Ichabod fans, we need your help! Join us this Saturday for our annual Teddy Bear Toss! Bring a stuffed animal or purchase one at the SAAC table. The first 100 fans who show proof of a stuffed animal or purchase will receive a Washburn Athletics rally towel. The toss will take place at halftime of the men's game, with all donations benefiting Toys for Tots and spreading holiday cheer throughout Topeka!

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball stays on home turf for another game hosting Central Missouri at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 inside Lee Arena. 
 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn returns after a week away from the court to host Central Missouri on Saturday.
• The Ichabods will face the Jennies inside of Lee Arena at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13.
• The game will feature the Student Athlete Advisory Committee Teddy Bear Toss. Bears can be brought to the game or purchased at the entrance. 
• Washburn is coming off a 18-13 season in 2024-25, finishing 5th in the MIAA regular season with an 11-8 record in the conference play. They advanced to the MIAA Tournament Semifinals. 
• The Ichabods were picked to finish 2nd in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and were tabbed 3rd by the media.   
• Central Missouri moved to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA after defeating Nebraska Kearney 72-69 at home last time out on Dec. 6. 

BODS AND BITS

• Washburn returns ten letterwinners from last season's roster while adding four total new faces in the form of three transfers and one true freshman.  
• The experienced Ichabod roster consists of four seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and one freshman.  
• The Ichabods are receiving votes in the latest WBCA poll with eight total points of votes.
• As a team Washburn has shooting splits of 40.1% from the floor, 30.4% from deep and 67.0% at the free throw line to score 63.6 ppg. 
• They grab 37.9 rpg with 14.8 apg to 16.4 turnovers per contest. Defensively they average 9.8 spg with 3.4 bpg.  
• On the year opponents are averaging 56.6 ppg while shooting 37.1% from the floor and 22.9% from behind the 3-point line.  
• Washburn is 4-0 on the year inside the new Lee Arena, 2-1 in neutral court games and 0-1 in road contests.  
• Washburn made three triples in the victory over Fort Hays State to extend its streak with a made 3-pointer to 136 games.  

THE BLUE BUNCH

• Yiibari Nwidadah is leading the team scoring at 14.0 ppg in just 24.1 mpg on the season. She has started every game and leads the team grabbing 7.1 rpg while also shooting 55.3% from the floor. She swats away a team-high 1.1 bpg and has scored in double figures in six games. She is 1st in the MIAA and 32nd nationally in field goal percentage. The senior is 6th in the conference in bpg, 9th in rpg and 11th in pgg.
• Payton Sterk is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 ppg on 36.6% overall and 35.6% from deep. She has starting every game playing 30.6 mpg, most on the team while also coming away with 1.8 spg, a team-high. She has drilled 16 triples, second most on the team and has scored 14+ points in five games this season. The senior ranks 5th in the MIAA in 3-point percentage and 6th in triples per game.
• Gabi Giovannetti has started all eight games for Washburn scoring 13.0 ppg on 45.2% shooting in 28.1 mpg of action. She is shooting a team-high 47.4% from deep with a team-high 18 3-pointers. She also brings down 4.0 rpg and is making 1.5 spg on the defensive end. She is 1st in the MIAA and 14th nationally in three-point percentage and 3rd in the conference in triples per game. 
• Britany Kogbara has provided a spark off the bench as she sits fourth on the team scoring 8.6 ppg in just 14.4 mpg. She is shooting 59.3% from the floor, best on the team, while grabbing 3.6 rpg. Her four games scoring double figures off the bench lead the team. 
• Madelyn Amekporfor has started every game playing 25.8 mpg and scoring 4.4 ppg while shooting 31.7% from the floor. She is adding 3.1 rpg along with swiping 1.3 spg and swatting away 1.0 bpg, second most on the team. She is 8th in the MIAA in bpg. 
• Brooke Gomez has played in every game while making six starts and is logging 19.5 mpg. She scores 2.6 ppg on 29.6% shooting and is dishing out a team-high 3.4 apg along with grabbing 3.3 rpg. She ranks 4th in the MIAA in assists per game. 
• Aniah Wayne has come off the bench in every game playing 16.6 mpg. She is scoring 4.0 ppg on 33.3% shooting from the floor. The senior also chips in 1.8 rpg and 1.0 apg. 
• Kellyn Hunter has played in seven games while making two starts for the Ichabods and logging 19.6 mpg. She is coming away with 1.6 spg, third most on the team, dishes 3.1 apg and grabs 2.9 rpg. She is 3rd in the MIAA in assist to turnover ratio and 7th in assists per game in the conference.
• Nia McKenzie has played 12.0 mpg off the bench in every game. She is scoring 1.4 ppg on 45.5% shooting with 2.4 rpg.
• Kennadi Jackson has come off the bench in seven games playing 4.9 mpg and scoring 0.6 ppg.
• Willow Gideon has played in three games logging 6.0 mpg. She is scoring 2.3 ppg.
• Lauren Luebbert has come off the bench in four games playing 6.8 mpg. She is scoring 0.8 ppg with 0.8 spg.  
• Cloie Jansky has appeared in three games off the bench logging 3.3 mpg and grabbing 1.3 rpg. 
• Kylin Shipman has appeared in five games for the Ichabods logging 6.0 mpg. 

STAT STACKING

• Washburn 26th in the nation at protecting the three-point line holding opponents to a 22.9% clip from beyond the arc, best in the MIAA. 
• Holding opponents to 56.6 ppg overall the Ichabods are 37th nationally and second in the MIAA in scoring defense. 
• Dishing out 14.8 apg the Ichabods are 74th nationally and 3rd in the MIAA at sharing the ball. 
• With a 0.90 assist to turnover ratio they are 68th in the nation and 4th in the MIAA. 
• Holding opponents to 37.1% shooting overall, Washburn is 83rd in the nation and 7th in the MIAA. 
• Outscoring opponents by 7.0 ppg, the Ichabods are 93rd in the nation and 6th in the MIAA.
• Washburn is making with 3.4 rejections per game, putting them 80th in the nation and 6th among MIAA opponents. 

ADVANCED STATS

• Washburn has a team offensive rating of 90.0 and defensive rating of 80.1 based on averages per 100 possessions. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team among qualified players in rebounding percentage at 16.2%. 
• Britany Kogbara is second on the team grabbing 12.4% of rebounds when on the floor. 
• Brooke Gomez has the highest assist percentage on the team at 30.9% of assists while on the floor. 
• Kellyn Hunter has the second highest mark at 26.5%. 
• Britany Kogbara has the highest true shooting percentage on the team at 59.5% when adding in free throw percentage and 3-pointers. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is second on the team at 58.2%. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 252 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 4th in program history at creating extra opportunities. In overall rebounding she is 10th with 680 career boards. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .578 is the 2nd best in program history. In scoring she ranks 15th among all Ichabods with 1,104 career points. 
• Nwidadah is also tied for 11th in program history with 67 career blocked shots. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is 8th in program history with 130 career 3-pointers made. She is tied for 19th among all Ichabods with 54 blocked shots. 
• Payton Sterk currently sits tied for 25th in program history with 78 3-pointers made in just 39 career games with Washburn. Her career percentage from deep of 37.5% is 7th in program history.
• With 52 career blocked shots Madelyn Amekporfor is 22nd in program history. 

HEAD COACH LORA WESTLING

• Lora Westling is in her fourth season as head coach at her alma mater entering the 2025-26 season. She has a 48-48 record with Washburn and is 125-126 mark  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 Katie Dalton and Robin Stahl along with student assistant Karly Neufeld complete out the coaching staff.
• Dalton enters her second year on the Washburn sideline in 2025-26. After moving to Topeka she reunited 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.
• Robin Stahl joins the Ichabod staff in 2025-26 after a one-year stop at Ottawa University where she was an assistant coach with the women's program. Before that she spent one season as a graduate assistant at Central Missouri. 
• Stahl is an Alliance, Ohio native who began her career at Malone University where spent four years with career averages of 13.5 ppg and 3.6 apg. She graduated from Malone in 2022. She played one season at Central Missouri before moving into a GA position. 
• Karly Neufeld is back for a second season as a student assistant in the 2025-26 season. 

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 67, Fort Hays State 64  (December 6, 2025)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn achieved its highest ranked victory in more than 10 years on Saturday afternoon with a 67-64 thriller to knock off No. 3 Fort Hays State 67-64 and hand the Tigers their first loss of the season. The Ichabods have a week off and stay at home before playing host to Central Missouri next Saturday, December 13 at 1 p.m. 

It was a game of runs early on with Washburn (6-2, 2-0 MIAA) throwing the first punch as the lead 8-1 after Yiibari Nwidadah got a shot inside to go. Fort Hays State (7-1, 1-1 MIAA) answered with the next 18 points in the game to lead 19-8. The Ichabods finished the opening quarter by scoring the final four points as they weathered the storm while shooting 4-18 from the field.  

The Tigers opened the second quarter by extending the lead back to 11 points at 28-17 with 6:28 to play. Shots started to fall for Washburn with an 8-0 run that included two buckets by Britany Kogbara inside. The game was tied in the final minute of the second quarter after a 3-pointer by Gabi Giovannetti and the Ichabods entered the locker room leading 35-32 with Nwidadah converting an and-one in the final seconds of the half.  

Fort Hays State quickly tied the game up in the third but Washburn had an answer with baskets by Nwidadah and Giovannetti. In the final three minutes of the quarter the duo combined for eight straight points to give the Ichabods a double-digit lead for the first time at 51-40 with 1:41 to play in the third. Payton Sterk beat the buzzer on a jumper to keep the lead at ten heading to the fourth.  

The first four points in the fourth came from the visitors. The Tigers continued to cut away, with the lead at just two points at the 4:49 mark. Minutes later Giovannetti got three the old fashioned way, stretching the lead to five. The basket was matched with a 5-0 run for Fort Hays State to tie the game with 44 seconds remaining. Out of a timeout Nwidadah got a layup to fall inside and on the other end would come up with a block to secure the second ranked victory of the season for Washburn, 67-64.  

In the process of snapping a 10-game losing streak to FHSU, the Ichabods shot 38.8% (26-67) from the field while shooting just 3-11 from deep. They were efficient at the line going 12-13. On the other end the Tigers shot 37.7% (23-61) and were just 5-25 from beyond the arc.  

The rebounding battle went Washburn's way, 41-40, with each side also within one in turnovers and assists. Points in the paint were dominated by the Ichabods, 46-32. 

Yiibari Nwidadah notched her first double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 9-17 and adding a block and steal. Gabi Giovannetti was 8-17 for 22 points with three assists and three triples. Payton Sterk had six points with five assists and Britany Kogbara scored 10 off the bench.  

Talexa Weeter had 28 points and nine rebounds for Fort Hays State while Brooke Loewe had 10 points and 10 assists.  

ABOUT THE CENTRAL MISSOURI JENNIES

• Central Missouri enters the Saturday meeting with a 5-3 record overall and 1-1 in the MIAA after defeating Nebraska Kearney at home 72-69 last time out on Dec. 6. 
• The Jennies have gone 2-2 inside the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center, 2-0 on the road and 1-1 in neutral court meetings.
• Last season Central Missouri went 17-15 overall and 8-11 in conference play. They fell in the semifinal round of the MIAA Tournament. 
• So far on the year the Jennies average 71.6 ppg with shooting splits of 42.4% from the floor, 35.7% from deep and 68.7% at the line. They also grab 43.3 rpg with 16.3 apg. Opponents are scoring 61.1 ppg on 36.9% shooting. 
• Central Missouri is 1st in the MIAA and 15th nationally with a +10.4 rebounding margin. They are 2nd in the MIAA and 32nd in the nation with 4.4 bpg. The Jennies also are 26th nationally and 2nd in the conference in apg. 
• Taylor Weishaar leads the team with 15.3 ppg on 40.0% shooting and 34.5% from deep. She has started and played in all eight games logging 31.3 mpg, a team-high. She leads the team with 8.5 rpg and swats away 1.5 bpg. She is 3rd in the MIAA in rpg, 4th in bpg and 7th in ppg. 
• Reese Schaaf is scoring 13.9 ppg on 47.8% shooting and a team-high 44.0% from deep with 11 triples. She has started all eight games playing 30.6 mpg and grabs 6.9 rpg. She also dishes 3.0 apg and 2.0 spg. She is 2nd in the MIAA in FG%, 5th in spg and 12th in ppg. 
• Cierra Smith is scoring 10.6 ppg on 42.3% shooting overall and 41.7% from deep. She is playing 24.9 mpg while starting in all eight games. She also grabs 4.3 rpg and is making 1.8 spg. 
• Neely Schaaf has started in all eight games playing 27.6 mpg. She scores 8.0 ppg on 39.1% shooting overall. She chips in 4.0 rpg and 2.3 apg. 
• Hayden Heim is playing 22.6 mpg while playing in all eight games and off the bench in five of them. She adds 6.0 ppg on 47.5% shooting with 5.5 rpg and 2.3 apg. 

HEAD COACH DAVE SLIFER

• Is in his 22nd season as the head coach at Central Missouri where he has a 443-197 record. 
• Is in his 37th season as a head coach with a 827-296 career record. Among active head coaches, Slifer is the second winningest active head coach in Division II and ranks in the top-five among all three divisions
• Prior to UCM, Slifer was Missouri Western's mentor, where he posted a record of 206-69. The winningest coach in Missouri Western women's basketball history.
• Before his stint at Missouri Western, Slifer served six seasons at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
• Slifer received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Mount Mercy in 1982, and a master's degree in business administration from Eastern Illinois in 1985. 

LAST TIME VERSUS FORT HAYS STATE

Washburn 75, Central Missouri 61 (February 8, 2025)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn outscored Central Missouri 47-22 over the middle two quarters on Saturday afternoon on its way to a 75-61 win over the Jennies. The Ichabods will hit the road next taking on Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m.  

Central Missouri (13-11, 5-8 MIAA) got out to a quick start with 3-pointers on each of the first two possessions to go in front 6-0 at the 6:14 mark. The Ichabods (13-10, 7-6 MIAA0 countered with a 9-2 run to go in front after Yiibari Nwidadah got a layup to go. The lead changed seven more times throughout the first quarter as the Jennies finished on a 5-0 run to lead 19-15.  

Both teams traded baskets to open the second quarter. A pair of free throws from Gabi Giovannetti at the 6:20 mark were the start of a 4-0 run to tie the game at 27. It was a 3-pointer by Giovannetti with 2:39 left to go before halftime that put Washburn in front 30-29. Payton Sterk followed with a triple of her own and that would be the score at halftime as UCM was held scoreless for the final 2:57.  

The opening five points of the third quarter all came from the Ichabods, pushing the lead to double figures after Madelyn Amekporfor connected on a triple. The Washburn offense continued to churn, shooting 10-15 (66.7%) in the quarter and making a trio of 3-pointers. A shot from deep by Sterk pushed the lead to 15 and it quickly grew to 20 at the 1:40 mark in the quarter on a pair of Aniah Wayne free throws. Amaya Davison ended the quarter with a running layup to beat the buzzer and give Washburn 29 points in the quarter and a 62-40 lead.  

The first 11 points of the final quarter all came from Sterk as she traded baskets with the Jennies to maintain the 20-point lead inside the final three minutes. Central Missouri closed on a 6-0 run as the Ichabods won 75-61.  

Washburn shot 26-57 (45.6%) in the game while going 7-16 (43.8%) from beyond the arc and 16-17 at the charity stripe to have an efficient game on every level. Defensively, they held the Jennies to 21-61 (34.4%) shooting and just four 3-pointers.  

Rebounding went in the Ichabods' favor, 40-34, as did assists 14-8. Washburn also had advantages in points in the paint, points off turnovers and fast break scoring.  

Payton Sterk was just two points shy of a second straight 30-point game, finishing with 28 on 10-20 shooting. Gabi Giovannetti did some of everything, scoring 18 on 6-12 shooting with five rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks. Yiibari Nwidadah and Madelyn Amekporfor each scored seven points.  

Taylor Weishaar had 15 points for Central Missouri to elad them. Reese Schaaf had 14 to go along with 12 rebounds.  

SERIES WITH CENTRAL MISSOURI

• Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 44-30.
• The Ichabods are 22-12 all-time against the Jennies in Lee Arena. 
• The series began on Jan. 17, 1990 with a 75-66 win for Washburn in Topeka. 
• Last season both teams split the season-series with each team winning at home. 
• Washburn averages 65.8 ppg all-time against Central Missouri. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,019-509-1 (.667) all-time and are in the 57th year of the program's history.
• 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 takes a break from non-confernece play to take on Truman State on Tuesday, Dec. 16 in the final game of the homestand with tip-off at 6 p.m.
• Senior night for the Ichabods will be in the regular season finale on Feb. 28 against Missouri Southern at 3 p.m.
• The MIAA Basketball Championship Tournament will be held in Kansas City, Mo. at the Municipal Auditorium from March 3-8.