TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball heads north in the Show Me State to take on Northwest Missouri State for the first time this season on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 1:30 p.m. inside of Bearcat Arena. 

OPENING TIP

• The road trip continues across Missouri for Washburn as they face Northwest Missouri State. 
• The Ichabods will face the Bearcats for the first time this season on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 1:30 p.m. inside of Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.
• 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 41.6% from the floor, 32.4% from deep and 73.3% at the free throw line to score 65.9 ppg. 
• They grab 36.5 rpg with 13.9 apg to 16.9 turnovers per contest. Defensively they average 9.2 spg with 2.9 bpg.  
• On the year opponents are averaging 57.0 ppg while shooting 37.0% from the floor and 26.2% 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 1-2 in road contests.  
• Washburn sank five 3-pointers against Missouri Western last time out to extend its streak with a made 3-pointer to 141 games. 
• Northwest Missouri State enters the game on a three game losing streak. They are 9-6 overall on the year and 2-3 inside the MIAA after losing 66-61 to Central Missouri on Jan. 7. 

THE BLUE BUNCH

• Yiibari Nwidadah leads the team scoring 13.4 ppg in just 21.8 mpg on the season. She has started in all 13 games she has played in and leads the team grabbing 7.3 rpg while also shooting 58.5% from the floor, tops on the team as well. She swats away a team-high 0.8 bpg and has scored in double figures in eight games with three double-doubles. She is 1st in the MIAA and 11th nationally in field goal percentage and 11th in the conference in rpg. 
• Payton Sterk is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 ppg on 37.7% overall and 35.0% from deep. She has starting every game playing 30.8 mpg, most on the team while also coming away with 1.8 spg, tops on the team. She has drilled a team-high 28 triples and has scored 14+ points in seven games this season. The senior ranks 3rd in the MIAA in three-point percentage, 5th in triples per game and 7th in steals. 
• Gabi Giovannetti has started all 14 games for Washburn scoring 11.6 ppg on 43.2% shooting in 27.1 mpg of action. She is shooting a team-high 42.6% from deep and is second on the team with 26 3-pointers. She also brings down 3.9 rpg and is making 1.7 spg, second most on the team. The Shawnee, Kan. native is 8th in the MIAA in three-pointers per game and 9th in steals. 
• Britany Kogbara sits fourth on the team in scoring at 8.2 ppg in just 16.6 mpg of action playing in every game with one start. She is shooting 55.3% from the floor, second best on the team, while grabbing 3.4 rpg. Her five games scoring double figures off the bench lead the team. 
• Madelyn Amekporfor has started every game playing 25.4 mpg and scoring 6.4 ppg while shooting 38.8% from the floor. She is adding 3.2 rpg along with swiping 1.1 spg and swatting away 0.7 bpg.
• Brooke Gomez has played in every game while making 12 starts and is logging 18.0 mpg. She scores 3.4 ppg on 39.1% shooting and is dishing out a team-high 3.2 apg along with grabbing 2.6 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 18.0 mpg. She is scoring 5.0 ppg on 33.3% shooting from the floor. The senior also chips in 2.1 rpg and 1.1 apg. 
• Kellyn Hunter has played in 11 games while making two starts for the Ichabods and is logging 17.5 mpg. She is coming away with 1.2 spg, third most on the team, dishing out 2.5 apg and grabs 2.6 rpg. 
• Nia McKenzie has played 13.5 mpg off the bench in every game. She is scoring 2.4 ppg on 44.4% shooting with 2.6 rpg.
• Kennadi Jackson has come off the bench in 12 games playing 5.8 mpg and scoring 1.0 ppg.
• Kylin Shipman has appeared in 11 games for the Ichabods of the bench logging 8.8 mpg and scoring 0.4 ppg. 
• Willow Gideon has played in seven games logging 4.3 mpg. She is scoring 1.0 ppg.
• Lauren Luebbert has come off the bench in eight contests, playing 5.1 mpg and scoring 0.8 ppg.
• Cloie Jansky has appeared in seven games off the bench logging 3.0 mpg and scoring 1.1 ppg. 

STAT STACKING

• Washburn 56th in the nation at protecting the three-point line holding opponents to a 26.2% clip from beyond the arc, best in the MIAA. 
• Holding opponents to 57.0 ppg overall the Ichabods are 40th nationally and first in the MIAA in scoring defense. 
• With opponents shooting 37.0% overall, Washburn is 7th in the conference and 78th in the nation in field goal percentage defense.
• Outscoring opponents by 8.9 ppg, the Ichabods have the 73rd best scoring margin in the nation and 5th among MIAA teams.
• Shooting 32.4% from beyond the arc, Washburn is 71st in the nation in three-point percentage and 5th in the MIAA. 
• Dishing out 13.9 apg the Ichabods are 91st in the nation and 6th in the conference when it comes to sharing the ball. 

ADVANCED STATS

• Washburn has a team offensive rating of 92.6 and defensive rating of 80.0 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 11.9% of rebounds when on the floor, second highest on the team. 
• Brooke Gomez has the highest assist percentage on the team at 33.0% of assists while on the floor. 
• Kellyn Hunter has the second highest mark at 25.1%. 
• Yiibari Nwidadah has the highest true shooting percentage on the team at 62.7% when adding in free throw percentage and 3-pointers. 
• Britany Kogbara is second on the team at 56.7%. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 266 career offensive rebounds Yiibari Nwidadah is 3rd in program history at creating extra opportunities. In overall rebounding she is 8th with 718 career boards. 
• Her career field goal percentage of .581 is the 2nd best in program history. In scoring she ranks 13th among all Ichabods with 1,166 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 19th among all Ichabods with 55 blocked shots. 
• Payton Sterk currently sits 18th in program history with 90 3-pointers made in just 45 career games with Washburn. Her career percentage from deep of 37.0% is 11th in program history.
• With 54 career blocked shots Madelyn Amekporfor is tied for 20th 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 52-50 record with Washburn and is 129-128 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

Missouri Western 75, Washburn 67 (January 7, 2026)
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- After a blistering start Washburn saw a four-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night falling 75-67 to Missouri Western on the road. The Ichabods return to action on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. facing Northwest Missouri in Maryville, Mo. 

The game opened quickly for Washburn (10-4, 3-2 MIAA) with a 7-2 run in the first 72 seconds after Payton Sterk drilled a jumper. The Griffons (5-9, 1-4 MIAA) battled back and would go in front 9-7 before extending the lead to eight points after a 9-0 run. The Ichabods answered with a run of their own in a high-scoring first quarter. Brooke Gomez and Aniah Wayne each knocked down triples before going in front on a Gabi Giovannetti 3-pointer. Shooting 52.6% from the floor and 4-7 from deep the visitors led 28-26 after ten.  

After scores from Sterk and Yiibari Nwidadah to open the second quarter Washburn remained in front by two. The next ten points came from Missouri Western to go in front by eight. The Ichabods went into the break trailing by six at 44-38 after Nwidadah scored the final six points of the half for Washburn in a quarter that saw them shoot 2-10 from the field.  

The Griffon offense stayed hot out of halftime, pushing the lead into double figures and up to as high as 15 points at 55-40 at the 6:02 mark. Washburn worked to chip away at the lead, with Nwidadah getting it into single digits on a layup with 1:01 in the quarter. Missouri Western pushed it back out to 11 and led 63-52 going into the fourth. 

Twice early in the fourth the Ichabods shrunk the deficit back down to nine but both times were answered by buckets by the Griffons. Washburn got to the line and shot 9-10 in the frame but were held to just 3-13 shooting in the quarter and 0-4 from deep. They scored the final six points of the game before falling 75-67. 

Slow second and fourth quarters left the Ichabods shooting 37.0% for the game and 5-15 from deep, while they were efficient at the line shooting 22-24. Missouri Western's offense registered a 50.9% shooting clip overall and 8-24 from 3-point range.  

Washburn won the rebounding battle 34-3, but turned the ball over 26 times to 21 for the home squad. Eight assists for the Ichabods were doubled by 16 from Mo West.  

Yiibari Nwidadah was consistent throughout, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 7-10 shooting along with grabbing 13 rebounds for a second straight double-double. Aniah Wayne had nine off the bench while Madelyn Amekporfor and Brooke Gomez had eight.  

Five scored in double figures for the Griffons led by 16 each from Nakiya Harris and Ana Oliveira Dias.  

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS

• Northwest Missouri State fell to 9-6 overall and 2-3 inside the MIAA losing 61-66 at home to Central Missouri last time out on Jan. 7.
• The Bearcats have a 7-1 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 64.8 ppg with shooting splits of 39.3% from the floor, 31.6% from deep and 65.8% at the line. They also grab 41.5 rpg with 10.7 apg. Opponents are scoring 58.1 ppg on 36.4% shooting. 
• Northwest Missouri is second in the MIAA holding opponents to 58.1 ppg. They're also 2nd in the conference and 33rd nationally with 4.2 bpg. 
• Andrea Lopreato is leading the team in scoring at 14.4 ppg on 37.4% shooting while playing in 14 games and making 12 starts. She leads the team with 1.8 spg and also grabs 4.6 rpg with 2.4 apg. Among conference players she is 7th in ppg.
• Bailey Birmingham is second on the team scoring 11.0 ppg while shooting a team-high 40.2% from deep with a team-high 37 triples. She is logging 29.2 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 in both.
• Kirsten Hauck has started all 15 games logging a team-high 29.6 mpg. She is scoring 8.1 ppg on 40.0% shooting with 2.3 rpg and 1.5 apg. 
• Boston Wand is chipping in 7.1 ppg on a team-high 54.0% shooting. She grabs 6.6 rpg in 21.4 mpg. 
• Sadie Maas scores 6.5 ppg on 51.8% shooting in 24.9 mpg while starting in every game. Her 7.9 rpg and 1.9 bpg are both team highs. She is 2nd in the MIAA and 32nd nationally in bpg and is 7th in the conference in rpg. 

HEAD COACH AUSTIN MEYER

• Is in his eighth season as head coach at Northwest Missouri where he has a 106-109 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

Washburn 71, Northwest Missouri 60  (January 22, 2025)
MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Washburn shot 84.6% and scored 25 points in the first quarter and held serve the rest of the way for a 71-60 road win over Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday night. The Ichabods continue their road swing on Saturday against Missouri Western at 1:30 p.m.  

After the first two points of the game went to the Bearcats (9-10, 2-7 MIAA) the Ichabod (11-8, 5-4 MIAA) offense began to churn, pushing the lead to double digits after a Yiibari Nwidadah that made it 17-6. They continued on what would end as a 10-0 run after Gabi Giovannetti got a layup to go to make the score 21-6 at the 2:36 mark in the quarter. Amaya Davison ended the opening frame with a driving basket to give Washburn a 25-10 advantage.  

Northwest Missouri was able to chip away at the lead through the free throw line to start the second quarter. They shot 6-7 from the line in the 10-minute period and brought the deficit back to single digits after a make at the line. The Ichabods continued shooting efficiently, going 6-13 in the quarter. On the other end the Bearcats were able to hang around because of extra opportunities, grabbing seven offensive boards in the first half. The lead got as low as six before Nia McKenzie made it 41-33 heading to the break with a last second basket.  

Both sides traded baskets to begin the third quarter. Washburn was able to boost its lead up to 13 at the 3:25 mark after layups from Nwidadah and Madelyn Amekporfor. The Ichabods again shot 50.0% in the quarter and after a 5-2 push by the Bearcats in the final two minutes led by 10 going into the fourth.  

It wasn't until the 7:24 mark in the third quarter that Washburn got its first 3-pointer of the game. It came off the hands of Brooke Gomez and pushed the lead back up to 10 after Northwest Missouri had chipped away. The Bearcats fought back once again, bringing the lead back down to six. In the fourth quarter it was the Ichabod defense that had the response, holding the home team scoreless over the final 2:49 of the game for a 71-60 double-digit road victory.  

Washburn shot 27-48 (56.3%) in the game, a high mark in any game under Lora Westling. They were just 1-7 from beyond the arc, a season low in makes and attempts but it didn't affect the final score. Northwest Missouri finished 22-57 (38.6%) and was 5-17 from three-point range.  

Rebounding went in the Ichabods favor by a small margin, 31-29, but points in the paint favored the visiting team 52-30. The Washburn bench added 14 points while the Bearcat reserves did not score a single point.  

Yiibari Nwidadah stayed consistent, scoring a game-high 25 points on 10-14 shooting and added a block. Gabi Giovannetti scored 14 on 3-4 shooting and went 8-9 from the line. Nia McKenzie chipped in four points and grabbed a team-high seven boards off the bench.  

Caely Kesten led Northwest Missouri with 23 points on 8-16 shooting. Emree Zars and Molly Hartnett each scored in double figures.  

SERIES WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI

• Washburn has a 63-15 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams.
• The Ichabods are 26-9 against Northwest Missouri in Maryville. 
• The series began on Dec. 11, 1981 with a 75-54 win for the Bearcats in Topeka. 
• Last season both teams split the season series with each team winning the road game in the series. 
• Washburn averages 70.27 ppg all-time against Northwest Missouri.

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,023-511-1 (.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 continues on its road swing facing Emporia State for a second time this season on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 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.