gabi Giovannetti is third on the team in scoring at 11.5 ppg while shooting 40.8% from the floor. The junior has started all 20 games playing 27.9 mpg. She is adding 2.9 rpg with 2.3 apg while snagging 1.2 spg. She is second on the team with 31 made triples. The junior has scored in double figures in four straight games, a season-long streka. Among MIAA players she is 11th in total 3-pointers.
• Madelyn Amekporfor is scoring 7.4 ppg on 44.8% shooting while starting 18 of 19 games that she has appeared in, logging 24.9 mpg. She is grabbing 4.8 rpg while adding 2.3 apg. On the defensive end she comes away with a team-high 1.3 spg. 
• Aniah Wayne is scoring 7.1 ppg in 18.4 mpg off the bench while playing in 18 games. She is shooting 39.6% from the floor and 31.3% from deep while adding 3.0 rpg. Her six games with double figure scoring off the bench leads the team. 
• Brooke Gomez has played in all 20 games making 19 starts in her freshman season logging 20.7 mpg. She averages 5.1 ppg while adding 3.1 rpg and 1.1 spg. Her 2.9 apg are a team-high. 
• Amaya Davison has played in all 20 games and started two logging 16.0 mpg. She scoring 4.3 ppg on 43.9% shooting while giving out 1.4 apg and coming away with 0.9 spg.  
• Nia McKenzie has played in all 20 games while making one start averaging 14.9 mpg. She is grabbing 4.0 rpg and scoring 3.8 ppg on 44.4% shooting. 
• Rebecca Snyder has played in 11 games with two starts logging 12.2 mpg and scoring 2.8 ppg with 2.5 rpg.  
• Emajin McCallop has played in 1 games scoring 1.1 ppg across 7.9 mpg.  
• Willow Gideon has played 7.9 mpg across nine appearances while scoring 3.2 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 44.8% from the floor as a team, third best in the conference and 17th in the nation. 
• Washburn is 27th nationally scoring 74.3 ppg, fourth highest mark in the conference. 
• With a scoring margin of +9.0 they have the fourth best mark in the conference and 58th in the nation.
• In overall rebound margin Washburn ranks 37th nationally and fourth in the MIAA at +6.6.
• With 39.0 rpg the Ichabods are fifth in the MIAA and 97th nationally overall at cleaning the glass. 
• Giving out 14.2 apg the Ichabods are fifth in the conference and 79th nationally when it comes to sharing the rock. 
• Washburn attacks the basket and gets to the line averaging 21.75 free throw attempts per game, 2nd most in the MIAA and 24th in the nation.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 196 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 7th in program history. She needs 21 offensive boards to move up to 6th. In overall rebounds she is 15th in Washburn history with 526. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .582 is the second best in program history. In scoring she ranks 38th with 811 career points. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is 16th in program history with 96 career 3-pointers made. She needs 13 triples to move into the top-15. 
• Payton Sterk currently sits 11th in single-season three-point percentage in program history shooting 39.8% 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 35-42 record with Washburn and is 112-120 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

Missouri Western 62, Washburn 56  (January 25, 2025)
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Washburn went back and forth with Missouri Western for 40 minutes on Saturday afternoon but came up short, falling __ on the road. The Ichabods return home next week hosting Fort Hays State at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30.  

To begin the game Washburn (11-9, 5-5 MIAA) was stingy on defense as they held the Griffons (12-6, 7-3 MIAA) without a field goal until the 4:12 mark of the first quarter. In that time they built a 9-1 lead after a driving layup by Payton Sterk. Missouri Western began hitting from outside, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first quarter to erase the Ichabod lead. A 3-pointer by Sterk in the final seconds of the quarter made it a one-point game after the first.  

Missouri Western pushed its lead to four points early in the second before a 5-0 Washburn run was capped by a 3-pointer by Gabi Giovannetti to go back in front 19-18 with 7:28 left. From there on in the quarter the Griffon offense heated up, shooting 8-13 (61.5%) in the quarter, pushing the lead up to nine points with 1:34 to go before the half. Washburn kept pace by getting to the free throw line, shooting 10-13 from the charity stripe in the quarter. They finished the half on a 6-0 run in the final 69 seconds capped off by a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Brooke Gomez to make it 37-34 going to the break.  

Coming out of the half neither team put points on the board in the first two minutes. After a layup from Madelyn Amekporfor with 6:59 to go Washburn was unable to score until the 2:08 mark on a pair of free throws by Gabi Giovannetti. After a hot-shooting second quarter it was the defense for the Ichabods that kept the game close, holding the home team to 4-18 (22.2%) shooting in the quarter. Washburn closed the quarter trailing by just three after Aniah Wayne hit a floater in the final seconds.  

Twice in the opening minutes of the final quarter the Ichabods pulled within one point on a pair of jumpers from Sterk. After a third Sterk jumper with 5:02 left the Washburn offense went cold and the Griffons were able to go on a 9-0 run over the next 4:02 on three made triples. In the final minute of the game Sterk got two 3-pointers of her own to fall but it was not enough as Missouri Western held on for a 62-56 win.  

Washburn ended the game shooting 18-56 (32.1%) from the floor and was14-26 in its opportunities at the line. The Griffons shot similar numbers, going 20-65 (30.8%) from the floor but connected on 11 3-pointers compared to six for the Ichabods.  

The rebounding battle went in Washburn's favor 52-37, but Missouri Western made up for the differential by winning the turnover battle 24-13. The reserves for the Griffons added 30 points while the Ichabod bench scored 13 for the game.  

Payton Sterk led Washburn with 21 points on 8-16 shooting. Gabi Giovannetti had 12 points with four rebounds. Madelyn Amekporfor led the Ichabods on the glass with 10 rebounds.  

Matilda Soderlund had 21 points with five 3-pointers off the bench to lead Missouri Western. Alyssa Bonilla had 19 points with six assists and was 9-12 at the line.  

ABOUT THE FORT HAYS STATE TIGERS 

• Fort Hays State is 16-2 on the year overall and 7-1 inside the MIAA after defeating Central Oklahoma 81-72 on the road last time out on Jan. 25. 
• They are ranked No. 8 in the latest WBCA poll.  
• Last season the Tigers went 25-8 overall and 16-6 inside the MIAA. They fell in the MIAA Championship game and advanced to the NCAA Central Region Semifinals before losing 78-66 to Minnesota State.  
• This season, Fort Hays State is 7-1 playing inside the Gross Memorial Coliseum, 5-1 on the road and 4-0 in neutral court games. 
• The Tigers average 75.2 ppg on 45.7% shooting while allowing 57.1 ppg to opponents. They pull down 41.4 rpg while dishing out 18.9 apg.  
• They rank first in the MIAA in field goal percentage defense, assists per game and assist to turnover ratio. They're second in the conference in field goal percentage, scoring offense and defense. 
• Olivia Hollenbeck leads the offensive attack scoring 16.8 ppg on 62.0% shooting in just 24.9 mpg. She has started all 18 games and is grabbing 6.3 rpg while making 2.4 spg and 1.8 bpg. She is second in the MIAA and fourth in the nation in field goal percentage and ranks 29th nationally in blocks per game. 
• Katie DeGarmo is second on the team in scoring at 15.9 ppg on 46.5% shooting. She grabs a team-high 7.4 rpg while dishing out 3.0 apg and making 1.7 spg. She has started all 18 games and plays 30.1 mpg. She is 6th in the MIAA in ppg. 
• Talexa Weeter is scoring 14.2 ppg while playing just 18.8 mpg off the bench. She is shooting 54.8% overall and 42.1% from deep while also grabbing 6.0 rpg.  
• Brooke Loewe leads the passing attack for the Tigers with 7.3 apg. She also chips in 7.4 ppg while playing and starting in 17 games logging 29.9 mpg. She leads the MIAA and is second in the nation in total assists. 
• Kate Dilsaver adds 8.9 ppg on 42.3% shooting and a team-best 43.9% from deep. She has started all 18 games playing a team-high 30.4 mpg.

HEAD COACH TALIA KAHRS 

• Is in her second season as the Fort Hays State head coach where she has a 41-10 record.  
• She served as the team's primary assistant for the previous 11 seasons.  
• Was a three-year member of the Tigers as a student-athlete after beginning her career at Hastings College.  
• Earned a bachelor's degree in Health and Human Performance with an emphasis in Teaching and Coaching from Fort Hays State University in 2012 before completing a master of science degree in Health and Human Performance at FHSU in 2015.  

LAST TIME VERSUS FORT HAYS STATE

Fort Hays State 83, Washburn 53 (December 7, 2024)
HAYS, Kan. -- Washburn fell behind early after a quick start from No. 7 Fort Hays State and would fall 83-53. The Ichabods will put conference play on hold as they travel out of the country for the Puerto Rico Clasico beginning Dec. 16 as they face University of. Puerto Rico Rio-Piedras. 

The first nine points of the game came for the Tigers (9-0, 2-0 MIAA) with Washburn (4-6, 0-2 MIAA) not getting on the board until Madelyn Amekporfor got a layup to go at the 6:19 mark. The lead for Fort Hays State grew to double figures as the Ichabods were held to 3-14 shooting in the quarter and trailed 22-7.  

It was more of the same to start the second quarter as the Tigers scored the first nine points. Washburn got back-to-back buckets, on a 3-pointer from Gabi Giovannetti then a steal and score by Brooke Gomez. The Ichabods were held off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half, as Fort Hays State shot 11-22 in the quarter to lead 48-12 at the break.  

The Washburn offense got going in the third quarter, as they shot 8-17 (47.1%) and scored 20 points. Fort Hays State's offense continued to be efficient though, as they kept pace and grew the lead to as many as 43 points. Giovannetti got the final two points of the quarter at the line to make it 69-32.  

As the fourth quarter went on the Ichabods chipped away at the deficit to get it down to 30. That is where it sat after 40 minutes following five points from Payton Sterk to end the game.  

Washburn ended the game shooting 20-61 (32.8%) and were 4-22 from beyond the arc. Fort Hays State shot 33-65 (50.8%) even while shooting 5-23 from three-point range.  

A 22-12 advantage in turnovers and 40-33 on the glass boosted the Tigers. They also had a 44-28 advantage in paint scoring.  

Gabi Giovannetti had 11 points to lead the Ichabods. Brooke Gomez had seven with three assists and three steals.  

Five players scored in double-figures for Fort Hays State, led by Katie Wagner DeGarmo with 14. 

SERIES WITH FORT HAYS STATE

• Washburn leads the all-time series with Fort Hays State 47-41.  
• They are 22-17 against the Tigers inside of Lee Arena. 
• The series began on Feb. 20, 1969 with a 34-21 win for FHSU in an unknown location.  
• Fort Hays State has won the last nine meetings in the series including a 83-53 win at home this season on Dec. 7.
• The Ichabods average 63.01 points per game all-time against the Tigers. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,006-503-1 (.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 stays at home hosting the University of Nebraska Kearney at 1 p.m. on Feb. 1 in a game that will be broadcasted on 38 The Spot. 
• 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.