TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball puts non-conference play in the rear view mirror momentarily as they begin MIAA action hosting Nebraska Kearney inside Lee Arena at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4. 

OPENING TIP

• Conference play begins for Washburn women's basketball as they play host to Nebraska Kearney with the calendar turned to December. 
• The Ichabods welcome the Lopers into Lee Arena at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4. 
• 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.  
• Nebraska Kearney is 4-4 on the year and 0-0 inside the MIAA after defeating Wayne State College 69-59 last time out on Nov. 29.

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. 
• As a team Washburn has shooting splits of 39.6% from the floor, 31.9% from deep and 61.6% at the free throw line to score 61.8 ppg.
• They grab 37.3 rpg with 15.0 apg to 17.7 turnovers per contest. Defensively they average 10.8 spg with 3.3 bpg. 
• On the year opponents are averaging 54.0 ppg while shooting 36.8% from the floor and 23.3% from behind the 3-point line. 
• Washburn is 2-0 on the year inside the new Lee Arena, 2-1 in neutral court games and 0-1 in road contests. 
• Washburn made a season-high 11 triples against Texas A&M - Kingsville to extend its streak with a made 3-pointer to 134 games. 

THE BLUE BUNCH

• Payton Sterk is leading the team in scoring at 14.3 ppg while starting every game and playing 29.0 mpg, most on the team. She is adding 2.2 spg and has made 16 3-pointers, both also leading the team. She has scored 14+ points in four games this season. The senior ranks 3rd in the MIAA and 34th nationally in 3-pointers, 5th in the MIAA in three-point percentage and 4th in steals. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah is second on the team scoring 12.2 ppg in just 22.8 mpg on the short season. She has started every game and leads the team grabbing 6.7 rpg while also shooting 53.4% from the floor. She swats away 0.8 bpg and has scored in double figures in four games. She is 1st in the MIAA in field goal percentage. 
• Gabi Giovannetti has started all six games for Washburn scoring 10.7 ppg on 43.6% shooting in 26.2 mpg of action. She is shooting a team-high 44.4% from deep with 12 3-pointers, second most on the team. She also brings down 4.5 rpg and is making 1.7 spg on the defensive end. She is 2nd in the MIAA and 38th nationally in three-point percentage and 8th in the conference in triples per game. 
• Britany Kogbara has provided a spark off the bench as she sits fourth on the team scoring 8.8 ppg in just 15.2 mpg. She is shooting 58.5% from the floor, best on the team, while grabbing 3.7 rpg and making a 0.8 spg. Her three games scoring double figures off the bench lead the team. 
• Madelyn Amekporfor has started every game playing 26.5 mpg and scoring 4.2 ppg while shooting 37.0% from the floor. She is adding 2.8 rpg along with swiping 1.3 spg and swatting away 1.0 bpg, a team-high. She is 10th in the MIAA in bpg. 
• Brooke Gomez has played in every game while making four starts and is logging 17.8 mpg. She scores 2.7 ppg on 31.6% shooting and is dishing out a team-high 3.8 apg along with 1.0 spg. She ranks 3rd in the MIAA in assists per game. 
• Aniah Wayne has come off the bench in every game playing 19.2 mpg. She is scoring 4.7 ppg on 33.3% shooting from the floor. The senior also chips in 2.3 rpg and 1.2 apg. 
• Kellyn Hunter has played in all six games while making two starts for the Ichabods and logging 20.3 mpg. She is coming away with 1.8 spg, second most on the team, dishes 3.0 apg and grabs 3.3 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 10.7 mpg off the bench in every game. She is scoring 1.2 ppg on 50.0% shooting with 1.3 rpg.
• Kennadi Jackson has come off the bench in five games playing 6.0 mpg and scoring 0.8 ppg with 0.4 spg. 
• 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 four games for the Ichabods logging 3.5 mpg. 

STAT STACKING

• Washburn 39th in the nation at protecting the three-point line holding opponents to a 23.2% clip from beyond the arc, best in the MIAA. 
• Holding opponents to 54.0 ppg overall the Ichabods are 22nd nationally and first in the MIAA in scoring defense. 
• Dishing out 15.0 apg the Ichabods are 61st nationally and 3rd in the MIAA at sharing the ball. 
• Washburn is coming away with 10.8 spg, 2nd best mark in the conference and 78th nationally. 
• Outscoring opponents by 7.8 ppg, the Ichabods are 88th in the nation and 5th in the MIAA.
• Washburn is coming away with 3.3 rejections per game, putting them 76th in the nation and 6th among MIAA opponents. 

ADVANCED STATS

• Washburn has a team offensive rating of 88.8 and defensive rating of 77.6 based on averages per 100 possessions. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team among qualified players in rebounding percentage at 16.4%. 
• Britany Kogbara is second on the team grabbing 13.6% of rebounds when on the floor. 
• Brooke Gomez has the highest assist percentage on the team at 40.1% of assists while on the floor. 
• Kellyn Hunter has the second highest mark at 25.3%. 
• Britany Kogbara has the highest true shooting percentage on the team at 58.9% when adding in free throw percentage and 3-pointers. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is second on the team at 55.9%. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 244 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 4th in program history at creating extra opportunities. In overall rebounding she is 10th with 663 career boards. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .577 is the 2nd best in program history. In scoring she ranks tied for 19th among all Ichabods with 1,065 career points. 
• Nwidadah is also tied for 13th in program history with 63 career blocked shots. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is tied for 8th in program history with 124 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 37 career games with Washburn. 
• With 50 career blocked shots Madelyn Amekporfor is tied for 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 46-48 record with Washburn and is 123-126 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 62, Texas A&M - Kingsville 48  (November 29, 2025)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Washburn closed out the month of November with a double-digit victory in the final game of the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic, knocking off Texas A&M – Kingsville 62-48. The Ichabods begin conference play next week hosting Nebraska Kearney at 5:30 p.m. inside Lee Arena on Thursday, Dec. 4.  

For a second straight game Washburn (4-2) got out to a quick start, leading 9-5 with 4:08 left in the first after Aniah Wayne came off the bench to knock down a 3-pointer. The Javelinas (0-4) went on a 10-2 run from that point to go in front and lead 15-13 after one.  

Payton Sterk put the Ichabods back in front hitting a triple to begin the second quarter. It was the start of a 15-2 run that took up much of the second quarter. The final 11 points of the run came from Gabi Giovannetti, her second connection from deep put Washburn up 28-17. Texas A&M – Kingsville scored the final five points of the quarter to go into halftime with a 28-22 score.  

The Ichabods established the paint early in the third quarter with back-to-back buckets by Yiibari Nwidadah that started an 8-0 beginning to the half. Sterk moved the offense to the outside, knocking down 3-pointers on three straight possessions to balloon the lead to 17 with 4:32 left in the quarter. A 5-0 run to end the quarter for a Washburn offense that shot 8-16 in the frame put them in front 52-31 with 10 to play.  

Midway through the fourth another 3-pointer by Sterk made it a 25-point game with the Ichabods in front 61-36. The Javelinas picked up the pace in the final five minutes but never got closer than the 14-point final score deficit with Washburn winning 62-48. 

Offensively, the Ichabods shot 40.4% from the field but were 11-20 (55.0%) from behind the arc, both season-high marks. On the defensive side, Washburn held TAMUK to 15-39 shooting overall with just a 3-13 effort from deep. It was a fourth straight game holding opponents to under 50 points in regulation.  

The Ichabods had a 33-27 advantage on the glass and led 21-10 in assists. The Javelina bench out-scored Washburn's 27-11 while the Ichabods led 13-4 in fast break scoring.  

Gabi Giovannetti was consistent throughout, scoring a game-high 20 on 7-14 shooting with four 3-pointers. Payton Sterk heated up in the second half for 18 points on 6-11 shooting and 6-9 from downtown with two steals. Yiibari Nwidadah had 11 to go along with six rebounds. Brooke Gomez tied a career-high with seven assists and added two steals.  

Justine Aguilar led Texas A&M – Kingsville with eight points while 11 Javelinas scored. 

ABOUT THE NEBRASKA KEARNEY LOPERS

• Nebraska Kearney enters conference play with a 4-4 record after defeating Wayne State College 69-59 in Kearney last time out on Nov. 29. 
• The Lopers have gone 2-1 inside the Health & Sports Center, 0-2 on the road and 2-1 in neutral court games. 
• Last season Nebraska Kearney went 20-9 on the year and 13-6 inside the MIAA. They lost in the quarterfinal round of the MIAA Tournament to the Ichabods. 
• So far on the year the Lopers average 64.9 ppg with shooting splits of 36.6% from the floor, 29.1% from deep and 73.4% at the line. They also grab 40.0 rpg with 11.1 apg. Opponents are scoring 64.3 ppg on 40.8% shooting. 
• Nebraska Kearney ranks 3rd in the MIAA in free throw percentage, steals per game and turnovers forced per game. They are 4th in the conference in offensive rebounds per game at 13.8 orpg. 
• Myleigh Weers is leading the Loper offense scoring 16.5 ppg on 36.1% shooting from the floor as a freshman. She has started all eight games playing 30.4 mpg while also grabbing 4.1 rpg and making a team-high 2.3 spg. She leads the MIAA in steals per game and is third in ppg. 
• Jillian Aschoff is scoring 11.6 ppg for UNK on 34.4% shooting. She has played and started in seven games logging a team-high 34.7 mpg. She is grabbing 6.0 rpg and dishing out a team-high 5.4 apg. She is 2nd in the MIAA and 14th in the nation in assists per game, she also ranks 3rd in the MIAA in free throw attempts. 
• Jordan Sears has played and started in eight games logging 28.8 mpg. She is scoring 11.5 ppg on 42.0% shooting and 37.0% from deep. She grabs 5.1 rpg and is making 1.8 spg. 
• Malgorzata Byczkowska has played in eight games making four starts. She is scoring 7.3 ppg on 40.0% shooting while grabbing 4.7 rpg. 
• Lynnae Green is chipping in 5.6 ppg and 4.9 rpg across 17.6 mpg in all eight games. 

HEAD COACH DREW JOHNSON

• Drew Johnson is in his third season leading the Nebraska Kearney program where he has a 43-24 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

Washburn 78, Nebraska Kearney 65  (March 7, 2025)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn secured a trip to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament as they knocked off the No. 4 seeded Nebraska Kearney Lopers 78-65 on Friday night in the quarterfinal round. The No. 5 seed Ichabods will face the top seed and No. 9 nationally ranked Pittsburg State at 6 p.m. on Saturday.  

The first four points of the game came from Washburn (18-12) on buckets from Yiibari Nwidadah and Gabi Giovannetti. The Lopers (19-9) were held off the board until the 7:32 mark in the first quarter and did not make a field goal until the game was nearly five minutes old. After a basket by Giovannetti put the Ichabods up 8-3 Nebraska Kearney scored the next eight points to go ahead by three. The lead changed hands twice more in the opening quarter with the Lopers in front 16-14.  

A 5-0 run early in the second quarter tied the game up for Washburn after a layup by Madelyn Amekporfor. After two more lead changes the Ichabods took a lead they would never relinquish with a 3-pointer by Aniah Wayne at the 5:00 minute mark. The run continued with the final nine points of the quarter, finished by a buzzer beating layup by Amaya Davison to go into the break leading 33-24. Washburn outscored Nebraska Kearney 19-8 in the quarter, shooting 8-12 from the field.  

The run continued into the second half with Nwidadah and Giovannetti each with buckets, forcing a Loper timeout. A fast break layup by Amekporfor pushed the lead to a game-high 16 points with 7:42 left in the quarter. Nebraska Kearney responded, heating up from deep with three made triples in the quarter cutting the lead to as little as six. A 3-pointer from the Lopers on the final possession made it 52-44 going into the fourth.  

Both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws from Giovannetti with 6:51 remaining pushed the lead back up to 12, capping off a 4-0 mini run. Nebraska Kearney cut the deficit to seven with 4:04 left but the Ichabods continued to answer on the other end, getting to the line and converting. Washburn shot 12-12 from the line in the final quarter, extending the lead to 11 with 2:55 to go after a pair. Nwidadah scored the next four points, putting the game away with just over two to play as the Ichabods secured the 78-65 win.  

Washburn shot 30.78% in the first quarter but finished the game at 52.0% (26-50) and were 24-29 at the line. They held Nebraska Kearney to 34.3% (24-70) shooting while the Lopers went just 9-16 at the line they did make nine 3-pointers.  

A 45-32 rebounding advantage led to a 44-32 margin in paint scoring for the Ichabods. Second chance scoring also went to Washburn, 17-10.  

Yiibari Nwidadah led the way with 28 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double. She shot 9-13 overall and 10-12 from the free throw line. Gabi Giovannetti scored a season-high 21 points on 8-11 shooting and Madelyn Amekporfor had a double-double of her own, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds while also adding three blocks. Off the bench Amaya Davison added nine points.  

Three players scored in double figures for the Lopers led by Jillian Aschoff who had 15 along with six assists.  

SERIES WITH NEBRASKA KEARNEY

• Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 30-21.
• The Ichabods are 15-8 all-time against the Lopers inside Lee Arena. 
• The series began on Jan. 14, 1977 with a 64-57 win for Washburn in Topeka. 
• Last season the Ichabods won two out of three meetings with Nebraska Kearney including a 78-65 win in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals on March 7 to end the Lopers season. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,015-509-1 (.666) 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 stays at home facing Fort Hays State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6. 
• 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.