By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Washburn women had to overcome the coldest of cold starts to earn their first MIAA win Saturday, pulling it together in the second half to defeat Rogers State 56-44 at Lee Arena.
Washburn women's coach Lora Westling and the Ichabods' bench celebrate a big play in Saturday's 56-44 MIAA win over Rogers State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods entered the game averaging 80.6 points per game but they sure didn’t look like it, judging by the first half Saturday.
Washburn hit just two of 17 attempts in the first period, which concluded with just six points on the scoreboard for the home team.
The second quarter didn’t get much better. The Ichabods hit just three of 13 shots, raising their point total to just 15 by halftime.
“Usually, at halftime, we come in and talk strategy,” senior Aubree Dewey said. “But today we just came in and said, ‘We just need to relax. This is not who we are. We need to just slow it down and get back to who we are. To get back to sharing the ball and getting the ball in the bucket.’ ”
Fortunately for the Ichabods, the visiting Hillcats had just about the same amount of trouble putting the ball in the basket. Washburn trailed just 9-6 after one period and 19-15 at half.
“I thought we defended well enough that we still had a chance even after a pretty miserable first half,” Washburn coach Lora Westling said. “So, we really credited our defensive effort and our game plan there.”
The Ichabods made it apparent immediately that the second half would not mirror the first. They quickly cut into the Hillcats’ lead, moving in front within the first four minutes of the third period. On the strength of 15 points from non-starters in the third period, the Ichabods zoomed into the lead and never looked back. They outscored Rogers State, whose scoring issues persisted throughout the day, 22-10 in the third period.
“They came out with their heads up after the half, got some great possessions right off the bat, and then put their foot on the gas,” Westling said. “We found some rhythm, so we quit making it so hard for ourselves.”
For a team that had not scored fewer than 57 points in a game all season, the miserable start didn’t spoil the day. The Ichabods hit just 28 percent of their shots for the game, yet they accumulated 41 points in the second half.
Sophomore Yibari Nwidadah had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in Washburn's 56-44 win over Rogers State Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Freshman Madelyn Amekporfor, scored 12 points in Saturday's 56-44 Washburn win over Rogers State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn was led by sophomore Yiibari Nwidadah with 13 points and freshman Madelyn Amekporfor with 12. Dewey chipped in nine points and five assists.
Westling said the team began cleaning up some of their offensive issues in-game.
“We cleaned up our spacing in our transition to get our five-man a little more open, and then we told our shooters that you’re going to have to keep shooting,” Westling said. “You’ve got to have that balance to beat anyone in our league.”
Westling said she didn’t think Saturday’s offensive woes were indicative of larger issues.
“I don’t think this is going to be a problem,” the second-year coach said. “You go through this where every game is a different tale. It can depend on if you hit those early shots. We got some good looks and some good layups today that just didn’t fall. You’re going to have games like that. So, we’ve got to just continue to find great looks early on to get our head up, and fight through some misses sometimes.”
The Ichabods earned their first win in the MIAA, offsetting a 60-57 loss at Emporia State the previous Saturday.
“I think we’re getting better every day,” Dewey said. “We have been having some ups and downs, but I think we’re getting on that side where we can stay up higher. Hopefully we can eliminate the drops and just stay up.”
WASHBURN WOMEN 56, ROGERS STATE 44
Rogers State 9 10 10 15 -- 44
Washburn 6 9 22 19 -- 56
Rogers State (4-5, 0-4) – Knapp 2-11 0-4 5, Jackson 1-4 0-0 2, Aikins 2-13 1-2 6, Goldsby 3-9 1-4 7, Fowler 3-7 4-6 10, Minotto 0-2 2-2 2, Gallegos 0-3 0-0 0, Day 0-2 1-2 1, Jones 3-6 5-6 11, Mershon 0-1 0-0 0, Estell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 14-59 14-26 44.
Washburn (6-2, 1-1) – Snyder 0-2 0-0 0, Nwidadah 3-7 7-10 13, Gamble 0-4 2-2 2, Dewey 4-11 1-5 9, Wayne 2-8 2-2 7, Boyd 2-7 3-4 7, Amekporfor 3-5 4-5 12, Schieferecke 1-3 3-3 5, Davison 0-4 1-2 1, McKenzie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 15-53 23-33 56.
3-point goals — Rogers State 2-19 (Knapp 1-2, Aikins 1-8, Folwer 0-3, Minotto 0-2, Gallegos 0-2 Mershon 0-1); Washburn 3-17 (Amekporfor 2-4, Wayne 1-3, Gamble 0-4, Snyder 0-3, Dewey 0-1, Boyd 0-1, Schieferecke 0-1, Davison 0-1, McKenzie 0-1). Rebounds — Rogers State 40 (Knapp 8); Washburn 51 (Nwidadah 10). Assists — Rogers State 5 (Knapp 2, Aikins 2); Washburn 7 (Dewey 5). Turnovers — Rogers State 15; Washburn 18. Fouled out — Aikins, Nwidadah, Gamble, Amekporfor. Attendance — 1,004
