TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Ichabods are back at home for the first time in almost three weeks hosting Northwest Missouri State at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 21 for Faculty and Staff Appreciation night. 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn looks to avenge a double overtime loss 11 days ago as they face Northwest Missouri State for the second time this season. 
• The Ichabods will face the Bearcats on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 5:30 p.m. inside of Lee Arena in Topeka, Kan.
• Wednesday's game is Faculty and Staff Appreciation night sponsored by HyVee.
• 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.   

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 41.2% from the floor, 30.6% from deep and 69.9% at the free throw line to score 65.6 ppg. 
• They grab 37.6 rpg with 13.8 apg to 17.5 turnovers per contest. Defensively they average 9.5 spg with 2.7 bpg.  
• On the year opponents are averaging 57.1 ppg while shooting 36.6% from the floor and 27.0% from behind the 3-point line.  
• Washburn is 6-1 on the year inside the new Lee Arena, 3-1 in neutral court games and 3-3 in road contests.  
• Washburn hit four 3-pointers on Saturday against Newman, all off the hands of Aniah Wayne, extending its streak with a made 3-pointer to 144 games. 
• Northwest Missouri State lost a second straight game falling to 10-8 overall and 3-5 in the MIAA with a 60-46 loss to No. 6 Fort Hays State last time out at home. 

THE BLUE BUNCH

• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team scoring 13.2 ppg in just 22.7 mpg on the season. She has started in all 16 games she has played in and leads the team grabbing 7.6 rpg while also shooting 57.9% from the floor, tops on the team as well. She has scored in double figures in 11 games with four double-doubles. She is 1st in the MIAA and 14th nationally in field goal percentage while ranking 8th in the MIAA in rpg and 13th in ppg.
• Payton Sterk is second on the team in scoring at 11.4 ppg on 35.1% overall and 32.2% from deep. She has started every game playing 31.0 mpg, most on the team while also coming away with 1.6 spg, second most on the team. She has drilled a team-high 28 triples and has scored 14+ points in seven games this season. The senior ranks 13th in the MIAA in 3-pointers.
• Gabi Giovannetti has started all 17 games for Washburn scoring 11.1 ppg on 43.0% shooting in 27.5 mpg of action. She is shooting a team-high 39.4% from deep and is second on the team with 26 3-pointers. She also brings down 4.2 rpg and is making 1.8 spg, most on the team. The Shawnee, Kan. native is 6th in the MIAA in spg and 16th in 3-pointers. 
• Britany Kogbara sits fourth on the team in scoring at 7.6 ppg in just 16.9 mpg of action playing in every game with one start. She is shooting 53.3% from the floor, second best on the team, while grabbing 3.7 rpg. Her five games scoring double figures off the bench lead the team and she is 12th in the MIAA in bpg. 
• Madelyn Amekporfor has started every game playing 24.5 mpg and scoring 6.5 ppg while shooting 40.2% from the floor. She is adding 3.3 rpg along with swiping 1.1 spg and swatting away 0.7 bpg.
• Brooke Gomez has played in every game while making 15 starts and is logging 18.4 mpg. She scores 3.3 ppg on 38.9% shooting and is dishing out a team-high 3.1 apg along with grabbing 2.5 rpg. She ranks 8th in the MIAA in assists per game and 7th in assist to turnover ratio.
• Aniah Wayne has come off the bench in every game playing 19.6 mpg. She is scoring 6.3 ppg on 38.7% shooting from the floor and 33.3% from deep. The senior also chips in 2.1 rpg and 0.8 spg.
• Kellyn Hunter has played in 14 games while making two starts for the Ichabods and is logging 16.9 mpg. She is coming away with 1.2 spgwhile dishing out 2.0 apg and grabbing 2.6 rpg. 
• Nia McKenzie has played 13.0 mpg off the bench in every game. She is scoring 2.1 ppg on 37.5% shooting with 2.6 rpg.
• Kennadi Jackson has come off the bench in 15 games playing 7.1 mpg and scoring 1.3 ppg.
• Willow Gideon has played in eight games logging 4.0 mpg. She is scoring 1.0 ppg.
• Kylin Shipman has appeared in 12 games for the Ichabods of the bench logging 8.3 mpg.
• Lauren Luebbert has come off the bench in ten contests, playing 5.5 mpg and scoring 0.6 ppg.
• Cloie Jansky has appeared in eight games off the bench logging 2.9 mpg and scoring 1.3 ppg. 

STAT STACKING

• Washburn 66th in the nation at protecting the three-point line holding opponents to a 27.0% clip from beyond the arc, second best in the MIAA. 
• Holding opponents to 57.1 ppg overall the Ichabods are 34th nationally and first in the MIAA in scoring defense. 
• With opponents shooting 36.6% from the floor, Washburn is 5th in the conference and 56th in the nation in field goal percentage defense.
• Forcing 19.24 turnovers per game the Ichabods are second in the conference in 80th in the nation.
• With a +3.9 rebounding margin Washburn is 6th among conference teams and 69th in the nation. 
• Outscoring opponents by 8.6 ppg, the Ichabods have the 73rd best scoring margin in the nation and 5th among MIAA teams.

ADVANCED STATS

• Washburn has a team offensive rating of 90.8 and defensive rating of 78.9 based on averages per 100 possessions. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team among qualified players in rebounding percentage at 19.3%. 
• 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 32.1% of assists while on the floor. 
• Kellyn Hunter has the second highest mark at 21.6%. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah has the highest true shooting percentage on the team at 61.1% when adding in free throw percentage and 3-pointers. 
• Britany Kogbara is second on the team at 54.8%. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 274 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 3rd in program history at creating extra opportunities. In overall rebounding she is sixth with 745 career boards. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .580 is the 2nd best in program history. In scoring she ranks 13th among all Ichabods with 1,203 career points. 
• Nwidadah is also 11th in program history with 69 career blocked shots. 
• Gabi Giovannetti is 8th in program history with 138 career 3-pointers made. She is tied for 20th among all Ichabods with 55 blocked shots. 
• Payton Sterk currently sits 18th in program history with 90 3-pointers made in just 48 career games with Washburn. Her career percentage from deep of 36.0% is 15th in program history.
• With 56 career blocked shots Madelyn Amekporfor is tied for 18th 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 54-51 record with Washburn and is 131-129 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 69, Newman 55 (January 17, 2026)
WICHITA, Kan. -- Washburn used a big fourth quarter to pull away from Newman on Saturday afternoon and end a four-game road trip with a 69-55 win. The Ichabods return to Lee Arena to face Northwest Missouri State at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21.  

It was a fast start at home for the Jets (7-10, 1-7 MIAA) as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the first five minutes. Washburn (12-5, 5-3 MIAA) came back to tie the game at 10 on a triple by Aniah Wayne in what was part of a 18-4 end to the quarter highlighted by three connections from deep by Wayne to build a 22-14 lead.  

A 5-0 run by Yiibari Nwidadah to begin the second quarter pushed the lead up to 13 points. Newman answered right back with a 7-0 run of their own. The Ichabod offense slowed down in the final five minutes of the quarter, shooting just 4-12 in the frame. Four 3-pointers by the Jets helped make it a 35-31 game going into the break.  

Coming out of the break Newman continued to chip away at the lead before going in front at 40-38 with 6:00 remaining in the quarter. Washburn came back to score the next seven points to lead 45-40 after a steal and score by Kellyn Hunter. A score late by the Jets would cut the deficit back down to one after a low scoring quarter for both sides going into the fourth. 

The Ichabod defense went up a level in the fourth, holding Newman without a point until the 5:55 mark and to 4-14 shooting overall. Washburn started the quarter on a 6-0 run but still the Jets wouldn't go away. After taking the lid off the basket they scored six in a row to make it 54-53 with 3:36 remaining. Another triple by Wayne with 1:56 left put the visitors up by six and started a 11-0 run in the final two minutes to end the game going away, 69-55. 

After shooting 50.0% in the fourth the Ichabods ended the game shooting 42.9% overall while being aggressive to generate 36 free throw attempts, converting 23 of them. The Jets shot 37.3% overall, 9-30 from behind the arc and just 2-6 at the line.  

A 36-28 rebounding advantaged aided Washburn, helping to create a 34-20 edge in paint scoring and a 18-2 lead in fast break scoring. Both teams were held to a combined 10 second chance points.  

Kellyn Hunter and Aniah Wayne led a balanced scoring attack with 13 points each. Wayne had all four 3-pointers for the Ichabods while Hunter added four steals to her season-high point total. Madelyn Amekporfor had 12 points with five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals while Yiibari Nwidadah had 11 points and six boards.  

Four Jets led in scoring with nine points, Jaeden McMillin grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.  

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS

• Northwest Missouri State fell to 10-8 on the year and 3-5 inside the MIAA after falling 60-46 at home to No. 6 Fort Hays State last time out. 
• The Bearcats have a 8-3 record inside of Bearcat Arena, are 1-2 on the road and 1-3 in neutral court games.
• Last season Northwest Missouri went 15-15 overall and 8-11 inside of the MIAA. They lost in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament.
• On the year the Bearcats average 63.0 ppg with shooting splits of 38.7% from the floor, 31.3% from deep and 66.5% at the line. They also grab 40.9 rpg with 10.3 apg. Opponents are scoring 58.8 ppg on 37.0% shooting. 
• Northwest Missouri is third in the MIAA holding opponents to 58.8 ppg. They're also 2nd in the conference and 30th nationally with 4.3 bpg. 
• Andrea Lopreato is leading the team in scoring at 12.7 ppg on 36.5% shooting while playing in 17 games and making 14 starts. She leads the team with 1.6 spg and also grabs 4.8 rpg with 2.2 apg, a team-high. Among conference players she is 4th in free throw percentage. 
• Bailey Birmingham is second on the team scoring 10.8 ppg while shooting a team-high 37.8% from deep with a team-high 42 triples. She is logging 30.6 mpg while grabbing 3.4 rpg. She is 1st in the MIAA in three-point percentage and 3's per game while ranking top-30 nationally in both.
• Kirsten Hauck has started all 18 games logging a team-high 30.9 mpg. She is scoring 8.3 ppg on 40.8% shooting with 2.4 rpg and 1.5 apg. 
• Sadie Maas scores 6.2 ppg on 48.1% shooting in 25.2 mpg while starting in every game. Her 7.6 rpg and 2.1 bpg are both team highs. She is 2nd in the MIAA and 24th nationally in bpg and is 9th in the conference in rpg. 
• Boston Wand is chipping in 6.5 ppg on a team-high 51.5% shooting. She grabs 6.5 rpg in 21.8 mpg. 

HEAD COACH AUSTIN MEYER

• Is in his eighth season as head coach at Northwest Missouri where he has a 107-111 record.
• Meyer served as a full time member of the men's basketball staff at Northwest from 2008-18. Starting in 2015, he served as the program's associate head coach.
• Meyer was a four-year letter winner for the Bearcat men's basketball team from 2002-06. He scored 1,294 career points and held the then-Northwest career record with 215 made three-pointers.
• He served as a graduate assistant on Steve Tappmeyer's staff for two seasons before being promoted to assistant coach prior to the 2008-09 season.
• He graduated from Northwest with his bachelor's degree in corporate recreation in 2006 and earned his master's in physical education in 2008.Scheidecker completed his Master's in education at Southern Illinois in 2014.

LAST TIME VERSUS NORTHWEST MISSOURI

Northwest Missouri 65, Washburn 61 (2OT)  (January 10, 2025)
MARYVILLE, Mo. -- For the first time since Jan. 5 2019 Washburn needed 50 minutes to find a winner on Saturday afternoon. After rallying late in regulation the Ichabods came up short, falling 65-61 to Northwest Missouri on the road in double overtime. They will stay on the road facing Emporia State at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 next.  

In the opening minutes Washburn (10-5, 3-3 MIAA) was in control, leading 8-3 at the 5:27 mark after Gabi Giovannetti got her second basket of the game to go. The lead stayed at six inside the final two minutes of the quarter as the Bearcats were held to 1-12 shooting to begin the game. The home team finished on a 4-0 run and it was a 10-8 lead for the Ichabods after one.  

Offense was hard to come by for both teams in the second quarter. Washburn was held scoreless until a Britany Kogbara at the 4:34 mark. Both teams managed just one field goal as they combined for nine points in the quarter. The Ichabods went into the break still in front, leading 14-13. 

The basket opened up in the third, with 7:50 remaining Madelyn Amekporfor drilled the first 3-pointer for either team in the game. A pair of free throws by Brooke Gomez pushed the lead up to six. In the final minutes of the half Northwest Missouri flipped a three-point deficit into a five-point lead, going in front 33-28 after three.  

After the opening minutes of the fourth quarter the Bearcats pushed the lead to nine points with 5:15 remaining. Washburn answered with a 12-0 run across the next four minutes, with half of the points coming from Giovannetti. Northwest Missouri scored four in a row to go in front by one. Giovannetti got a free throw to go in the final 10 seconds to tie the game back up and eventually send it to overtime.  

In the first extra period the Ichabods built the largest lead by either side at four points after Payton Sterk got a layup to go with 3:26 remaining. The offense went cold over the last three minutes of overtime as the Bearcats scored four to tie it back up. Both sides had multiple stops inside the final minute to send the game to a second overtime tied at 53. 

The lead continued to trade hands in the opening minutes of the second overtime. Giovannetti hit a layup to go in front 59-58 with 1:12 remaining. Northwest Missouri answered right back with a 3-pointer in the final minute that would put them in front for good. The home team went 4-4 at the free throw line to hold off the Ichabods and win 65-61. 

Washburn shot 33.3% for the game while going just 2-19 from beyond the arc. On the other end the Bearcats shot 36.1% from the field overall and 6-20 from deep. The Ichabods won the rebounding battle 47-42 and led 10-0 in second chance points.  

Gabi Giovannetti led the game in scoring with 19 points on 8-15 shooting with four steals and five rebounds. Yiibari Nwidadah had a third straight double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.  

Kirsten Hauck led Northwest Missouri State with 15 points while four scored in double figures.  

SERIES WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI

• Washburn has a 63-16 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams.
• The Ichabods are 35-5 against the Bearcats in Topeka. 
• The series began on Dec. 11, 1981 with a 75-54 win for the Bearcats in Topeka. 
• Northwest Missouri took the first game of the year between the two teams this season 11 days ago on Jan. 10 in Maryville, winning 65-61 in double overtime. 
• Washburn averages 70.15 ppg all-time against the Bearcats.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,025-512-1 (.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 faces another opponent from the Show Me State as they take on Missouri Western on Saturday, Jan. 24 inside Lee Arena at 1 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.