TOPEKA, Kan. -- 2026 begins for Ichabod women's basketball inside of Lee Arena on Saturday, Jan. 3 with the first meeting between Emporia State this season beginning at 1 p.m. 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn opens the calendar year 2026 with the first edition of the Turnpike Tussle facing Emporia State. 
• The Ichabods will host the Lady Hornets at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 3 inside of Lee Arena. 
• The game is Bods Care Night Empowered by Envista. 
• 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.   
• Emporia State enters the game with a 7-5 record overall and 1-2 inside the MIAA after opening the new year with a 70-61 road loss to Central Missouri on Jan. 1.

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 41.1% from the floor, 29.6% from deep and 71.3% at the free throw line to score 64.2 ppg. 
• They grab 36.5 rpg with 13.6 apg to 16.7 turnovers per contest. Defensively they average 9.7 spg with 3.1 bpg.  
• On the year opponents are averaging 55.3 ppg while shooting 36.4% from the floor and 24.8% from behind the 3-point line.  
• Washburn is 5-1 on the year inside the new Lee Arena, 3-1 in neutral court games and 1-1 in road contests.  
• Washburn connected from deep four times against Cameron to extend its streak with a made 3-pointer to 140 games.  

HOME SWEET HOME

• The 2025-26 season marks the 42nd season of play inside Lee Arena since the facility opened for the 1983-84 season. 
• Washburn is 470-131 all-time inside Lee Arena. 

THE BLUE BUNCH

• Yiibari Nwidadah is third on the team in scoring at 11.9 ppg in just 21.1 mpg on the season. She has started in all 11 games she has played in and leads the team grabbing 6.4 rpg while also shooting 56.7% from the floor. She swats away a team-high 1.0 bpg and has scored in double figures in six games. She is 1st in the MIAA and 23rd nationally in field goal percentage. The senior is 7th in the conference in bpg and 15th in total rebounds. 
• Payton Sterk is leading the team in scoring at 12.6 ppg on 36.4% overall and 32.4% from deep. She has starting every game playing 30.8 mpg, most on the team while also coming away with 1.8 spg, second most on the team. She has drilled 22 triples, tied for a team-high, and has scored 14+ points in six games this season. The senior ranks 7th in the MIAA in steals and 8th in total triples made. 
• Gabi Giovannetti has started all 12 games for Washburn scoring 12.3 ppg on 43.3% shooting in 27.8 mpg of action. She is shooting a team-high 40.7% from deep and is tied for the team-lead with 22 3-pointers. She also brings down 3.9 rpg and is making 1.9 spg, tops on the team. The Shawnee, Kan. native is 4th in the MIAA in steals and 9th in triples per game. 
• Britany Kogbara sits fourth on the team in scoring at 8.9 ppg in just 16.9 mpg of action playing in every game with one start. She is shooting 57.1% from the floor, best on the team, while grabbing 3.8 rpg. Her five games scoring double figures off the bench lead the team. 
• Madelyn Amekporfor has started every game playing 26.3 mpg and scoring 6.4 ppg while shooting 38.9% from the floor. She is adding 3.3 rpg along with swiping 1.2 spg and swatting away 0.8 bpg, second most on the team. She is 14th in the MIAA in bpg. 
• Brooke Gomez has played in every game while making ten starts and is logging 18.5 mpg. She scores 3.1 ppg on 37.8% shooting and is dishing out a team-high 3.3 apg along with grabbing 2.7 rpg. She ranks 9th in the MIAA in assists per game. 
• Aniah Wayne has come off the bench in every game playing 17.6 mpg. She is scoring 4.3 ppg on 31.6% shooting from the floor. The senior also chips in 2.2 rpg and 0.7 spg. 
• Kellyn Hunter has played in nine games while making two starts for the Ichabods and logging 18.4 mpg. She is coming away with 1.2 spg, third most on the team, dishing out 2.6 apg and grabs 3.2 rpg. 
• Nia McKenzie has played 13.3 mpg off the bench in every game. She is scoring 2.2 ppg on 43.5% shooting with 2.8 rpg.
• Kennadi Jackson has come off the bench in ten games playing 4.7 mpg and scoring 0.7 ppg.
• Kylin Shipman has appeared in nine games for the Ichabods logging 9.6 mpg and scoring 0.4 ppg. 
• Willow Gideon has played in six games logging 4.3 mpg. She is scoring 1.2 ppg.
• Lauren Luebbert has come off the bench in seven games playing 5.3 mpg. She is scoring 0.9 ppg.
• Cloie Jansky has appeared in six games off the bench logging 2.8 mpg and scoring 1.0 ppg. 

STAT STACKING

• Washburn 34th in the nation at protecting the three-point line holding opponents to a 24.8% clip from beyond the arc, best in the MIAA. 
• Holding opponents to 55.3 ppg overall the Ichabods are 30th nationally and second in the MIAA in scoring defense. 
• With opponents shooting 36.4% overall, Washburn is 6th in the conference and 66th in the nation in field goal percentage defense.
• Outscoring opponents by 8.8 ppg, the Ichabods have the 79th best scoring margin in the nation. 
• Forcing 19.25 turnovers per game, Washburn is 90th in the nation and 4th in the MIAA at turning opponents over. 
• The Ichabods are 2nd in the MIAA with 9.7 steals per game. 

ADVANCED STATS

• Washburn has a team offensive rating of 90.3 and defensive rating of 77.9 based on averages per 100 possessions. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team among qualified players in rebounding percentage at 17.4%. 
• Britany Kogbara is second on the team grabbing 12.8% of rebounds when on the floor, second highest on the team. 
• Brooke Gomez has the highest assist percentage on the team at 32.5% of assists while on the floor. 
• Kellyn Hunter has the second highest mark at 23.9%. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah has the highest true shooting percentage on the team at 59.2% when adding in free throw percentage and 3-pointers. 
• Britany Kogbara is second on the team at 58.5%. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 257 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 3rd in program history at creating extra opportunities. In overall rebounding she is 9th with 693 career boards. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .579 is the 2nd best in program history. In scoring she ranks 14th among all Ichabods with 1,123 career points. 
• Nwidadah is also 11th in program history with 69 career blocked shots. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is 8th in program history with 134 career 3-pointers made. She is tied for 19th among all Ichabods with 54 blocked shots. 
• Payton Sterk currently sits tied for 19th in program history with 84 3-pointers made in just 43 career games with Washburn. Her career percentage from deep of 36.4% is 14th in program history.
• With 54 career blocked shots Madelyn Amekporfor is tied for 19th 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 51-49 record with Washburn and is 128-127 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 78, Cameron 49  (December 20, 2025)
LAWTON, Okla. -- Washburn worked a third straight double-digit victory on Saturday afternoon taking down Cameron 78-49 in the final game of the calendar year 2025 and finale of the Fairfield Inn and Suites Holiday Classic. The Ichabods take the floor next in 2026 hosting Emporia State at 1 p.m. on January 3.  

Quick scores put Washburn (9-3) in front early leading 7-4 after Yiibari Nwidadah found the bottom of the net on a layup at the 7:54 mark. The Aggies (0-11) responded with a run on their home floor scoring 11 of the next 16 points to go in front. They led by one at 17-16 after ten minutes of action.  

Neither team scored for nearly the first three minutes of the second until Madelyn Amekporfor got a layup to go at the 7:21 mark. The bucket put Washburn ahead and shortly after a 6-0 run pushed the lead up to seven points after a score by Nia McKenzie. Even while shooting under 35.0% from the floor in the first half the Ichabods were able to build a 32-27 lead going into the break.  

Out of the half Cameron cut the lead down to five points in the opening minutes. The response from Washburn came in the form of a 9-0 run ending with a layup by Amekporfor. An 8-0 run later on pushed the lead up to 20 as the Ichabod offense exploded to shoot 10-14 (71.4%) in the quarter while holding the Aggies to just 2-14 shooting. The five-point game turned into a 58-37 contest heading into the fourth.  

In the final frame the Ichabods didn't allow for any hope, pushing the lead to 25 points at the 6:59 mark after a pair of free throws by Britany Kogbara. The margin grew to a game-high 30 as Cloie Jansky got a bucket to go with 2:28 remaining. Washburn would go on to win by its largest margin of the season 78-49. 

Exploding for 46 points in the second half the Ichabods shot 47.3% for the game while shooting just 4-17 from deep. They forced the issue going 22-28 at the charity stripe to gain an advantage. On the other end they held Cameron to 31.3% shooting and just 5-22 from beyond the arc.  

The rebounding battle was won 37-23 by Washburn, along with a 26-15 advantage in turnovers. The Ichabod bench outscored the Aggies 32-10 and they also led 44-16 in paint scoring.  

Four players scored in double figures led by 14 on 5-6 shooting off the bench for Britany Kogbara who grabbed six rebounds. Gabi Giovannetti scored 13 while grabbing a game-high seven boards and swiping five steals. Madelyn Amekporfor had 12 points with six rebounds and Payton Sterk scored 10.  

Madison Griggs had a game-high 23 points for Cameron.  

ABOUT THE EMPORIA STATE LADY HORNETS

• Emporia State fell to 7-5 overall and 1-2 inside the MIAA after losing 70-61 on the road to Central Missouri to open the new year on Jan. 1. 
• The Lady Hornets have gone 6-0 inside of White Auditorium, are 1-3 on the road and 0-2 in neutral court games. 
• Last season Emporia State went 10-19 overall and 5-14 inside the MIAA, losing in the first round of the MIAA Tournament. 
• On the year the Lady Hornets average 68.8 ppg with shooting splits of 39.1% from the floor, 29.4% from deep and 67.8% at the line. They also grab 39.1 rpg with 13.4 apg. Opponents are scoring 64.3 ppg on 37.3% shooting. 
• Emporia State is 2nd in the MIAA in offensive rebounding grabbing 14.3 orpg. They also rank second in the conference in turnovers forced at 19.5 per game and three-point percentage defense holding opponents to 26.6% from deep. 
• Kaitlyn Sanders leads the scoring attack for the Lady Hornets at 18.3 ppg on 45.9% shooting from the floor while starting in all 12 games. She also dishes out a team-high 3.4 apg and swipes 1.5 spg, tied for a team lead. She is 2nd in the MIAA in 36th nationally in ppg while ranking top-10 in the nation in free throw attempts. She is 6th in the conference in assists per game as well.
• Gracie Gilpin has started all 12 games and is scoring 12.6 ppg on 31.3% shooting overall and 33.0% from deep. She has drilled a team-high 30 triples while coming away with 1.3 spg in 31.3 mpg. She is 2nd in the MIAA and 36th nationally in three-pointers per game and is first in the conference in attempts. 
• Macey Gandee has also started all 12 games in the post scoring 9.8 ppg on 48.6% shooting. She grabs a team-high 6.5 rpg while swatting away 1.5 bpg and making 1.5 spg in just 24.9 mpg. She is 3rd in the MIAA and 61st nationally in bpg. 
• Micah Hannah is chipping in 4.6 ppg on a team-high 51.1% shooting in 19.6 mpg. She also grabs 2.8 rpg and gives out 1.3 apg. 
• Makenzie McDaniel has come off the bench in all 12 games playing 10.1 mpg. She scores 4.4 ppg with 3.7 rpg. 

HEAD COACH MJ Baker

• Is in her first season leading the Lady Hornet basketball program.
• has won 334 games as a collegiate coach and comes to Emporia State after an eight year run at Eastern Florida State College.  She went 183-58 with three conference championships and three trips to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament during her time.
• Prior to Eastern Florida, Baker spent three seasons at Broward College. She went 65-20 with two conference championships in her three years in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
• As a player, Baker excelled both on and off the court and still holds season and career records for rebounding and blocked shots at the University of West Florida, where she was an honorable mention All-American as well as the UWF Female Athlete of the Year in 2005
• A native of Delaware, Ohio, Baker earned a bachelors in Psychology at West Florida, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Following her college career, Baker played professionally in Germany.

LAST TIME VERSUS EMPORIA STATE

Washburn 88, Emporia State 73  (January 15, 2025)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn picked up its first regular-season series sweep of the season Wednesday night as they knocked off Emporia State for the second time in 11 days by the score of 88-73. The Ichabods will finish out the homestand on Saturday hosting Newman at 1 p.m.  

After scoring the first two baskets of the game Washburn (9-8, 3-4 MIAA) found itself trailing 7-5 nearly four minutes into the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers, first by Gabi Giovannetti then by Aniah Wayne, put them in front 11-7 at the 5:01 mark. The lead grew to nine points after Yiibari Nwidadah got two of her six first-quarter points to go. The Lady Hornets (7-9, 2-5 MIAA) shot just 4-19 (21.1%) in the first quarter as Washburn led by seven.  

After a layup by Emporia State with 6:27 to play in the half a pair of free throws by Payton Sterk began a 5-0 scoring run for the Ichabods, pushing the lead to double figures at 32-21. The Lady Hornets were contained offensively to begin the quarter but were able to shake loose for nine straight points shortly after, cutting the deficit down to one with 2:13 remaining in the half. Nwidadah put an end to the run with a layup and Washburn would score the last five points heading into the half after a Sterk triple leading 41-33.  

Both teams came out of the locker room with quick scoring. The first four for the Ichabods came from Nwidadah, who had a double-double in the first half alone. Emporia State kept pace, shooting 6-13 from the floor in the quarter and 5-5 at the line. On the other side though Washburn shot 11-17 (64.7%) and made four triples in the quarter. One of those, coming from Sterk with 53 seconds left, pushed the lead to a game-high 13 which is what the margin would be heading into the fourth.  

Sterk kept finding the bottom of the net to begin the fourth quarter, making two 3-pointers in the first four minutes. The second extended the lead to 20-points at 78-58 with 6:16 left. The Lady Hornets never got the deficit back lower than 15, which came in the final seconds as the Ichabods wrapped up an 88-73 victory. 

Washburn shot 32-69 (46.4%) for the game while going 12-29 (41.4%) from beyond the arc. On the opposite side, Emporia State was held to 23-59 (39.0%) shooting but were able to connect on nine triples.  

On the boards the Ichabods had a 40-36 advantage as well as in assists, where they dished out a season-high 24 assists to just 13 from the Lady Hornets. Paint scoring went in Washburn's favor 38-20 along with second chance points 17-9 as the Ichabods took control from the inside out.  

Payton Sterk led the way with a game-high 26 points on 7-11 shooting from beyond the arc. She reached 1,000 career points with her first bucket of the night. Yiibari Nwidadah stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points on 10-14 shooting with 12 rebounds for a double-double while adding a pair of blocks. Gabi Giovannetti had 12 points and a career-high six assists.  

Gracie Gilpin led Emporia State with 18 points on four made 3-pointers. Katie Horyna and Macey Gandee each had 10. 

SERIES WITH EMPORIA STATE

• The Lady Hornets lead the all-time series between the two teams 63-52.
• The Ichabods are 24-30 against Emporia State in Topeka. 
• The series began on Dec. 6, 1974 with a 73-52 win for the Lady Hornets in Topeka. 
• Washburn has won the last three meetings in the series including wins in both games last season, one in each home gym. 
• Washburn averages 64.6 ppg all-time against Emporia State.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,022-510-1 (.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 will head on the road for the first time in conference play taking on Missouri Western on Wednesday, Jan. 7 in St. Joseph, Mo. with a 5:30 tip-off. 
• 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.