TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn women's basketball will begin the 2026-27 season with one tune-up before kicking off the regular season as they travel to face Kansas on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. inside of Allen Fieldhouse. 

OPENING TIP

• Washburn begins the 2026-27 season on the road with an exhibition game against the University of Kansas Jayhawks.
• The Ichabods will face Kansas on Thursday, Oct. 29 inside Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m.
• Washburn is coming off a 24-8 season in 2025-26 which included a 14-5 record in MIAA play, good for 3rd in the conference regular season standings. They won the MIAA Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in program history.
• The Ichabods were picked to finish 5th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and 4th in the media ballot, they received one first-place vote in each poll.

FOLLOW ALONG

• The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Josh Klingler (play-by-play) and Wayne Simien (analyst) on the call.
• You can also listen to the game on the Ichabod Sports Network free on the Varsity Network app with voice of the Ichabods, Brendan Dzwierzynski.

BODS AND BITS

• Washburn returns four letterwinners from last season's roster while adding nine new faces in the form of five transfers and four incoming freshmen.
• The balanced Ichabod roster consists of three seniors, five juniors, one sophomore and the four true freshmen.
• As a team in 2025-26 Washburn had shooting splits of 40.7% from the floor, 31.3% from deep and 72.4% at the free throw line to score 65.9 ppg. 
• They grab 37.9 rpg with 12.9 apg to 16.1 turnovers per contest. Defensively they averaged 9.0 spg with 2.8 bpg.  
• For the year opponents averaged 57.3 ppg while shooting 37.2% from the floor and 28.7% from behind the 3-point line.  
• Washburn went 12-1 last season at home inside the new Lee Arena while posting a 6-5 record on the road and a 6-2 mark in neutral court games.
• The Ichabods knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the final game of last season to extend its streak with a made 3-pointer to 159 games. 
• Kansas enters the game after going 22-14 a season ago with an 8-10 record inside the Big 12. They advanced to the semifinals of the NBIT.
• The Jayhawks opened the season with a 90-43 exhibition win over Northeastern State on Oct. 22.

BACK IN BLUE

• Madelyn Amekporfor returns for her senior season with the Ichabods after playing in all 32 games and starting in 31 logging 23.4 mpg. She averaged 6.2 ppg while shooting 36.3% from the floor and shot 25.4% from deep with 15 3-pointers on the year. She averaged 3.1 rpg and tied for a team-high with 1.4 spg while chipping in 1.6 apg. The Andover, Kan. native scored in double figures in eight games and had 11 games with multiple steals.
• Britany Kogbara is back for her senior season and second with Washburn after playing in all 32 games last season and making one start while logging 16.8 mpg. She averaged 7.0 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the floor, second best on the team. The Peoria, Ariz. native also grabbed 4.1 rpg and made a team-high 0.8 bpg. She scored in double figures in 12 games and had seven contests with multiple blocks. She finished the year 12th in the MIAA in total blocks and blocks per game.
• Brooke Gomez will be a junior for the Ichabods in 2026-27 after playing in all 32 games a season ago and starting in 30 while logging 18.9 mpg. The point guard averaged 4.3 ppg on 41.7% shooting overall and 29.0% from beyond the arc with nine makes on the season. The Northglenn, Colo. native led the team with 2.6 apg while also grabbing 2.6 rpg. She scored 10+ points in four games and reached the 20-point mark in one contest while recording five games with five or more assists. She ranked 10th in the MIAA in total assists.
• Lauren Luebbert is also back for her junior season with Washburn in 2026-27. As a sophomore she appeared in 12 games off the bench logging 58 total minutes. She scored six points while grabbing seven rebounds and swiping five steals. 

FRESH FACES

• Nine new Ichabods will join the roster for the 2026-27 campaign, five transfers and four true freshmen. 
• Ta'Leeyah Glynn is a senior guard from Lubbock, Texas. She joins the Ichabods after spending last season at Midwestern State where she led the team with 698 minutes across 26 games with 22 starts. She averaged 9.2 ppg with 2.2 rpg and drained a team-high 28 3-pointers while adding 49 steals.
• Olivia Wren joins the Ichabods as a junior after spending two seasons at Kirkwood Community College. The Minneapolis, Minn. native played in 69 games across the two seasons averaging 9.0 ppg on 37.4% shooting with 111 3-pointers. She also added 1.8 spg and 2.7 apg. The guard earned First-Team All-Region honors as a sophomore and was named a Second-Team All-American.
• Ellie Buscher joins the Ichabod forward group as a junior after spending two seasons at State Fair CC. She averaged 13.3 ppg on 50.0% shooting with 11.6 rpg and 2.9 apg as a sophomore. She was named the Region 16 Defensive Player of the Year and was a First-Team NJCAA All-American. 
• Addy Engel rounds out the group of transfers joining the Ichabods as a junior coming from Illinois Central College where she spent two seasons. As a sophomore she averaged 13.4 ppg on 57% shooting along with 4.5 rpg and 1.9 spg. She earned First-Team All-Mid-West Conference and First-Team All-Region 24 both seasons.
• Macey Willmann will begin her collegiate career at Washburn working into the guard room. She comes to the Ichabods from Kansas City, Mo. and North Kansas City HS.
• Austin Duncan comes to the Ichabods from Denver, Colo. and Kent Denver HS. She will join the forward rotation for the Ichabods. 
• Audrey Plunkett begins her college career at Washburn where she will join the group of forwards. She comes to Topeka by way of Midwest City, Okla. and Carl Albert HS. 
• Avery McCorry rounds out the freshman group coming to the Ichabods from Wichita, Kan. and Bishop Carroll HS. She will join the guard rotation after finishing her season with Washburn soccer. 

STAT STACKING

• Holding opponents to 57.3 ppg, Washburn ranked 33rd nationally and first in the MIAA in scoring defense last season.
• Forcing 17.66 turnovers per game the Ichabods led the conference and finished 110th nationally at creating giveaways.
• With opponents shooting 37.2% from the floor, Washburn ranked 3rd in the conference and 66th in the nation in field goal percentage defense.
• After outscoring opponents by 8.6 ppg, the Ichabods had the 61st best scoring margin in the nation and 3rd among MIAA teams.
• With a +4.8 rebounding margin Washburn ranked 4th among conference teams and 53rd in the nation. 
• Holding opponents to 28.7% shooting from behind the arc the Ichabods ranked 3rd in the conference and 98th in the nation.
• With a team field goal percentage of 40.7% Washburn ranked 5th in the MIAA and 109th nationally.
• The Ichabod bench is scored 20.2 ppg a season ago, 7th in the MIAA and 105th in the nation.

ADVANCED STATS

• Washburn had a team offensive rating of 93.7 and defensive rating of 81.4 based on per 100 possession averages.
• Brooke Gomez has the highest assist percentage on the team at 26.8% of assists while on the floor. 
• Britany Kogbara was second on the team grabbing 13.8% of rebounds when on the floor last season. On the defensive end of the floor she grabbed 17.1% of rebounds.
• Kogbara's true shooting percentage of 54.9% was second best on the team. Her 22.5% usage rate is the highest among returners.
• Madelyn Amekporfor had an assist percentage rate of 13.7% and a 7.5% rebounding percentage.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• With 64 career blocked shots Madelyn Amekporfor is 15th in program history at coming away with rejections. 
• She ranks 23rd in program history with 73 career starts and is 34th on the career steals leaderboard.
• Brooke Gomez is 20th in Ichabod history with a career average of 2.6 assists per game.
• She is 39th in program history with 165 career assists and is tied for 42nd with 60 career starts.
• Britany Kogbara is tied for 44th in Washburn history with 27 career blocks.

HEAD COACH LORA WESTLING

• Lora Westling is in her fifth season as head coach at her alma mater for the 2026-27 season. She has a 66-54 record with Washburn and is 143-132 mark  at the DII level. 
• She has coached eight All-MIAA selections and three MIAA All-Defensive team members with the Ichabods.
• 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.
• 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

• The Washburn coaching staff is rounded out by assistant coaches Katie Dalton and Robin Stahl.
• Dalton is in her third season on the Washburn sidelines in 2026-27. 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 is in her second season on the Ichabod staff in 2026-27 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. 

LAST TIME OUT

Central Missouri 64, Washburn 55 (March 13, 2026)
MANKATO, Minn. -- The No. 5 seed Washburn Ichabod women's basketball season came to an end in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Central Region tournament with a 64-55 loss to the No. 4 seed Central Missouri on Friday night. The Ichabods end the season with a 24-8 record and an MIAA Tournament Championship.  

Washburn (24-8) opened the game on a hot start leading 6-3 after the second bucket of the game for Yiibari Nwidadah in the first four minutes. The Jennies (26-6) would come back to tie it up at eight in the start of what would turn into a 11-2 run to end the first quarter leading 16-10.  

Nwidadah opened the second with an old-fashioned three-point play that cut the lead in half but the next 11 points came from Central Missouri as the lead reached 14 points at the 4:48 mark in the quarter. A quick five-point burst from Kellyn Hunter inside the final three minutes helped bring the lead back down to single digits sending the Ichabods to the half trailing 29-22.  

Both sides traded baskets out of the break with the deficit staying between seven and eleven points until a 4-0 burst by the Jennies pushed the lead back up to 13. Payton Sterk drained 3-pointers on back-to-back trips down the court, cutting the lead back down to seven points with 4:07 left in the quarter. A steal and a score from Hunter brought it to five but was answered by five straight for Central Missouri as they went into the fourth leading 50-41.  

The fourth quarter started like the third with alternating baskets on each side. Washburn shot it efficiently, going 6-14 in the quarter, but could not connect from deep going 0-7 from three-point range in the comeback attempt. Madelyn Amekporfor got a layup to go inside of two minutes that made it an eight-point game for the first time all quarter That was as close as the Ichabods would get as the Jennies held on to win 64-55.  

Washburn finished the game shooting 36.8% (21-57) from the floor and were just 2-16 (12.5%) from deep. Central Missouri shot an even 50.0% from the floor (24-48) while going 5-16 from deep and 11-20 at the line.  

The Jennies led 37-30 in rebounding while the Ichabods made up in the possession battle with a 15-10 advantage in turnovers. Washburn led in paint scoring, bench production and fast break points but could not overcome the shot-making of UCM.  

Yiibari Nwidadah led the way for the Ichabods with 14 points on 5-10 shooting with six rebounds and a steal. Payton Sterk scored 12 while adding a steal and three boards. Gabi Giovannetti added eight points with a pair of blocks and Kellyn Hunter had seven.  

Reese Schaaf was the only double-figure scorer for Central Missouri finishing with 35 points on 15-23 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. 

ABOUT THE KANSAS JAYHAWKS

• Kansas is coming off a 22-14 season in 2025-26 where they went 8-10 in the Big 12. They advanced to the semifinals of the WBIT.
• They were picked to finish 5th in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Jayhawks went 15-4 inside of Allen Fieldhouse a season ago while going 5-6 on the road and 2-4 in neutral court games.
• They began the season with a 90-43 exhibition win over Northeastern State last week on Oct. 22. 
• Last season Kansas averaged 71.9 ppg with shooting splits of 47.5% from the floor, 34.7% from deep and 75.8% at the line. They also grab 35.0 rpg with 14.5 apg. Opponents scored 65.2 ppg on 39.6% shooting.  
• The Jayhawks ranked 2nd in the Big 12 and 11th in the nation in field goal percentage last seaseon. They led the Big 12 and were 16th nationally with 15.56 free throws made per game.
• Kansas returns its top three scorers among six letterwinners who return for the 2026-27 season. 
• S'Mya Nichols, a Preseason All-Big 12 selection, averaged 17.4 points and 4.6 assist per game last season while starting in all 36 contests returns as a senior. She is a two-time WBCA All-America honorable mention honoree.
• Jaliya Davis also returns, for her sophomore season. She was a unanimous selection as the 2026 Big 12 Freshman of the Year after scoring 19.8 points per game with 6.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 61.0 percent. She was also named a Preseason All-Big 12 selection.
• Regan Williams was KU's No. 3 leading scorer and rebounder last year, averaging 8.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, respectively. Williams also shot 50.5 percent (107-212) from the field.
• Kansas added seven players to the roster for the 2026-27 season, including four transfers and three incoming freshmen.

HEAD COACH BRANDON SCHNEIDER

• Is in his 12th season as the head coach at Kansas where he has a 165-177 record.
• Schneider has guided the Jayhawks to the postseason in four of the past five seasons, including NCAA Tournament appearances in 2022 and 2024. The Jayhawks also won the 2023 WNIT Championship and advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 WBIT.
• Prior to Kansas, Schneider had a five-year stint at Stephen F. Austin, where he returned SFA to the top of the Southland Conference. Schneider guided SFA to three 20-win seasons and the Ladyjacks won back-to-back league titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
• The Canyon, Texas native is the second all-time winningest head coach at the NCAA Division II level. At Emporia State, Schneider guided the Lady Hornets to a 306-72 (.810) record, and the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championship.
• A 1995 honors graduate of Wayland Baptist, Schneider was a four-year letterman in men's basketball for the Pioneers and the school's first-ever Academic All-American, capturing the honor three times.

SERIES WITH KANSAS

• Washburn trails in the all-time non-exhibition series between the two teams 1-7.
• The Ichabods are 0-2 against the Jayhawks inside of Allen Fieldhouse.
• The series began on Feb. 27, 1969 with a 54-31 win for Kansas in an unknown location.
• The last non-exhibition meeting between the two teams came on Dec. 2, 2004 and was a 62-59 win for Washburn in Lawrence. 
• Washburn averages 32.62 ppg all-time against Central Missouri. 

LAST TIME AGAINST THE JAYHAWKS

Kansas 81, Washburn 54 (November 1, 2024)
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Washburn played its final preseason tune-up game Friday night falling to the University of Kansas 81-54 inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Ichabods begin the regular season in St. Cloud, Minnesota at the Central Region Crossover against Southwest Minnesota State on Nov. 8 at 4 p.m.  

It was Washburn that got on the board first with Yiibari Nwidadah getting a bucket to go in the paint on the opening possession of the game. The Jayhawks scored the next eight points, but the Ichabods battled back, going ahead 11-10 after a steal and score from Aniah Wayne in the backcourt with 2:01 left in the quarter. The Washburn defense forced six turnovers in the first quarter but in the final two minutes Kansas was able to break down the defense, ending the frame on an 8-0 run.  

The Ichabods kept it close to open the second quarter, cutting the lead down to six with 7:26 left after Payton Sterk drilled a three. Shortly after, free throws by Gabi Giovannetti made it a four-point game with 5:56 in the half. After the Jayhawks started the game 0-14 from beyond the arc they got their first to go with 1:01 left in the quarter, which pushed the lead to double figures. Kansas went into the break leading 39-27.  

A layup by Nwidadah opened the scoring 91 seconds out of halftime but Kansas scored 12 of the next 14 points to push its lead to 20 points at the 5:19 mark. The Jayhawks shot 5-12 from deep in the period while Washburn was unable to connect from distance in the quarter. A last second 3-pointer made it 64-36 for the home team after three.  

The fourth quarter began with a quick five points for the Ichabods on a triple by Giovannetti and a layup by Sterk. Washburn had its highest-scoring quarter of the game with 18 in the final ten minutes of play while also shooting 4-6 from deep. On the other end the Jayhawks were able to generate offense at the foul stripe, going 8-9 on free throws to maintain the lead and finish the game with an 81-54 win.  

Overall the Ichabods shot 19-56 (33.9%) from the field and were 6-15 from beyond the arc. Defensively, they held Kansas to 26-68 shooting (38.2%) but the Jayhawks attempted 28 free throws compared to 15 for Washburn. The home team was also plus ten on the boards, 48-38, and forced the Ichabods into 25 turnovers while committing just 17.  

Yiibari Nwidadah was a rebound shy of a double-double finishing with 15 points on 6-10 shooting with nine boards. Gabi Giovannetti and Payton Sterk each finished in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively.  

Brittany Harshaw led Kansas with 20 points while S'Mya Nichols and Elle Evans each added 16. 

WASHBURN HISTORY

• Washburn women's basketball is 1,037-515-1 (.668) all-time and are in the 58th 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 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and is 26-17 all-time in those postseason games. 
• The program has won 19 total MIAA Championships, earning nine regular season conference titles and winning ten 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 officially begin the regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 at the Central Region Crossover when they take on St. Cloud State at 3 p.m. in Marshall, Minn.
• The 2026-27 home-opener for the Ichabods comes the following weekend at the Washburn Classic when they play host to Delta State on Friday, Nov. 20 with a 7 p.m. tip-off. 
• Conference play begins on the road for Washburn when they travel to Maryville, Mo. to face Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m.
• Senior day for the Ichabods comes on the final game of the regular season when they host Pittsburg State on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m.
• The MIAA Tournament will once again take place in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. running from March 2-7.