TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball begins its longest homestand of the season of four games on Wednesday as they play host to Missouri Western State with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m. 

OPENING TIP

• For the first time in over a month Washburn women's basketball returns home to take on Missouri Western. 
• The Ichabods will take on the Griffons for the first game inside of Lee Arena of 2025 beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8. 
• Washburn is 7-7 on the year after erasing a double-digit second-half deficit to knock off Emporia State 64-61 for its first conference win on 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.  
• Missouri Western moved to 9-3 on the year and stayed undefeated in the MIAA at 4-0 after knocking off No. 3 Fort Hays State 67-66 at home on Jan. 4. 

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 458-128 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 74.6 ppg on 44.8% shooting overall and 29.6% from behind the arc. 
• They are grabbing 38.6 rpg while giving out 14.6 apg. On the defensive end they come away with 9.3 spg and swat away 3.1 bpg. 
• Opponents average 64.7 ppg on 40.7% shooting and 25.9% from deep. 
• Washburn is 2-0 inside of Lee Arena while going 3-5 in road contests and 2-2 in neutral court games.  
• Washburn hit seven triples at Emporia State to extend its streak of games with a made triple to 112 games. 
• Wednesday's meeting with Missouri Western State will be the 102nd all-time meeting between the two teams. 

BLUE REPORT

• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team offensively scoring 16.7 ppg while also shooting a team-high 70.7% from the field. She grabs a team-best 7.3 rpg and swats away 1.2 bpg. The junior has started all 12 games she has played in logging 25.8 mpg. She has shot at or above 50.0% in every game this season and has two double-doubles. The Olathe, Kan. native has the best field goal percentage in the nation while ranking 4th in the MIAA in ppg , 9th in rpg and 10th in bpg. She has 15+ points in eight games this year. 
• Payton Sterk is second on the team scoring 15.7 ppg while starting all 14 contests and playing a team-high 30.2 mpg. She is shooting 42.6% from the floor and a team-high 38.0% from deep while dishing out 2.6 apg and grabbing 3.6 rpg. The Colorado Springs native has drilled a team-high 30 3-pointers. She has 15+ points in seven 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-75 nationally in all three categories. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is third on the team in scoring at 11.4 ppg while shooting 41.1% from the floor. The junior has started all 14 games playing 26.4 mpg. She is adding 2.6 rpg with 2.1 apg and is second with 1.4 spg. She is second on the team with 23 made triples and has made a 3-pointer in all but two games. Among MIAA players she is 14th in total 3-pointers.
• Madelyn Amekporfor is scoring 7.5 ppg on 48.1% shooting while starting 12 of 13 games that she has appeared in and logging 22.9 mpg. She is grabbing 4.1 rpg while adding 2.4 apg. On the defensive end she comes away with a team-best 1.5 spg. She has recorded a steal in four straight games. 
• Aniah Wayne is scoring 7.4 ppg in 17.8 mpg off the bench while playing in 12 games. She adds 2.5 rpg and 0.9 spg. Her five games with double figure scoring off the bench leads the team. She has five games with multiple made 3-pointers. 
• Brooke Gomez has played in all 14 games making 13 starts in her freshman season logging 20.9 mpg. She averages 4.9 ppg while adding 3.1 rpg and 1.1 spg. Her 2.8 apg are a team-high. She has three or more assists in five straight games. Last time out she scored a career-high 14 points with 12 in the second half. 
• Amaya Davison has played in all 14 games and started two logging 15.1 mpg. She scoring 3.6 ppg on 35.7% shooting while giving out 1.2 apg and coming away with 1.0 spg.  
• Nia McKenzie has played in all 14 games while making one start averaging 13.8 mpg. She is grabbing 3.9 rpg and scoring 3.6 ppg. She is averaging 7.0 rpg over her last three 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 12 games scoring 1.3 ppg across 9.1 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 44.8% from the floor, third best in the conference and 28th best in the nation. 
• They also defend beyond the arc with opponents shooting 25.9% from three-point range, fifth best in the conference and 41st nationally.
• The Ichabods are 31st nationally scoring 74.6 ppg, fourth highest mark in the conference. 
• With 13.2 orpg, Washburn is second in the MIAA at creating extra offensive opportunities. A mark that is good for 70th in the nation. In overall rebound margin they rank 57th nationally at +5.4.
• Giving out 14.6 apg the Ichabods are fifth in the conference and 68th nationally. 
• Combined with protecting the ball, the Ichabods have an assist to turnover ratio of 0.86, 90th best in the nation. 
• Washburn forces 18.14 turnovers per game, fifth most in the MIAA and 106th nationally. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 180 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 9th in program history. She is six boards away from moving up to No. 8. In overall rebounds she is tied for 23rd in Washburn history with 478. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .583 is the second best in program history. In scoring she ranks 42nd with 705 career points. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is 17th in program history with 88 career 3-pointers made. She will move up to 16th with five 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 31-40 record with Washburn and is 108-118 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 64, Emporia State 61  (January 4, 2025)
EMPORIA, Kan. -- Washburn rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit to defeat Emporia State 64-61 inside of White Auditorium in the opening game of 2025. The Ichabods move back to .500 on the year and will return to Topeka for four straight games beginning Wednesday, Jan. 8 against Missouri Western at 5:30 p.m.  

After Washburn (7-7, 1-3 MIAA) scored the opening basket of the game courtesy of Gabi Giovannetti the next 10 points were all scored by the Lady Hornets (7-6, 2-2 MIAA). The Ichabods made up ground at the free throw line, connecting on five free throws in the quarter to get back within two. Late in the quarter they briefly went in front after a triple from Giovannetti. Emporia State knotted the game back up at 16 to end the first.  

Both sides struggled to score in the second quarter as defenses tightened up before halftime. Even with just five combined field goals in the quarter there were five lead changes and three ties as the game went back and forth. The final four points of the quarter went to the Lady Hornets, all at the free throw line, to lead 28-25 at the break.  

Coming out of halftime Emporia State started on a 8-0 run to lead by a game-high 11 points at the 7:32 mark in the third quarter. Inside of five minutes to play Nia McKenzie scored an old-fashioned three-point play which began a 13-2 stretch for Washburn to end the quarter. They went in front 41-39 after Brooke Gomez got a 3-pointer to go and would enter the fourth tied at 41.  

The first four points of the fourth quarter went to the Lady Hornets but the Ichabods battled back with a 9-0 run capped off with a 3-pointer by Aniah Wayne to go up 50-45 with 5:35 left. Twice over the next four minutes Emporia State pulled within one point, both times Washburn had an answer. The second came from Giovannetti connecting on a triple to go up by four at the 1:01 mark. Down the stretch the Ichabods went 8-10 at the free throw line to cap off a 23-point quarter and their first win in MIAA play by a 64-61 score.  

After shooting under 25.0% in the first half Washburn raised its percentage for the game to 31.6% (18-57). On the other end the Lady Hornets shot 23-62 (37.1%) and were held to 4-23 from beyond the arc. The Ichabods had a big advantage at the free throw line, converting 21-29 attempts while Emporia State went just 11-16.  

Rebounding went in Washburn's favor 47-37, as did fast break scoring 14-6. Points off turnovers along with bench scoring was equal for both sides.  

Brooke Gomez and Payton Sterk each had 14 points to lead the Ichabods in scoring. Gomez's was a career-high while she added three assists. Gabi Giovannetti had 13 points and made a trio of 3-pointers.  

Mackenzie McDaniel led Emporia State with 16 points while Katie Horyna had 13 and 11 rebounds.  

ABOUT THE MISSOURI WESTERN STATE GRIFFONS

• Missouri Western is 9-3 on the year and 4-0 in the MIAA after handing No. 3 Fort Hays State its first loss of the season 67-66 at home on Jan. 4. 
• Last season the Griffons went 25-6 overall and won the MIAA Regular Season Championship going 19-3 in the conference. They advanced to the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament, losing 78-58 to No. 7 Minnesota State Mankato. 
• This season, Missouri Western is a perfect 4-0 inside of MWSU Fieldhouse, 3-2 in road games and 2-1 in neutral court contests. 
• The Griffons average 72.9 ppg on 42.1% shooting while allowing 64.8 ppg to opponents. They pull down 37.1 rpg while dishing out 15.7 apg.  
• They are third in nation and lead the MIAA in 3-point attempts and makes per game. In percentage they rank second in the conference and 48th nationally. 
• Alyssa Bonilla leads the team scoring 16.0 ppg on 37.4% shooting from the field. She has started all 12 games logging 30.1 mpg, also leading the team with 5.3 apg and 2.6 spg. She is 15th nationally and 2nd in the MIAA in apg, in steals per game she also ranks 2nd in the conference. 
• Marie Sepp is scoring 11.8 ppg on a team-high 56.3% shooting. She also gives out 3.3 apg with 3.8 rpg and makes 1.7 spg while playing and starting 28.5 mpg in all 12 games. 
• Matilda Soderlund scores 10.9 ppg while playing in all 12 games and making five starts. She shoots 48.9% from the floor and a team-high 46.8% from deep with 36 made triples. She ranks first in the MIAA in three's per game and 10th in the nation. Her percentage is sixth nationally. 
• Kassandra Carson chips in 8.6 ppg while grabbing 4.8 rpg. She has come off the bench in 11 of 12 games logging 19.9 mpg. 
• Laura Toffali scores 6.8 ppg while grabbing 3.4 rpg and making 1.7 spg. 

HEAD COACH ASHTON FELDHAUS

• Is in her first season leading the Griffon women's basketball program. 
• Spent  the past five seasons as the top assistant and associate head coach for Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.
• Was named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 30 Under 30 Class.
• A native of Richmond, Kentucky, Feldhaus brings a strong playing resume at the NCAA Division I level at both Butler (Ind.) University and the University of Tennessee at Martin.

LAST TIME VERSUS MISSOURI WESTERN

Missouri Western 72, Washburn 59  (February 7, 2024)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn made a push late but were unable to overcome an early deficit falling 72-59 to Missouri Western State on Wednesday evening. The Ichabods play one more at home against Northwest Missouri State on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. before going back on the road.  

Washburn (11-11, 6-10 MIAA) got the first four points of the game within the first minute but the next seven came from the Griffons (18-4, 13-3) and they would never relinquish the lead. An 8-0 run for the visitors opened the game up and the lead was pushed to double digits with 2:34 left in the quarter after a 3-pointer. The Ichabods shot just 4-17 in the quarter but scored the final four points of the quarter to trail just 20-12.  

After Missouri Western's lead crept up to 12 early in the second quarter Washburn went on a 6-0 run with four points from Aubree Dewey to pull within six with 4:12 in the quarter. In the final four minutes the offense of the Griffons going, scoring 12 points as MWSU shot 58.33% in the quarter to go into halftime up 38-26.  

Offense was hard to come by for both teams in the third quarter with both teams shooting a combined 9-32. Washburn got its first 3-pointer of the game to fall, with Lakyn Schieferecke knocking one down at the 5:19 mark. Missouri Western went on a 6-0 run to push the lead up to 15 points before Amaya Davison sunk a pair of free throws. The Griffons would get the final bucket of the quarter and lead 52-37 going into the fourth.  

The Ichabods had their most effective offensive quarter in the fourth, shooting 8-14 from the floor with two 3-pointers and going 4-4 at the line. The visitors were able to withstand the offensive punches shooting 8-17 themselves for the quarter. After MWSU went up by 17 Washburn went on a 7-0 run to cut it to 10 and put it in single digits on a basket by Madelyn Amekporfor with 54 seconds left but it was too late with Missouri Western winning 72-59.  

The Ichabods shot 32.8% for the game on 20-61 shooting and were just 3-16 from behind the arc. Missouri Western shot 25-60 (41.7%) and went 17-22 at the free throw line. Both teams turned the ball over 15 times, but the Griffons were able to net 17 points on those to Washburn's 10. The bench unit for MWSU also chipped in 31 points, a 15 point advantage over the Ichabods.  

Amaya Davison led Washburn with 14 points on 4-8 shooting and was 6-6 from the line. Aubree Dewey had 10 points with four steals and Nia McKenzie had 10 points and eight rebounds.  

Tiani Ellison led a balanced attack for the Griffons with 15 points off the bench. Brionna Budgetts had 14 and Connie Clarke had eight points and 15 rebounds.  

SERIES HISTORY WITH MISSOURI WESTERN

• Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 57-47. 
• The Ichabods have gone 28-18 against the Griffons inside of Lee Arena. 
• The series began on Jan. 17, 1976 with a 74-70 overtime win for Washburn in St. Joseph. 
• Missouri Western has won the last six meetings in the series including 98-78 and 72-59 victories last season. 
• The Ichabods average 64.2 ppg against the Griffons all-time. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,002-501-1 (.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 continue the four-game homestand into the weekend hosting Northwest Missouri on Saturday with tip-off set for 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.