By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball picked up its eighth win in its last 10 tries and third in a row on Thursday evening with a 63-48 road win at Central Oklahoma.
Senior Yibari Nwidadah led a balanced attack with 14 points as Washburn improved to 18-7 with a 63-48 MIAA win at Central Oklahoma Thursday. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods play on the road for the final time in the regular season at Rogers State on Saturday with a 1 p.m. tipoff.
After a quick start by the Bronchos (9-16 overall, 4-12 MIAA) that saw them in front 8-7, Washburn (18-7, 11-5) took control in the last five minutes of the opening quarter.
The Ichabods finished the quarter on a 7-2 run to take an 18-12 lead at the end of the quarter while shooting 58.3 percent.
A pair of quick buckets by sophomore Brooke Gomez and senior Yibari Nwidadah pushed the Washburn lead to double figures at the 8:23 mark of the second quarter and forced a timeout by Central Oklahoma.
Scoring was scarce for both teams in the quarter after the opening minutes, as the Ichabods held the home squad to 3-11 shooting in the frame. The Ichabods led by as many as 12 points and went into the break leading 31-22.
The Bronchos came out of halftime firing, cutting the lead down to four at 34-30 with 5:12 remaining in the third.
Washburn responded with five points in a row, all from junior Britany Kogbara, and a jumper by Kellyn Hunter pushed the lead back to double figures and Washburn went into the fourth quarter leading 45-35.
Nwidadah got a pair of buckets early in the fourth stanza but the Bronchos cut away at the lead chipping it down to seven.
This time the Ichabods responded with a 10-0 run, capped off by 3-pointers from freshman Kennadi Jackson and senior Gabi Giovannetti, giving WU its largest lead of the game with 4:48 to go. The lead never dipped below 13 points from that point as Washburn closed out the 15-point win.
The Ichabods finished the game shooting 43.6 percent and 4 of 12 from beyond the 3-point arc and they held the Bronchos to 31.4 percent shooting and just 2-13 on 3-point attempts.
Washburn had a 36-31 rebounding advantage and dished out 12 assists to just seven for UCO. Paint scoring, points off turnovers and bench scoring all went in favor of the road squad by at least seven points as well.
In another Washburn balanced offensive effort, Nwidadah led the way with 14 points on 6-8 shooting while grabbing five boards. Kogbara had 13 points with seven rebounds off the bench and Giovannetti added 11 points and three blocks.
Bobbie Fouquet led Central Oklahoma with 12 points while Jerney Bennett had 10 with eight blocks.
