By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the first time in over a month Washburn University women's basketball is back home to begin its season-longest four-game homestand on Wednesday, hosting Missouri Western State at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Arena.
Washburn women's basketball begins a four-game homestand on Wednesday against Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn is 7-7 on the season after erasing a double-digit second-half deficit last Saturday to knock off Emporia State 64-61 for its first MIAA win.
Missouri Western moved to 9-3 on the year and stayed undefeated in the MIAA at 4-0 after knocking off No. 3-ranked Fort Hays State 67-66 at home on Saturday.
Wednesday's meeting with Missouri Western will be the 102nd all-time meeting between the two schools. Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams, 57-47.
Yibari Nwidadah leads the Ichabods with a 16.7 scoring average while also shooting a team-high 70.7 percent from the field and grabbing a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game. The junior has started all 12 games she has played in, logging 25.8 minutes per game.
She has shot at or above 50.0 percent in every game this season and has two double-doubles. The Olathe North product has the best field goal percentage in the nation while ranking fourth in the MIAA in points per game and ninth in rebounds per game.
With 180 career offensive rebounds Nwidadah is ninth in program history. She is six boards away from moving up to No. 8. In overall rebounds she is tied for 23rd in Washburn history with 478. Nwidadah's career field goal percentage of 58.3 percent is the second-best in program history and she ranks 42nd with 705 career points.
Junior Payton Sterk averages 15.7 points while starting all 14 contests and playing a team-high 30.2 minutes per game. Sterk is shooting 42.6 percent from the floor and a team-high 38 percent from 3-point range while hitting a team-high 30 3-pointers.
A Colorado Springs native, Sterk is fourth in the MIAA in total points, sixth in 3-pointers and third in 3-point percentage.
Junior Gabi Giovannetti averages 11.4 points for Washburn while shooting 41.1 percent from the floor. The Bishop Miege product has started all 14 games, averaging 26.4 minutes. She is second on the team with 23 made treys and has made a 3-pointer in all but two games.
Giovannetti is 17th in program history with 88 career 3-pointers made. She will move up to 16th with five more treys.
Alyssa Bonilla leads Missouri Western with a 16.0 scoring average while starting all 12 games and logging 30.1 minutes per game. Bonilla also leads the Griffons with 5.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
Marie Sepp averages 11.8 points on a team-high 56.3-percent shooting for Western while Matilda Soderlund averages 10.9 points with 36 made 3-pointers. Soderlund ranks first in the MIAA in threes per game and 10th in the nation.
Washburn will continue its homestand at 1 p.m. on Saturday, hosting Northwest Missouri.
