By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women outscored Central Oklahoma by 16 points in the middle two quarters and led by as much as 26 points early in the fourth quarter en route to a 75-60 MIAA win Thursday night in Lee Arena.
Junior Payton Sterk led Washburn with 20 points in a 75-60 MIAA home win over Central Oklahoma Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn junior YIbari Nwidadah scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds in Thursday's 75-60 home MIAA win over Central Oklahoma. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn, which improved to 15-11 overall and 9-7 in the MIAA, got a game-high 20 points from junior Payton Sterk while junior Yibari Nwidadah added 13 points with a team-high seven boards and junior Gabi Giovannetti 12 points.
The Ichabods have now won four of their last five games while surpassing last season's win total by two games with a minimum of four games remaining.
"For the first three quarters it was about our defensive effort and I was proud and I was really proud of how few points (Central Oklahoma) scored,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said. "And we were able to control the glass pretty convincingly.
"I think we're trending in the right direction and I think what's great about this group is that we still have so much we're getting better at every day. We're still having a lot of fun at practice and getting better every week and we love that.''
In the first five minutes of the opening quarter both teams traded baskets, with five ties. Three straight points from Nwidadah sparked a 7-0 run for Washburn that would put it in front by five. Central Oklahoma (7-18, 6-10) ended the quarter with a jumper to make it 20-17 after one.
A 3-pointer by Sterk at the 9:39 mark in the second quarter was the only basket for either team in the first four minutes of play. After a layup from the Bronchos with 5:40 to play the Ichabods went on a 12-0 run that began and ended with layups by freshman Brooke Gomez. Central Oklahoma shot just 2-10 in the quarter and got its second field goal at the buzzer on a last second 3-pointer to cut the WU lead down to 35-23 going into halftime.
The first four points of the second half went to the visitors, cutting the lead to single digits. After a jumper by Niwdadah at the 7:46 mark in the quarter the lead never got below 10 for the remainder of the quarter. Sterk and Nwidadah combined to go on a 9-2 run to end the quarter as the Ichabods shot 61.5% in the frame to lead 53-34 going into the fourth.
Washburn scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, going up by 26 with 7:29 left after Willow Gideon knocked down a 3-pointer. Both offenses shot at or over 50.0% in the quarter as the Ichabods stayed in front by more than 20 until the Bronchos ended the game on an 11-0 run as Washburn eased into the 15-point win.
For the game Washburn shot 28-54 (51.9%) while shooting 5-16 from beyond the arc and 14-26 at the line. Central Oklahoma shot 21-52 (40.4%) and was 8-20 from deep. A 36-29 rebounding advantage and 18-14 turnover advantage helped the Ichabods gain an edge.
Points in the paint went big to Washburn, 46-24, as did points of turnovers, 24-14.
Three players scored in double figures for the Bronchos led by LaKysie Johnson with 15 points.
The Ichabods will wrap up their home schedule on Saturday at 1 p.m., hosting Rogers State.
WASHBURN WOMEN 75, CENTRAL OKLAHOMA 60
Central Oklahoma 17 6 11 26 -- 60
Washburn 20 15 18 22 -- 75
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA (7-18, 6-10)
Turner 3-5 6-10 13, Johnson 7-8 1-3 15, Walker 1-2 0-0 3, Allensworth 1-10 1-2 3, Pogi 1-6 0-0 3, Wadsworth 4-10 0-0 12, Crawford 1-2 0-0 2, Simonsen 1-1 2-2 4, Miller 2-4 0-0 5, Lewis 0-1 0-2 0, Martin 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 10-19 60.
WASHBURN (15-11, 9-7)
Amekporfor 1-4 1-2 4, Nwidadah 6-9 1-3 13, Gomez 3-3 0-0 6, Giovannetti 5-11 2-2 12, Sterk 7-14 5-6 20, Davison 0-0 2-4 4, McCallop 0-0 0-0 0, Wayne 1-6 2-2 4, Snyder 1-1 0-6 2, Gideon 2-3 1-2 7, Luebbert 1-1 0-0 3, Jansky 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-54 14-26 75.
3-point goals -- Central Oklahoma 8-20 (Wadsworth 4-8, Turner 1-1, Walker 1-1, Miller 1-1, Pogi 1-4, Allensworth 0-3, Martin 0-2), Washburn 5-16 (Gideon 2-3, Sterk 1-4, Amekporfor 1-3, Luebbert 1-1, Giovannetti 0-3, Wayne 0-2). Rebounds -- Central Oklahoma 29 (Turner 9), Washburn 36 (Nwidadah 7, Wayne 7). Assists -- Central Oklahoma 9 (Johnson 3), Washburn 11 (Sterk 3, Davison 3). Turnovers -- Central Oklahoma 18, Washburn 14. Total fouls -- Central Oklahoma 23, Washburn 16. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.
