JOPLIN, Mo. -- Washburn finished out its regular season with a come-from-behind win Saturday afternoon, knocking off Missouri Southern 70-66 on the road. The Ichabods MIAA Tournament seeding will be announced later on Saturday night.
It was a back-and-forth affair early on with four ties in the first quarter. Washburn (17-12, 11-8 MIAA) went fron down by three to up by three with a 6-0 run started by a Yiibari Nwidadah shot inside. They led by five with 1:27 to play in the quarter after Aniah Wayne connected on a triple. The Lions (18-13, 10-9 MIAA) tied things up in the next minute but the Ichabods still led 21-19 after one with Nwidadah scoring in the final seconds.
The second quarter began much like the first with both teams trading scores. A free throw by Gabi Giovannetti tied the game up at 29 with 3:52 to go before the half. The next nine points would all come from the Lions as they shot 61.5% in the quarter. The run came to an end as Giovannetti ended the half with a 3-pointer to make it 38-32 going into the break.
Washburn began chipping away at the lead early in the third, pulling within two at the 6:46 mark after another layup by Nwidadah. The next six points went to Missouri Southern to go back in front by eight. The Ichabods kept it there and after a triple by Aniah Wayne cut it to three with 2:19 in the quarter neither team scored the rest of the frame making it 52-49 heading into the fourth.
Twice early in the fourth quarter Washburn brought the lead down to just one. Finally, they pushed through and took the lead on a layup by Madelyn Amekporfor with 7:32 to play. A few minutes later she followed with a triple that began a 5-0 run to put the Ichabods up 63-58 with 4:30 to play.
They held back the Lions, going up by five with 40 second to go after Payton Sterk sunk a pair of free throws. On the other end Missouri Southern got free throws to go and force a turnover, resulting in two more from the charity stripe, pulling within two. Sterk put Washburn back up by two and the Ichabods were able to force a turnover on the next possession. Giovannetti put the game away at the line for a 70-66 win.
The Ichabods ended the game shooting 44.1% (26-59) and 5-13 from deep. The Lions were efficient, shooting 26-53 (49.1%) overall but hit just three of 11 3-point attempts. A 37-27 rebounding advantage boosted Washburn, with 15 coming on the offensive end.
Yiibari Nwidadah secured a double-double finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Madelyn Amekporfor and Gabi Giovannetti each scored 15 with Giovannetti also grabbing seven rebounds.
Ryan Franklin led Missouri Southern with a game-high 29 points on 14-18 shooting and Grace Frazier had 15 for the Lions.
