By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball juniors Payton Sterk and Yibari Nwidadah were both named to the All-MIAA second team announced by the conference on Wednesday.
Washburn junior Yibari Nwidadah has been named to the All-MIAA second team while also being named to the conference all-defensive team. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn junior Payton Sterk has been named to the All-MIAA second team while also being named the conference co-newcomer of the year. [File photo/TSN]
Additionally, Sterk earned the honor of co-newcomer of the year while Nwidadah was one of five players selected to the all-defensive team.
Nwidadah earns all-conference honors for the second time in her career and for a second straight season after receiving honorable mention a season ago. The junior led Washburn in scoring at 16.6 points per game while shooting a team and conference high 63.3% from the floor. She tallied seven double-doubles while averaging 7.8 rebounds.
On the offensive end Nwidadah had 11 outings scoring 20 or more points, including a new career high at Quincy on Nov. 16, scoring 29 on 12-16 shooting. She finished the regular season fourth nationally in FG% while ranking sixth in the MIAA in scoring average. She was also named to the all-defensive team for the first time in her career.
Sterk averaged 16.4 points while playing and starting all 29 games, logging a team-high 31.1 minutes per game. She shot a team-high 39.2% from deep and drilled 62 3-pointers, a team-high. The junior guard had 10 games scoring at least 20 points including three 30-plus performances. She scored a Washburn career-high of 33 points with seven made 3-pointers on Feb. 13 against Arkansas-Fort Smith.
The Colorado Springs, Colo. native finished second in the MIAA in total points and 3-point percentage. She was also second in free throw percentage in the conference and fourth in total triples made.
Sterk was also selected as the co-newcomer of the year in the conference along with Reese Schaaf of Central Missouri. Her first season in Topeka saw her help the Ichabods to a six-win improvement in MIAA play from a season ago.
With both Nwidadah and Sterk making the second team, it is the first time two Ichabods have landed on the All-MIAA second team since 2006-07 (Corkey Stiger and Amanda Holmes). Washburn had also not had a player on the second team or higher since Hunter Bentley earned second team honors in 2020-21.
The Ichabods are seeded as the No. 5 team in the MIAA Tournament and will face No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney in the quarterfinals on Friday at 6 p.m. inside Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
2024-25 MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON AWARDS & ALL-MIAA TEAMSPLAYER OF THE YEAR: Katie DeGarmo, Fort Hays State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Olivia Hollenbeck, Fort Hays State
CO-NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Reese Schaaf, Central Missouri
CO-NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Payton Sterk, Washburn
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Anna Trusty, Arkansas-Fort Smith
COACH OF THE YEAR: Amanda Davied, Pittsburg State MIAA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Alyssa Bonilla – Missouri Western, Sr.
Kate Dilsaver – Fort Hays State, Sr.
Karenna Gerber – Pittsburg State, Sr.
Olivia Hollenbeck – Fort Hays State, Gr.
Yiibari Nwidadah – Washburn, Jr.
ALL-MIAA FIRST TEAM
Alyssa Bonilla – Missouri Western, Sr.
Katie DeGarmo – Fort Hays State, Gr.
Karenna Gerber – Pittsburg State, Sr.
Olivia Hollenbeck – Fort Hays State, Gr.
Grace Pyle – Pittsburg State, Sr.
ALL-MIAA SECOND TEAM
Jillian Aschoff – Nebraska Kearney, R-Jr.
Caely Kesten – Northwest Missouri, Sr.
Yiibari Nwidadah – Washburn, Jr.
Reese Schaaf – Central Missouri, Jr.
Payton Sterk – Washburn, Jr.
ALL-MIAA THIRD TEAM
Ryan Franklin – Missouri Southern, So.
Molly Hartnett – Northwest Missouri, Sr.
Macie Mays – Pittsburg State, So.
Anna Trusty – Arkansas-Fort Smith, Fr.
Kia Wilson – Nebraska Kearney, Gr.
ALL-MIAA HONORABLE MENTION
Morgan Browning – Arkansas-Fort Smith, Sr.
Kate Dilsaver – Fort Hays State, Sr.
Gracie Gilpin – Emporia State, Jr.
Katie Horyna – Emporia State, Sr.
Kaitlin Hunnicutt – Missouri Southern, Sr.
Brooke Loewe – Fort Hays State, Jr.
Samantha Moore – Nebraska Kearney, Sr.
Harper Schreiner – Pittsburg State, Jr.
Marie Sepp – Missouri Western, Jr.
Talexa Weeter – Fort Hays State, So.
Taylor Weishaar – Central Missouri, Fr.
