A second-half surge, spearheaded by senior Gabi Giovannetti and junior Britany Kogbara, gave Washburn University's women's basketball team a 72-64 MIAA win at Lee Arena on Saturday afternoon in front of a Pink Out crowd.
In a game that included 22 lead changes and 12 ties, Washburn, now 17-7 overall and 10-5 in the MIAA, played its best down the stretch, with the Ichabods' final eight-point margin its biggest of the day.
Senior Gabi Giovannetti scored a game-high 17 points to lead Washburn in a 72-64 MIAA win over Northeastern State Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I was real proud of our second-half effort,'' said Washburn coach Lora Westling, whose Ichabods are now within one win of equaling their win total from 2024-2025 with a minimum of five games remaining. "I think we got on our heels a little bit in the first half. Credit to Northeastern, they're a tough team and they played well.
"But I thought we just had really good leadership in the second half, particularly from Gabi Giovannetti and Britany Kogbara. I was really proud of their resiliency.''
WU and Northeastern State traded baskets throughout the first quarter, with multiple ties and lead changes before a 3-pointer by senior Aniah Wayne inside the final minute producing a 15-15 deadlock heading into the second period.
Washburn created some separation with a five-point lead after senior Payton Sterk hit a trey to make it 22-17.
But the RiverHawks (16-8, 8-7) battled back, scoring 10 of the next 14 points to go in front 27-26 at the four-minute mark of the second quarter. This time a 3-pointer in the final minute by Northeastern State put it ahead 36-33 at the half.
Out of the break the RiverHawks pushed the lead to its game-high five in the opening minutes. The Ichabods were able to tighten up defensively, allowing them to go on a 5-0 run and tie the game at 44. Both teams shot under 30.0 percent in the quarter and it was a pair of free throws by Sterk in the final second of the quarter that gave Washburn a 50-49 lead at the start of the fourth.
Northeastern State continued to answer back, taking the lead three times in the first five minutes of the fourth. But a fastbreak and-one layup by sophomore Brooke Gomez with 3:04 left would put the Ichabods in front for good.
"Once you stack defensive stops and then good possessions on offense, then there's no stopping us from there,'' said Giovannetti, who led all scorers with 17 points. "I thought Britany had a very good end of the game and second half. She was really dominant down there.''
The Ichabods finished the game shooting 44.4 percent overall and 4-13 from deep while going 20-27 at the free throw line. Northeastern State shot 42.6 percent from the floor while going 5-17 from deep and were efficient in limited trips at the line shooting (13-16).
The rebounding battle was won 35-26 by Washburn and points in the paint also went in favor of the home team, 40-24.
Giovannetti led five players in double figures for the Ichabods.
Washburn junior Britany Kogbara narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds in a 72-64 MIAA win over Northeastern State Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Kogbara added 11 points with nine rebounds and a pair of blocked shots while Sterk had 11 with five assists. Wayne and Gomez both scored 10 points for the Ichabods.
Kogbara has been a valuable reserve all season for the Ichabods in her first year in the program, but was in the game in crunch time Saturday and was huge down the stretch.
"That just shows the amount of trust that coach has in me,'' Kogbara said. "I know that she puts me out there for a reason and I'm just going to go out there and execute what she believes that I have.''
Smith faces off with former team, helps No. 3-ranked Ichabods rout RiverHawks, 78-54
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When Washburn University men's basketball last faced Northeastern State on Feb. 15, 2025, Bryson Smith scored 10 points with 11 assists and three steals as the RiverHawks upset the Ichabods 88-84 in Tahlequah, Okla.
Senior Bryson Smith scored 11 points with five assists and four steals in Saturday's 78-54 Washburn win over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Saturday in Lee Arena was deja vu, with one very big twist, as Smith, who transferred to Washburn over the offseason, helped the No. 3-ranked Ichabods post a 78-54 romp past Northeastern.
"I was looking forward to it for sure, playing against my old team and I know a lot of guys on the team,'' said Smith, a 6-foot-2 senior guard. "Coming in, I was just locked in this whole week.''
Smith scored 11 points with five assists and four steals as Washburn improved to 24-1 and 14-1 in the MIAA with its 27th consecutive home victory.
"I started off well in the game but I did some undisciplined stuff, probably just because I was amped up,'' Smith said. "I had a couple of early fouls that took me out of the game, but I was excited and I'm glad we got the dub.''
Washburn trailed just once in the game, at 3-0, and took control by halftime, leading by as many as 19 points on the way to a 41-27 advantage.
After the RiverHawks' early trey Washburn flipped the script with an 11-0 burst.
Washburn shot a blistering 63 percent in the opening half and scored 28 points in the paint over the first 20 minutes while forcing 16 Northeastern State turnovers.
The Ichabods pushed the margin to 20 early in the second half behind back-to-back baskets from senior Brady Christiansen and Smith and went on to lead of as many as 29 late in the game.
"I thought it was kind of a sloppy, ugly game,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "A lot of turnovers for both teams. I thought we did a great job of turning them over, especially early, and created some transition for us and allowed us to get out to a good lead.
"I did think we came out with the right intensity and purpose and kind of built that lead early, which is important.''
Sophomore Dillon Claussen led Washburn with 14 points and also grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots in Saturday's 78-54 win over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Dillon Claussen led a balanced Washburn attack with 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting while adding six rebounds and three blocks.
In addition to Smith, Christiansen also scored 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting and junior Jack Bachelor added 10 points, knocking down all four of his free throws.
Junior Jeremiah Jones anchored the glass with five rebounds to go with six points, five assists and two steals while sophomore Tyson Ruud scored 10 of Washburn's 26 bench points and added six boards.
Washburn finished the game shooting 55.6 percent (30 of 54) from the floor while scoring 48 points in the paint and turning 24 Northeastern State turnovers into 12 points.
The Ichabods also held a 38-28 rebounding edge and led for more than 39 minutes.
The Ichabods held the RiverHawks 38 points under their season scoring average of 82.9 points per game.
Washburn will go on its final road trip of the regular season with games at Central Oklahoma next Thursday and Rogers State next Saturday before wrapping up the last week of the regular season hosting Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern.
The Ichabods hold a three-game lead in the MIAA standings with four conference games to go.
