By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball celebrated its long-awaited return to Lee Arena Wednesday night with an 88-73 MIAA romp past Missouri Western, snapping the Griffons' seven-game winning streak while handing Western its first conference loss.
Junior Yibari Nwidadah (32) had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday night's 88-73 home MIAA win over Missouri Western. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Payton Sterk (20) scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Wednesday's 88-73 MIAA win over Missouri Western. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"As we continue to grow the key word for us is maturity and making it about us,'' said Washburn coach Lora Westling, who does not have a senior on her roster. "We told our players that no matter what the result of this game is we're going to evaluate ourselves and how we executed and how we performed.
"I thought we did a nice job in our game plan and had a lot of players step up in big moments. It was nice to be home with a great crowd and I thought we did a good job.''
Missouri Western (9-4 overall, 4-1 MIAA) opened the game with a pair of 3-pointers that put it up 6-2 at the 7:50 mark of the first quarter, but Washburn (8-7, 2-3) got its offense going with five straight points from sophomore Madelyn Amekporfor that put the Ichabods in front 11-8.
It was a balanced offensive effort for Washburn as the Ichabods built a nine-point lead with 1:23 left in the opening quarter after junior Aniah Wayne connected from deep off the bench. Junior Amaya Davison the got a layup to go just before the buzzer to make it 28-22 after one.
After shooting 61.1 percent in the first quarter the Ichabods maintained their pace in the second, shooting 6-11 (54.6). With a 5-0 run in the middle of the quarter Washburn pushed the lead to double figures at 42-32 after junior Yibari Nwidadah hit a jump hook. For a second straight quarter Davison ended it at the buzzer, this time draining a 3-pointer to make it a 47-34 WU advantage heading into the locker rooms.
The Ichabods held Missouri Western from scoring for the first 2:07 of the third quarter. Once the Griffons cut their deficit down to 12, a 3-pointer by Amekporfor began a 6-0 WU burst to open up a game-high 18-point advantage.
Once again Washburn added to its lead just before the end of the quarter, this time with junior Payton Sterk working her way into the paint for a layup to make the score, 64-49.
The beginning of the fourth quarter started strong for the Ichabods again, with back-to-back layups for Nwidadah followed by a free throw by Davison making it a 20-point game with 7:40 left.
Missouri Western began fouling early and often in the quarter to attempt a comeback. Washburn did what it needed to do at the charity stripe, shooting 11-14 in the quarter to never allow the lead to get below 11 in the final quarter.
With the victory, the Ichabods moved to over .500 for the first time all season as they shot 50.9 percent (28-55) from the field. The Ichabods were efficient from all areas, going 9-20 (45.0 percent) from deep and 23-28 (82.1) at the line.
On the other end the Griffons shot 44.1 percent (26-59) and drained 14 triples but attempted just 10 free throws, making seven.
Rebounding went big in Washburn's favor, 40-22, leading to a 34-24 advantage in paint scoring. The Ichabods kept Missouri Western off the offensive glass with just three offensive rebounds.
Nwidadah finished strong, scoring 17 of her 21 points in the second half while shooting 7-11 overall and grabbing a game-high 11 boards for a double-double.
"In the first half I was over-thinking it, over-complicating things,'' Nwidadah said. "Coach reiterated at halftime that I just needed to play the game I knew how to play and just play.''
Washburn sophomore Madelyn Amekporfor scored 16 points and went 4 for 4 from 3-point range in the Ichabods' 88-73 MIAA win over Missouri Western Wednesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sterk scored 18 points with eight rebounds and Amekporfor had 16 on 4-5 shooting overall and went 4-4 from 3-point land. Davison and Wayne both had 10 points off the bench.
Sterk said it was big for Washburn to get off to a good start in both halves en route to the win.
"I think it definitely helps a lot,'' Sterk said. "I think the first quarter, third quarter are normally what wins the games so coming out hot right away helps with the momentum and that kind of thing.''
Marie Sepp led Missouri Western with 21 points on 9-13 shooting while Alyssa Bonilla had 16 points to go along with nine rebounds.
The Ichabods will remain at home Saturday as they take on Northwest Missouri at 1 p.m.
WASHBURN WOMEN 88, MISSOURI WESTERN 73
Missouri Western 22 12 15 24 -- 73
Washburn 28 19 17 24 -- 88
MISSOURI WESTERN (9-4, 4-1)
Schomp 0-1 0-0 0, Ford 2-5 0-0 6, Bonilla 5-17 3-6 16, Toffali 4-10 4-4-2 14, Sepp 9-13 3-6 21, Caron 1-4 0-0 2, Byczkowska 1-1 0-0 3, Soderlund 4-6 0-0 11, Rieker 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 7-10 73.
WASHBURN (8-7, 2-3)
Amekporfor 4-5 4-4 16, Nwidadah 7-11 7-7 21, Gomez 1-2 3-4 5, Giovannetti 2-8 0-0 5, Sterk 7-14 3-4 18, McKenzie 0-1 3-4 3, Wayne 3-6 2-2 10, Davison 4-6 1-3 10, McCallop 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-55 23-28 88.
3-point goals -- Missouri Western 14-34 (Bonilla 3-6, Sepp 3-6, Soderlund 3-5, Ford 2-4, Toffali 2-7, Byczkowska 1-1, Caron 0-2, Rieker 0-2, Schomp 0-1), Washburn 9-20 (Amekporfor 4-4, Wayne 2-5, Giovannetti 1-5, Sterk 1-4, Davison 1-2). Rebounds -- Missouri Western 22 (Bonilla 4, Caron 4), Washburn 40 (Nwidadah 11, Sterk 8). Assists -- Missouri Western 16 (Bonilla 9), Washburn 11 (Giovannetti 3, Davison 3). Turnovers -- Missouri Western 15, Washburn 17. Total fouls -- Missouri Western 21, Washburn 16. Fouled out -- Sepp. Technical fouls -- none.
