TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball will host the MIAA Game of the Week on Saturday against Nebraska Kearney at 1:10 p.m. on 38 The Spot in KCMO. 

OPENING TIP

• Beginning the month of February the Ichabods remain at home hosting Nebraska Kearney. 
• Washburn will face the Lopers on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1:10 p.m. in the MIAA Game of the Week on 38 The Spot in Kansas City. 
• Saturday's contest is also sponsored by Hy-Vee. 
• Washburn is 11-10 on the year and 5-6 in the MIAA after suffering a 85-47 loss to No. 8 Fort Hays State on Thursday night. 
• 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.  
• Nebraska Kearney fell to 15-4 on the year and 8-2 in the MIAA after a 62-54 road loss to Central Missouri on Thursday. 

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 73.0 ppg on 44.3% shooting overall and 31.0% from behind the arc. 
• They are grabbing 38.5 rpg while giving out 13.8 apg. On the defensive end they come away with 7.9 spg and swat away 3.1 bpg. 
• Opponents average 66.2 ppg on 40.3% shooting and 29.9% from deep. 
• Washburn is 5-2 inside of Lee Arena while going 4-6 in road contests and 2-2 in neutral court games.  
• Washburn connected on two triples against Fort Hays State to extend its streak with a made 3-pointer to 118 games. 
• Saturday's contest against Nebraska Kearney will be the 50th all-time meeting between the two teams. 

BLUE REPORT

• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team offensively scoring 16.8 ppg while also shooting a team-high 65.3% from the field. She grabs a team-best 7.5 rpg and swats away 1.0 bpg. The junior has started all 19 games she has played in logging 27.2 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 , 8th in rpg and 10th in bpg. She has 15+ points in 12 games this year. 
• Payton Sterk is second on the team scoring 15.0 ppg while starting all 21 contests and playing a team-high 30.2 mpg. She is shooting 43.1% from the floor and a team-high 38.7% from deep while dishing out 2.1 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 40.9% from the floor. The junior has started all 21 games playing 27.9 mpg. She is adding 3.0 rpg with 2.3 apg while snagging 1.1 spg. She is second on the team with 33 made triples. The junior has scored in double figures in five straight games, a season-long streak. Among MIAA players she is 11th in total 3-pointers.
• Madelyn Amekporfor is scoring 7.1 ppg on 43.7% shooting while starting 19 of 20 games that she has appeared in, logging 25.0 mpg. She is grabbing 4.8 rpg while adding 2.2 apg. On the defensive end she comes away with a team-high 1.2 spg. 
• Aniah Wayne is scoring 6.9 ppg in 18.4 mpg off the bench while playing in 19 games. She is shooting 39.6% from the floor and 30.8% from deep while adding 2.9 rpg. Her six games with double figure scoring off the bench leads the team. 
• Brooke Gomez has played in all 21 games making 20 starts in her freshman season logging 20.2 mpg. She averages 4.9 ppg while adding 2.9 rpg and 1.1 spg. Her 2.8 apg are a team-high. 
• Amaya Davison has played in all 21 games and started two logging 15.9 mpg. She scoring 4.1 ppg on 42.6% shooting while giving out 1.4 apg and coming away with 0.9 spg.  
• Nia McKenzie has played in all 21 games while making one start averaging 14.9 mpg. She is grabbing 3.9 rpg and scoring 3.6 ppg on 44.4% shooting. 
• Rebecca Snyder has played in 12 games with two starts logging 11.6 mpg and scoring 2.6 ppg with 2.3 rpg.  
• Emajin McCallop has played in 17 games scoring 1.2 ppg across 8.2 mpg.  
• Willow Gideon has played 7.5 mpg across nine appearances while scoring 3.9 ppg on 45.5% shooting. 
• Lauren Luebbert has logged 7.5 mpg of action in 14 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 44.3% from the floor as a team, third best in the conference and 25th in the nation. 
• Washburn is 36th nationally scoring 73.0 ppg, fourth highest mark in the conference. 
• With a scoring margin of +6.8 they have the fourth best mark in the conference and 83rd in the nation.
• In overall rebound margin Washburn ranks 43rd nationally and fourth in the MIAA at +5.8.
• Giving out 13.8 apg the Ichabods are fifth in the conference and 89th nationally when it comes to sharing the rock. 
• With 38.5 rpg the Ichabods are sixth in the MIAA and 111th nationally overall at cleaning the glass. 
• Washburn attacks the basket and gets to the line averaging 21.52 free throw attempts per game, 2nd most in the MIAA and 26th in the nation.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 199 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 7th in program history. She needs 18 offensive boards to move up to 6th. In overall rebounds she is 15th in Washburn history with 534. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .581 is the second best in program history. In scoring she ranks 37th with 824 career points. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is 16th in program history with 98 career 3-pointers made. She needs 11 triples to move into the top-15. 
• Payton Sterk currently sits 18th in single-season three-point percentage in program history shooting 38.7% 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 35-43 record with Washburn and is 112-121 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

Fort Hays State 85, Washburn 47  (January 30, 2025)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn could not overcome a slow offensive start Thursday evening as they fell 85-47 to No. 8 Fort Hays State in Lee Arena. The Ichabods are back in action next on Saturday hosting Nebraska Kearney at 1:10 p.m. in the MIAA Game of the Week on 38 the Spot in Kansas City.  

The Ichabods (11-10, 5-6 MIAA) got the first bucket of the game from Yiibari Nwidadah 28 seconds in. The next 10 points all went to the Tigers (17-2, 8-2 MIAA) as they held Washburn to 3-12 shooting in the first quarter. All seven points for the Ichabods in the first frame came from Nwidadah as they trailed 18-7 after 10 minutes.  

In the second quarter Washburn cut the lead back down to single digits, scoring the first three points of the quarter, making it 18-10 after Payton Sterk got a layup to go at the 8:25 mark. Fort Hays State scored the next four points to push it back into double digits as the visitors offense began to heat up shooting 8-14 (57.1%) in the quarter. The Ichabod offense wasn't able to keep pace in the final five minutes as the visitors went into the half leading 41-17.  

Once again Washburn got the first points of the quarter in the third as Gabi Giovannetti got a layup to go. The hot shooting for Fort Hays State continued with 10 field goals in the quarter pushing the lead up to 30 points at the 5:37 mark. The Ichabods trailed 64-30 heading into the fourth.  

The Ichabods traded baskets to begin the fourth quarter, getting the lead down to 30 after Nwidadah got a layup to go. The deficit was unable to be cut below that mark as both teams emptied the benches late with the Tigers winning 85-47.  

Washburn closed out the game shooting 32.7% and were just 2-9 from three-point range, with both makes coming in the fourth quarter. Fort Hays State shot 50.8% (33-65) and knocked down 8-19 triples.  

On the boards the Ichabods were outrebounded 40-29 while FHSU also won the turnover battle 19-9.  

Yiibari Nwidadah shot 5-9 to lead Washburn with 13 points and eight rebounds. Gabi Giovannetti and Payton Sterk each scored in double figures with 12 and 10 respectively.  

Four from the Tigers reached double figures led by Talexa Weeter with 19 points and six rebounds.  

ABOUT THE NEBRASKA KEARNEY LOPERS

• Nebraska Kearney is 15-4 on the year overall and 8-2 inside the MIAA after falling 62-54 to Central Missouri in Warrensburg on Thursday. 
• Last season the Lopers went 19-11 overall and 12-10 inside the MIAA. They advanced to the quarterfinal round of the MIAA Championship Tournament. 
• This season, Nebraska Kearney is 7-0 playing inside the Health & Sports Center, 6-3 on the road and are also 2-1 in neutral court games. 
• The Lopers average 72.9 ppg on 43.3% shooting while allowing 55.9 ppg to opponents. They pull down 41.7 rpg while dishing out 15.9 apg. 
• They rank first in the MIAA in bench scoring, scoring defense and steals per game. They are 11th in the nation with a +17.0 scoring margin.
• Jillian Aschoff does a bit of everything for the Lopers while playing and starting all 19 games. She is tied for the team-lead with 10.3 ppg on 41.0% shooting. She also leads with 4.6 apg and grabs 6.6 rpb. She is fifth in hte MIAA in assists per game. 
• Samantha Moore leads the team on the boards grabbing 7.9 rpg while also scoring 10.0 ppg on 42.7% shooting. She has started all 19 games logging 27.8 mpg and adds 3.2 apg and 1.6 spg. She is fourth in the conference in rpg. 
• Meg Burns chips in 9.7 ppg with 2.4 rpg while playing and starting in 18 games logging 28.8 mpg. 
• Bailee Sobczak averages 10.3 ppg in just 15.9 mpg off the bench. She is shooting 54.6% from the floor and also grabs 6.2 rpg. 
• Kia Wilson scores 8.8 ppg on a team-high 56.5% shooting while playing and starting all 19 games. She adds 4.8 rpg in 28.8 mpg. 

HEAD COACH DREW JOHNSON

• Is in his 2nd season as the head coach at Nebraska Kearney where he has a 34-15 record. 
• 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. 

LAST TIME VERSUS NEBRASKA KEARNEY

Nebraska Kearney 66, Washburn 61 (December 5, 2024)
KEARNEY, Neb. -- Washburn women's basketball came up short in its conference opener Thursday evening, falling 66-61 on the road to Nebraska Kearney. The Ichabods finish out the weekend roadtrip with No. 7 Fort Hays State on Saturday.  

The Lopers (7-2, 1-0 MIAA) scored the first five points of the contest as Washburn (4-5, 0-1 MIAA) was held scoreless until Rebecca Snyder got free for a layup at the 7:10 mark. A pair of triples, first from Aniah Wayne then Payton Sterk, put the Ichabods in front 10-7 with 4:03 to play in the quarter. In the final minutes Nebraska Kearney finished on a 10-2 run to lead 17-12 after one.  

The first four points of the second quarter came from Washburn to pull within one. They were able to tie the game up at 19 after Snyder connected on a triple. The Ichabods briefly went up in the final minute before half as Sterk scored two of her 15 first half points on a jumper. A late bucket from the Lopers tied it up at 31 going into the break.  

After Washburn scored the first two points out of the break the next nine went to Nebraska Kearney. The lead reached as high as nine points as the Lopers shot 8-15 (53.3%) in the quarter. Sterk had the final seven points of the quarter for the Ichabods as they trailed 51-43 with 10 minutes to go.  

Washburn was scoreless for the first two minutes of the first quarter but quickly went on a 10-2 run and tied the game at 53 after Sterk knocked down a triple with 5:48 to play. Brooke Gomez connected on a pair of free throws to tie it back up under the five-minute mark but the next five points went to the Lopers. Defense created opportunities, as UNK shot just 3-13 (23.1%) in the quarter, and Sterk drained two more 3-pointers in the final three minutes to pull within two each time. Nebraska Kearney was able to respond each time, as they held onto the lead shooting 8-12 at the line in the quarter to win 66-61.  

Washburn shot 23-62 (37.1%) for the game and made eight triples in 24 attempts. On the other end the Lopers shot 23-60 (38.3%) and were just 7-27 from deep. The Ichabods lost the rebounding battle 44-35 as Nebraska Kearney created extra opportunities. Turnovers went in Washburn's favor, 17-16.  

The Lopers kept the Ichabods from getting any second chance points while scoring eight themselves. The bench for UNK added 28 points while Washburn got six from reserves.  

Payton Sterk came away with a Washburn career-high of 31 points on 11-21 shooting and 5-8 from deep. She added three assists, accounting for more than half of the Ichabod points. Rebecca Snyder had nine points and three steals while Brooke Gomez had six and grabbed eight rebounds.  

Jillian Aschoff led a balanced attack for Nebraska Kearney with four players in double figure scoring. She had 13 to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists.  

SERIES WITH NEBRASKA KEARNEY

• Washburn leads the all-time series with Nebraska Kearney 28-21.
• They are 14-8 against the Lopers in Lee Arena. 
• The series began on Jan. 14, 1977 with a 64-57 win for Washburn in Topeka. 
• Nebraska Kearney has won the last eight meetings in the series including a 66-61 win in Kearney earlier this season. Payton Sterk led the way with 31 points for the Ichabods in that contest. 
• Washburn averages 63.04 ppg all-time against the Lopers. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,006-504-1 (.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 is off for a full week before finishing out the homestand on Saturday, Feb. 8 against Central Missouri at 1 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.