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After a week at home, Washburn University women's basketball now heads back on the road for two weeks beginning, with a 5:30 p.m. Thursday night MIAA clash with No. 5-ranked Fort Hays State.

 

 

Washburn has reeled off four straight wins, including a 71-55 win over Missouri Western on Friday, to improve to 14-5 overall and 7-3 in the MIAA, while Fort Hays State is 18-1 and 9-1 in the conference after a 78-65 win over Central Oklahoma last time out for an 11th straight win since losing to the Ichabods 67-64 on Dec. 6. 

 

Senior Yibari Nwidadah averages 12.8 points and 7.9 rebounds for Washburn while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor.

 

With 280 career offensive rebounds Nwidadah ranks third in program history and she is fifth with 765 career boards. Her career field goal percentage of .577 is the third-best in Washburn program history and she ranks 13th among all Ichabods with 1,222 career points. Nwidadah is also 11th in program history with 69 career blocked shots. 

 

Senior Payton Sterk averages 12.2 point for the Ichabods and has drilled a team-high 33 3-pointers while Gabi Giovannetti averages 10.6 points with 29 3-pointers while leading WU with 1.8 steals per game.

 

Sterk's career free throw percentage of 85.8 percent is the best for any Ichabod. 

 

Sterk scored a season-high 22 points in Friday's win over Missouri Western. 

Talexa Weeter averages 27.9 points on 52.1-percent shooting overall and 42.9 percent from deep for Fort Hays State while also grabbing a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game. Weeter leads the nation in points per game, is second nationally in free throws made and is second in the conference in rebounding average.

Brooke Loewe is scoring 8.6 points per game for the Tigers while leading the nation with a 10.2 assist average. 

Olivia Mortensen averages 13.0 points on 51-percent shooting.

Nwidadah notched her first double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds in the Ichabods' earlier win over the Tigers while Giovannetti had 22 points with three 3-pointers.  

Weeter had 28 points and nine rebounds for Fort Hays State in the first game with Washburn while Loewe had 10 points and 10 assists.  

Washburn leads the all-time series with Fort Hays State, 48-42, and snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Tigers in this season's first meeting.

The Ichabods are 22-22 against Fort Hays State on the road.

Washburn will face Nebraska-Kearney at 2 p.m. on Saturday.