Washburn University Ichabods
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University men's basketball is back in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time since 2001 and will continue its national championship bid with a quarterfinal matchup against Lenoir-Rhyne at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in Evansville, Ind.
Brett Ballard's Washburn Ichabods will take a 29-3 record into Tuesday's national quarterfinal game. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods are making their fourth trip to the NCAA Elite Eight, joining the 1993, 1994 and 2001 Washburn squads.
Washburn (29-3) advanced to the Elite Eight with a 93-65 win over Minnesota State-Moorhead last Tuesday in the Central Region final in Lee Arena, capping a dominant regional performance that also included wins over Harding (85-57) and Concordia-St. Paul (94-78).
The Ichabods have had a full week off since the win over Minnesota State-Moorhead and Washburn coach Brett Ballard said the team's major focus has been on maintaining its sharpness heading into the Elite Eight.
"Keeping our edge is the biggest thing,'' said Ballard, who has led the Ichabods to five NCAA postseason appearances in eight seasons. "I want us to keep our edge.
"I thought going into the regional coming off a loss we had some really competitive practices and I thought we got better. I really want our guys to keep that edge this week. We're not going to overdo it and we'll take care of their bodies, but when we do get (on the floor) I want it to be competitive and at high intensity.''
Lenoir-Rhyne, 29-5 and winner of its last nine games, defeated North Carolina-Pembroke 76-74 in overtime to advance to its first Elite Eight in program history.
The Ichabods enter the Elite Eight as the No. 4 seed while Lenoir-Rhyne of the South Athletic Conference is the No. 5 seed.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University men's basketball moved into the NCAA national semifinals with a 90-78 win over Lenoir-Rhyne Tuesday night in Evansville, Ind., sending the Ichabods to the final four of the national tournament.
Washburn celebrates Tuesday's 90-78 national quarterfinal win over Lenoir-Rhyne. [Photo courtesy of Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography, Inc.]
Now 30-3, the Ichabods advanced to an 8:30 p.m. semifinal on Thursday night against No. 1-ranked Nova Southeastern.
The Ichabods led from start to finish on Tuesday thanks to a hot start coming out of the gate in both halves, but WU had to fight through several Lenoir-Rhyne rallies to get the win.
"Every team here has a great team and no team here is going to quit and we saw that,'' Ichabod senior Jacob Hanna told KTPK Radio after the game. "We'd go up and they'd take it back down but I think we did a good job of continuing to fight.''
WU pulled in front of the Bears 13-4 after sophomore Brayden Shorter scored nine points in the early going.
Washburn pushed its lead to 13 after a traditional 3-point play from Hanna put the Ichabods up 27-14 with 11:48 remaining in the first half, but the Bears (29-6) chipped away, trimming their deficit to five less than 60 seconds later before a pair of Hanna free throws, a 3-pointer from Shorter and a Hanna bucket in the paint pushed the margin back to 10.
The WU lead stayed in double digits until the Bears used a 9-0 run to pull within three again at 40-37.
Back-to-back layups from freshman Dillon Claussen and senior Michael Keegan stretched the Washburn lead back to seven but LRU hit three free throws with 37 seconds left before sophomore Jack Bachelor's jumper sent the Ichabods to the locker room with a 46-40 lead.
In the second half the Ichabods went up by 20 with 14:42 to play and by as many as 21 before the Bears came back again.
"I think at the start of the second half we did a good job of coming out with a lot of fire, a lot of energy,'' Hanna said. "I think where it really started was in the locker room. I think coach challenged us and we responded to the challenge.''
The Bears eventually cut the lead to seven, but two jumpers in a row from Claussen put the margin at 11 and the Bears got no closer than nine the rest of the way.
"We did a really good job of finishing,'' WU coach Brett Ballard told KTPK Radio. "I thought the beginning of the halves was big. We started off the game on a great run and then the first five or six minutes of the second half were really good basketball.''
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 5-ranked Washburn Ichabods' historic men's basketball season came to an end Thursday night in Evansville, Ind., with top-ranked Nova Southeastern rolling to a 94-68 win in the NCAA National semifinals.
Senior Andrew Orr ended his Washburn career with 13 points and eight rebounds in Thursday's 94-68 national semifinal loss to Nova Southeastern. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics/TSN]
Washburn, which won the MIAA regular-season title and the NCAA Central Regional championship, finished the season with a 30-4 record.
"Nova was really good, really from the jump, and I think they deserve a lot of credit,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard told KTPK Radio. "They came out really turned up, which they normally do, and they played well.
"There's a lot of things that didn't go our way. I thought we let their pressure speed us up a little bit and we had some turovers early, which kind of gave them some momentum. It just wasn't our night.''
The Ichabods scored the first bucket of the game on a layup by senior Andrew Orr, but a hot-shooting Sharks squad finished the opening half connecting on 19 of 33 shots for a 57 percent clip, including 7 of 13 from deep, as Nova Southeastern (35-1) took a 53-29 lead into the break.
Washburn played Nova Southeastern nearly even in the second half, with the Ichabods improving to 50 percent from the field (15 of 30), but WU could not cut into the Shark lead as the Ichabods were outscored 41-39 in the half.
"All credit to them,'' WU senior Michael Keegan told KTPK Radio. "They played really great, they shot the ball well early on, we had a couple of turnovers that they turned into quick points and before you know it we're down 12 and then we're down 15.''
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There's no doubt that Washburn University's historic 2024-2025 basketball season, which will end with an appearance in this week's NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind., has meant a lot to each and every Ichabod.
Washburn sophomore Jack Bachelor cuts down the nets after last Tuesday's 93-65 regional win over MSU-Moorhead. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But WU's amazing ride, which included last Tuesday's Central Region championship in front of a sellout crowd in Lee Arena, might mean just a little bit extra to a Topeka kid, 6-foot-2 sophomore point guard Jack Bachelor, who grew up dreaming about just such a moment.
"Both my parents (Angela and Aaron) played basketball here, so I went to all the basketball games and all the camps,'' Bachelor said. "I've grown up watching a ton of these players, so it's just great seeing Lee Arena bringing everybody here. It's been awesome.
"It was spring break so some of my friends were able to come back and come to the games and I had a ton of family and friends here, so I felt the love a lot over the weekend and it was just an awesome experience. It was really fun to play in front of everybody and just see the community kind of come together.''
The fact that Bachelor ended up at Washburn following a standout career at Washburn Rural probably wasn't a big surprise given his family's WU legacy.
But even Bachelor, who had 16 points (4 of 6 3-pointers) and also dished out 10 assists in last Tuesday's 93-65 win over Minnesota State-Minnesota in the regional final, admits to being surprised by the success he's had in his first two collegiate seasons.
Bachelor initially thought he might redshirt his first year at Washburn, but made an immediate impact for the 19-11 Ichabods as a freshman before earning All-MIAA and All-Central Region first-team honors this season.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University 6-foot-8 senior standout Andrew Orr knows there's nothing he can do about the fact that his outstanding college basketball career will come to an end this week in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight championships in Evansville, Ind.
Washburn senior star Andrew Orr hoists the NCAA Central Regional trophy after scoring 17 points in his final home game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the one thing that Orr has done is make sure he cherishes each and every moment he has left with his beloved Ichabods.
"I've been trying to think about it since we were told we were going to host the region,'' Orr said. "That's when I kind of came to terms with the fact that this is my last go around. (I knew) these were going to be my last couple of practices in Lee, these were going to be our last games in Lee, so it made me not only appreciate what I've done but appreciate what there was still to come.
''These last three (Central Regional) games were the most attended games that I've ever played in in Lee, so to do that and to really take it all in and soak it all in before the games I feel like I've had that opportunity and I feel super blessed to have seen that ahead of time and not look back in the future and be like, 'I should have taken it in.' ''
Orr plans to continue to take everything in as the No. 4-seeded Ichabods begin what they hope will begin a three-game run in the Elite Eight, beginning with Tuesday night's 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal against No. 5 Lenoir-Rhyne (29-5).
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Forty-one year-old Lee Arena will undergo a major renovation in the very near future, with Tuesday's NCAA Division II Central Regional final the last game for Washburn University basketball in Lee's current state.
Washburn senior star Andrew Orr hoists the NCAA Central Regional trophy after scoring 17 points in his final home game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn coach Brett Ballard celebrates Tuesday's NCAA Central Regional championship in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
And the Ichabods and a boisterous sellout crowd of 2,711 made sure to send WU's venerable home arena out in style, with top seed Washburn rolling to a 93-65 win over No. 2 seed Minnesota State-Moorhead to advance to next week's Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind.
"What a way to send it out,'' said senior standout Andrew Orr, who scored 17 points (8 of 9 from the field) in his final home game for the 29-3 Ichabods, who went undefeated in Lee (16-0) over the 2024-2025 season.
Feeding off the energy of its home crowd, Washburn led for 36 minutes, 55 seconds and took a 19-11 advantage after three early 3-pointers from Jack Bachelor and two from Brayden Shorter.
"We obviously got off to a great start and made shots early,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "That helped get our crowd into it. The crowd was huge for us.
"It was kind of a track meet there for the first 10 minutes or so. We kind of settled in and then defensively second half we were real good. Offensively these guys were really clicking and sharing it. I'm just really pleased and proud of our guys. This team has been on an incredible journey all year long and it's not just now. It's been since we got together in August.''
NCAA Central Regional MVP Jacob Hanna slams home a dunk in Tuesday's 93-65 win over MSU-Moorhead. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
A Jacob Hanna dunk put Washburn in command 25-15 and the Ichabods took a 32-21 advantage with 8:39 left in the half on a three-point play from Orr.
The Dragons (25-9) cut their deficit to six (47-41) at the break, but would get no closer as Orr opened the second half with back-to-back buckets to put WU up 51-41.
After two Moorhead free throws Hanna scored four straight points to give Washburn a 55-43 lead with 17:12 remaining.
Washburn went through some scary moments when senior Michael Keegan landed hard into the basket support while going for a rebound, resulting in a technical foul on the Dragons' Logan Kinsey.
Keegan suffered what appeared to be a minor injury to his left knee and left the game, but was able to return later in the half.
Bachelor hit both technical foul shots and Shorter followed with a 3-pointer to give WU a 60-45 lead with at the 16:30 mark.
Washburn made it a 20-point game (67-47) on a Brady Christiansen 3-pointer and went up 81-51 on a Christiansen hoop with 8:01 left.
The Ichabods went on to build their biggest lead of the night (93-61) with 1:56 left.
Washburn sophomore Jack Bachelor cuts down the nets after Tuesday's regional win over MSU-Moorhead. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shorter led four double-figure scorers with 21 points (5 of 9 3-pointers), while regional MVP Hanna had 19 points and Bachelor was right behind Orr with 16 points (4 of 6 3s) and also dished out 10 assists. Orr and Bachelor were also named to the all-tournament team.
Washburn hit 18 of 32 shots from the field in both halves to finish at 56 percent for the contest.
The Ichabods were also 12 of 25 from deep for the game while hitting 9 of 10 free throws.
The Ichabods held the Dragons to 25 of 57 shooting (44 percent) and 6 of 19 (32 percent) from deep in the game.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After falling behind by double digits early in Sunday night's NCAA Central Regional semifinal in Lee Arena, Concordia-St. Paul made run after run at top seed Washburn University, but the Ichabods answered each and every challenge, advancing to Tuesday night's regional final with a 94-78 win over the Golden Bears.
Senior Jacob Hanna scored a team-high 24 points in Washburn's 94-78 NCAA regional win over Concordia-St. Paul Sunday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I don't know that there's a better Division II atmosphere, or really at any level, than what we just played in tonight,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "Our fans were phenomenal. They gave us a ton of energy once again, so shout out to Topeka and everybody that showed up.
"I loved that our team had to battle through some stuff and didn't flinch. The body language was great, the composure was good and every time they had a run we had an answer for it.''
The Ichabods will play for the regional championship for the first time since 2001 at 7 p.m. Tuesday, facing No. 2 seed Minnesota State-Moorhead, a 70-59 semifinal winner over No. 3 Winona State.
Washburn, now 28-3, started the game on a 17-7 run in the first 4:34 of the game while hitting 6 of 8 shots, including 2 of 3 from deep while the Bears (22-9) started the game 2 of 8 from the field.
The Ichabods went on to go up 30-16 at the 10:20 mark, but Concordia-St. Paul answered with a 17-4 run to cut the WU lead to 34-33.
Concordia-St. Paul also got within a point (36-35) with 1:44 left in the half on a bucket from Bears senior star Antwan Kimmons, but Washburn answered with a 3-pointer from sophomore Jack Bachelor and senior Jacob Hanna scored to give the Ichabods a 41-35 advantage.
After another hoop from Kimmons, who led all scorers with 25 points, Washburn ended the half with a tip-in from from freshman Dillon Claussen to take a 43-37 advantage to the locker room at the break.
"That's a great player,'' Hanna said of Kimmons, "and he might have got the best of me a couple of times, but I'm just happy we came out with the win.''
Washburn boosted its advantage back to 13 points (57-44) with 14:52 remaining on a 3-pointer from junior Brady Christiansen, but the Bears fought back to within three (65-62) with 9:53 left.
But again, Washburn had an answer, going on a 9-2 run, punctuated by a monster dunk from senior Michael Keegan, to go back in front by 10 (74-64) at the 7:53 mark.
"You saw the crowd react,'' Hanna said of Keegan's dunk. "That's the loudest in the gym I think I've ever heard after that dunk and going into the timeout that gave us a lot of energy and a big boost.''
Concordia-St. Paul got no closer than eight the rest of the way and the Ichabods opened up a commanding 94-74 lead with 53 seconds left before closing out the 16-point win.
Washburn shot a blistering 58 percent from the field in the second half while getting a double-double from Hanna with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Sophomore Jack Bachelor scored 21 points with three treys and five assists in Washburn's 94-78 NCAA regional win over Concordia-St. Paul Sunday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Bachelor scored 21 (3 of 3 3-pointers) with five assists and senior Andrew Orr finished with 16 points with five boards.
Claussen came off the bench to reach double figures for the second straight game, scoring 10 points with five boards and four blocks.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 5-ranked Washburn University Ichabods moved into the NCAA Central Regional semifinals with an 85-57 win over Harding in Lee Arena on Saturday night.
Freshman Dillon Claussen came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points in Washburn's 85-57 NCAA regional win over Harding. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn, now 27-3, will face Concordia St. Paul at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday night.
Washburn opened the game on an 11-2 run, holding Harding scoreless the first 5:08 of the game.
The Ichabods would go on to lead by as many as 18 in the first half with 5:16 left, using a 10-2 spurt to take
a 35-17 lead. Washburn went on to lead at the break, 41-25, after shooting 57 percent from the field.
As in the first half, the Ichabods jumped on the Bison (22-10) with a big run to start the frame as Washburn scored 17 of the first 21 points of the second half, building a lead of 58-30, and would go on to lead by as many as 35 at 85-50 before the Bison scored the final seven points of the game cutting the final margin to 28.
Freshmen Dillon Claussen scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the first half, hitting 6 of 7 shots from the field while adding six boards, which tied for the game-high.
Senior Jacob Hanna scored 13 points in Washburn's 85-57 NCAA regional win over Harding Saturday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Sam Ungashick scored a season-high 13 points in Saturday's 85-57 NCAA regional win over Harding. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Jacob Hanna scored 13 points and junior Sam Ungahick scored a season-high 13 off the bench.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University men's basketball team will be the No. 1 seed and the host team for the 2025 NCAA Central Regional Tournament starting on Saturday, March 15, in Lee Arena.
Washburn's men's basketball team watches the NCAA Selection Show Sunday night in the Lee Arena court level suite. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn, 26-3 on the season after a quarterfinal loss to Central Oklahoma in the MIAA Tournament, will open its regional bid against No. 8 seed Harding (22-9) at 5 p.m. Saturday in the third of four quarterfinal games.
MIAA Tournament champion Fort Hays State (23-9) is also in the regional field and has been installed as the No, 7 seed.
The Tigers will face No. 2 Minnesota State-Moorhead (23-8) in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. game.
Other Saturday quarterfinals will pit No. 3 seed Winona State (21-10) against No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State (20-9) at 12 p.m. and No. 4 Minot State (21-10) against No. 5 Concordia St. Paul (21-8) at 7:30 p.m.
The Ichabods will be making their fifth NCAA appearance in eight years under Washburn head coach Brett Ballard and WU will host the NCAA regional for the first time since the 2001 NCAA South Central Regional when the Ichabods advanced to the NCAA championship game.
Washburn has also hosted NCAA Regionals in 1992, 1994, 1995 and 2001 going a combined 5-3.
Overall the Ichabods are 16-16 in the NCAA Tournament and 13-13 in the NCAA regionals.
NCAA CENTRAL REGIONAL
At Lee Arena
Saturday's games
12 p.m. -- Winona State (3: 21-10) vs. Southwest Minnesota State (6: 20-9)
2:30 -- Minnesota State-Moorhead (2: 23-8) vs. Fort Hays State (7: 23-9)
5 -- Washburn (1: 26-3) vs. Harding (8: 22-9)
7:30 -- Minot State (4: 21-10) vs. Concordia St. Paul (5: 21-8)
Sunday, March 16
5 p.m. -- Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner
7:30 -- Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner
Tuesday, March 18
Championship game
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn University women's basketball secured a trip to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament as they knocked off the No. 4 seeded Nebraska-Kearney Lopers 78-65 on Friday night in the quarterfinal round.
Junior Yibari Nwidadah had 28 points and 15 rebounds in Washburn's 78-65 Friday's MIAA tournament win over Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]
The No. 5 seed Ichabods will face the top seed and No. 9 nationally-ranked Pittsburg State at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The first four points of the game came from Washburn (18-12) on buckets from Yibari Nwidadah and Gabi Giovannetti.
The Lopers (19-9) were held off the board until the 7:32 mark in the first quarter and did not make a field goal until the game was nearly five minutes old.
After a basket by Giovannetti put the Ichabods up 8-3 Nebraska-Kearney scored the next eight points to go ahead by three. The lead changed hands twice more in the opening quarter with the Lopers in front 16-14.
A 5-0 run early in the second quarter tied the game for Washburn after a layup by Madelyn Amekporfor.
After two more lead changes the Ichabods took a lead they would never relinquish with a 3-pointer by Aniyah Wayne the five-minute mark. The run continued with the final nine points of the quarter, finished by a buzzer-beating layup by Amaya Davison to go into the break leading 33-24. Washburn outscored Nebraska Kearney 19-8 in the quarter, shooting 8-12 from the field.
The run continued into the second half, with Nwidadah and Giovannetti each with buckets, forcing a Loper timeout. A fast break layup by Amekporfor pushed the lead to a game-high 16 points with 7:42 left in the quarter. Nebraska-Kearney responded, heating up from deep with three made triples in the quarter cutting the lead to as little as six. A 3-pointer from the Lopers on the final possession made it 52-44 going into the fourth.
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.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
MIAA regular-season champion Washburn University is well represented on the men's all-conference team announced Wednesday, earning three major awards, two All-MIAA defensive team members, two first-team All-MIAA selections as well as a second-team and third-team pick.
[Graphic by Washburn Athletics]
Earning MIAA coach of the year honors was Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard, who led the Ichabods to 26 regular- season wins this season - one shy of the Ichabod program record of 27 for regular-season wins set by the 1986-87 NAIA National Championship team that went 35-4.
Ballard also led the Ichabods to their first No. 1 ranking since the 1991-92 season and to a top-five spot in the national rankings for 14 straight weeks. The MIAA regular-season championship this season is the 11th in program history and the first since the 2011-12 season.
Washburn senior Jacob Hanna earned four different awards as he was named the MIAA's newcomer of the year, the MIAA's defensive player of the year, a first-team all-MIAA selection and was named to the MIAA all-defensive team.
Hanna is averaging 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds while dishing out 98 assists. Hanna has reached double-figure scoring in 26 of 28 games this season.
Hanna was joined on the all-MIAA Defensive team by senior Michael Keegan. Keegan leads the MIAA with 66 steals, and he is 11th in blocked shots with 21. Starting all 28 games this season, Keegan has averaged 8.3 points while pulling down 4.9 rebounds per game.
Sophomore Washburn Rural product Jack Bachelor was named first-team All-MIAA with Hanna after averaging 13.6 points over the regular season and 14.3 in MIAA play.
He is second in the MIAA in assists and assists per game and leads the league in assist to turnover ratio at 2.9. Bachelor is also shooting 41 percent from 3-point range during MIAA play while leading the MIAA in free throw percentage, hitting 83 of 95 free throw attempts for an 87 percent clip.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 4-ranked Washburn Ichabods wrapped up the regular season with a dominating 108-71 road performance at Missouri Southern Saturday, finishing the regular season with a 26-2 overall record and a 17-2 mark in MIAA play.
Washburn senior Michael Keegan (middle) had 18 points in Saturday's 108-71 at Missouri Southern, moving to within five points of the 1,000-point career milestone. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods will now turn their attention to the postseason as they will open the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. at 12 p.m. on Thursday in Municipal Auditorium.
After the teams were tied for the final time in the game at 12-12 with 13:50 to go, the Ichabods pulled away, outscoring the Lions 35-8 over the next nine-plus minutes, taking a 47-20 lead as eight different Ichabods scored during the run.
The Lions scored the next five points of the game, but Washburn closed the half by scoring 9 of the next 12 points to take a 56-28 lead into the break, doubling up Missouri Southern (11-17, 6-13 MIAA) at the half.
In the second half, the Ichabods had runs of 10-0, 9-0 and 7-0, building a lead of as many as 38 points with 2:21 to play on the way to the 37-point win.
Senior Michael Keegan tied for the team lead with 18 points hitting 7 of 8 shots from the field while adding six rebounds and climbing to 995 career points as an Ichabod.
Senior Andrew Orr also scored 18 points while also pulling down seven rebounds with two steals.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball finished out its regular season with a 70-66 come-from-behind MIAA win Saturday afternoon, knocking off Missouri Southern on the road.
Yibari Nwidadah (32) scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Saturday's 70-66 MIAA road win at Missouri Southern. [File photo/TSN]
WU finished its regular season 17-12 overall and 11-8 in the MIAA and will compete in the conference tournament this week in the historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. Washburn is the No. 5 seed and will open its tournament bid against No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney at 6 p.m. Friday.
Saturday's regular-season finale was a back-and-forth affair early on with four ties in the first quarter.
Washburn went fron down by three to up by three with a 6-0 run started by a Yibari Nwidadah shot inside.
The Ichabods led by five with 1:27 to play in the quarter after Aniah Wayne on a triple. The Lions (18-13, 10-9) tied things up in the next minute but the Ichabods still led 21-19 after one, with Nwidadah scoring in the final seconds.
The second quarter began much like the first with both teams trading scores.
A free throw by Gabi Giovannetti tied the game up at 29 with 3:52 to go before the half, but the next nine points would all come from the Lions as they shot 61.5% in the quarter. The run came to an end as Giovannetti ended the half with a 3-pointer to make it 38-32 Southern going into the break.
Washburn began chipping away at the lead early in the third, pulling within two at the 6:46 mark after another layup by Nwidadah.
The next six points went to Missouri Southern to go back in front by eight. The Ichabods kept it there and a triple by Wayne cut the Washburn deficit to three with 2:19 in the quarter. Neither team scored the rest of the frame, making it a 52-49 Southern lead heading into the fourth.
BY ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball avoided a series sweep against Missouri Western by earning a much-needed 19-18 MIAA win on Sunday afternoon at Falley Field.
Washburn baseball snapped a four-game losing streak with Sunday's 19-18 win over Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods are headed back in the right direction after snapping its four-game losing streak.
In Friday’s game against the Griffons, Washburn was taken down 17-5 in seven innings of play. On Saturday, the Ichabods took a 5-4 loss after giving up a run in the top of the 12th inning to Missouri Western.
Although the team hasn’t been pleased with its latest performances on the field, Washburn can finally breathe a bit easier after surviving a back-and-forth marathon on Sunday.
“We’re fighting ourselves right now,” Washburn coach Harley Douglas said. “It’s really disheartening … This is a team that went out and won 30-plus games last year. You know, we felt like we bolstered up and got our pitching staff where we wanted it to be and we’re just not performing.
“We start putting the pressure on other people and your defense starts to weaken and you’re thinking too much and they might be thinking about hitting because they have to go out there and score 15, 17 runs… We’re making the game too hard.”
Offensive production has not been lacking for Washburn. The Ichabods scored 19 runs just to stay alive on Sunday. Leading the way at the plate were Darian Duhon and Jett Buck, who drove in 10 of the team’s 19 runs.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 4-ranked Washburn Ichabods notched their 10th game in a row over Pittsburg State in a 71-61 win on Wednesday in PSU's John Lance Arena.
Senior Jacob Hanna led the way with 18 points Wednesday as Washburn improved to 25-2 with a 71-61 road win at Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]
MIAA regular-season champion Washburn (25-2 overall, 16-2 MIAA) led from start to finish in the win, topping the Gorillas for the second time this season after an 89-71 non-conference win in Topeka on Nov. 19.
The Ichabods jumped out to a 10-3 lead kept the Gorillas at arms-length the rest of the half, building a margin of eight points with 7:25 to play in the frame.
Pitt State did cut the lead to one at 29-28 with 2:19 in the half before the Ichabods scored 6 of the last 8 points of the half, taking a 34-30 lead into the break.
Washburn shot 2 of 13 from the 3-point line in the first half, while the Gorillas hit 7 of 15 overall.
The Ichabods came back with an 8-2 run to start the second half, building a lead of 10 at 42-32 before the Gorillas (16-11, 12-6) scored eight points to pull within two with 15:08 to play.
But a 17-4 run by the Ichabods over the next 7:34 of the game put Washburn up by 15 and the Gorillas would not get closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Senior Jacob Hanna led the Ichabods with a game-high 18 points, adding five boards in the win and scoring 11 in the first half. Sophomore Brayden Shorter finished with 16, hitting four 3-pointers, while sophomore Jack Bachelor scored 13 with four assists and freshman Dillon Claussen scored nine off the bench.
Senior Michael Keegan scored five with five rebounds and four steals, giving him 158 for his career and placing him in second place on the Ichabod all-time chart.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University junior Sadie Walker pitched her third career no-hitter Tuesday, striking out a career-high 13 in the Ichabods' 4-0 win over Northern State at Gahnstrom Field.
Washburn junior Sadie Walker pitched her third career no-hitter in Tuesday's 4-0 win over Northern State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The WU win salvaged a split on the day after the Ichabods had dropped a 6-2 decision to Wayne State.
Walker, a Holton native, notched her previous high for strikeouts against Texas A&M-Kingsville earlier this season when she struck out 11.
Washburn scored in its first at bat when Kate Ediger's sac fly scored Makenzie Sais, who singled and then stole second base and moved to third on Kaylee Wagner's single.
The Ichabods (12-5) added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth as Sais started the inning with a single and then scored on Wagner's triple to to left.
Ediger reached base with a single down the line, and then with two outs, Ellington Hogle's single scored both Ediger and Ashley Gaughan, who scored to put Washburn up 4-0.
Walker then put the Wolves down in order in the seventh, striking out the final two batters to give her 13 on the day. Walker walked only one batter while throwing a total of 81 pitches.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University softball had to deal with some pitching issues Monday in its Ichabod Invitational doubleheader.
Not only did Ichabod ace Sadie Walker struggle in the opener, but WU also lost its scheduled second-game starter, Alexis Tanguma, to a hamstring injury in the first game.
Junior Jenna Sprague picked up her first Washburn pitching win in Monday's 12-10 decision over Concoria-St. Paul. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN].
Freshman Ava Bloyd improved to 4-2 in Monday's 2-1 Washburn win over Minnesotra-Crookston. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Ichabod newcomers Jenna Sprague and Ava Bloyd came through when it counted as WU pushed its winning streak to six games with a 12-10 win over Concordia-St. Paul and a 2-1 decision over Minnesota Crookston on the second day of the tournament.
"I don't think we played very well today, but we were gritty and you kind of build on that when you're heading into your season before conference play to teach yourself that you can come back when things aren't going well and you can find ways to win,'' Washburn coach Brenda Holaday said.
The Ichabods opened the second day of action with a wild one as the Ichabods and the Bearcats combined for 22 runs and 22 hits in a 12-10 win by the Ichabods.
CSP (1-7) scored two runs in its first bat to take the early lead, but the Ichabods came back with three runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by a two-RBI double by Kaylee Wagner scored Erin Boles and Makenzie Sais.
Washburn stretched its lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the second when Jaden LaBarge started the frame with a double to center before a double by Boles scored LaBarge.
Another double by Sais scored Boles.
The Bears regained the lead at 6-5 with four runs in the third inning, capped with a bases-loaded triple from CSP, but WU came back to knot the score at 6-6 when a sac fly by LaBarge scored Kate Ediger, who reached on a single.
Again, CSP scored in its next at bat with two, two-run homers taking a 10-6 lead, but Washburn rallied to tie the score with four runs in the bottom of the fourth when Tanguma doubled, scoring Boles and Sais.
Ellington Hogle connected on a single up the middle that scored Tanguma after Ediger drove in another run on a fielder's choice as the score was tied at 10-10.
In the bottom of the sixth, Washburn took the lead after Ediger doubled to start the inning and then Mariah Wheeler's pinch-hit single scored Ashlyn Gaughan, who entered as a pinch runner.
LaBarge added a sac fly for Washburn's final run.
Sprague, a junior Kirkwood Community College transfer, picked up the pitching win, her first as an Ichabod, pitching the final 32/3 innings.
In the top of the seventh, Sprague retired the side in order to pick up the win in relief.
"I felt pretty good,'' Sprague said. "I've had a few outings that have been kind of rough and I kind of needed to prove to prove that I was better than what I've been doing.
"Once I stepped in I felt pretty locked in.''
BY ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
After not being able to practice on its own field and the weather forcing them to take serious time off, the Washburn Ichabods baseball team looked like it was in midseason form after sweeping an MIAA doubleheader against the University of Central Oklahoma on Sunday at Falley Field.
Washburn's Darian Duhon (right) is congratulated by his teammates after hitting a first-game home run against Central Oklahoma Sunday at Falley Field. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Connor Scott hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to give Washburn a 4-3 win in Game 1 and a barrage of runs in the early innings in the second game helped the Ichabods win, 10-5.
Washburn coach Harley Douglas was content with the way the Ichabods showed out in the home opener, especially with Mother Nature forcing them to pause for a couple of weeks.
“It was tremendous,” Douglas said. “We haven’t even been out on our field to practice yet. This was our first chance to really play on it. Being able to go out there and do that and also UCO is a great team. I thought we went toe-to-toe with them today and played pretty well, for the most part. Pretty good in the month of February to go out and get a couple of wins.”
Washburn's Cash Jay, applying a tag, drove in the Ichabods' first run in a 4-3 first-game victory over Central Oklahoma. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn scored first in the opener after Cash Jay drove in Jett Buck off an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to give the Ichabods an early 1-0 lead.
UCO temporarily tied the game in the fourth inning with an RBI single. The Ichabods broke the 1-1 tie after Darian Duhon hit a solo home run to give Washburn a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
UCO capitalized on a Washburn error on the throwdown from home plate to second base in the top of the sixth inning. The Broncho runner made it from first to third, which led to a sacrifice bunt in the following at-bat to score the runner from third to tie the game 2-2. Another throwdown mis-fire occurred on a UCO batter stealing from first. The ball went into the outfield, scoring a UCO runner to break the tie, 3-2.
Washburn’s Easton Bruce brought the game even after a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the eighth to tie it, 3-3.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It took some waiting and a lot of snow shoveling, but the Washburn University softball team finally got the opportunity to play its home openers on Sunday, running its winning streak to four games with a pair of victories in the Washburn Invitational at Gahnstrom Field.
Washburn opened its tournament bid in the delayed event with a 9-3 win over Missouri S&T, followed by a 4-3 victory over Minot State.
Junior Sadie Walker picked up her fifth pitching win of the season in Sunday night's 4-3 Washburn win over Minot State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn went through some ups and downs, not a surprise given how early it is in the season, but veteran coach Brenda Holaday was pleased overall with her team's performance.
"I thought we had a lot more positives than we had negatives, but our negatives are things we can clean up and will clean up,'' Holaday said. "The first game we had a couple of errors that gave them the runs they had, but I liked our response to that. It was early in the game and I thought we really took control after that and had some good defensive plays and had good pitching and some key hits. The second game was a lot tighter game.''
The Ichabods will be back in action on Monday at 3:30 p.m., hosting Concordia-St. Paul, followed by a contest against Minnesota Crookston in the nightcap.
The Ichabods, 9-4 on the season after Sunday's wins, jumped on the Miners (0-11) in their first at bat in Sunday's opener, scoring three runs on four hits to take a 3-0 lead.
Erin Boles ledoff the inning with a single and then, after Makenzie Sais singled down the third base line, Kaylee Wagner singled to score Boles.
Sais then stole third and scored on a throwing error. Kate Ediger finished the inning with a single, scoring Wagner as the Ichabods took a 3-0 lead.
The Miners came back with three runs of their own in the top of the second to tie the score, but in the next Ichabod at bat in the bottom of the frame, Jaden LaBarge led off the inning with a solo home run to center field.
Wagner picked up her second RBI of the day, scoring Sais who singled and then stole second base.
Washburn then scored on a passed ball to go in front, 6-3.
Washburn added three more runs in the fifth inning when Mariah Wheeler doubled to left with a pinch-hit RBI and LaBarge picked up a sac fly, scoring Ellington Hogle. Danielle Schlader continued the inning with a single, driving in Wheeler to wrap up the scoring.
