By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball improved to 9-3 Saturday while posting its third straight double-digit victory, taking down Cameron 78-49 in the finale of the Fairfield Inn and Suites Holiday Classic in Lawton, Okla.
Junor Britany Kogbara led Washburn with 14 points in Saturday's 78-49 win over Cameron. [File photo/TSN]
Quick scores put Washburn in front 7-4 early after senior Yibari Nwidadah scored on a layup at the 7:54 mark. The Aggies (0-11) responded with a run on their home floor scoring 11 of the next 16 points to go in front. They led by one at 17-16 after ten minutes of action.
Neither team scored for nearly the first three minutes of the second until junior Madelyn Amekporfor got a layup to go at the 7:21 mark. The bucket put Washburn ahead and shortly after that a 6-0 run pushed the lead up to seven points after a score by Nia McKenzie. Even while shooting under 35.0% from the floor in the first half the Ichabods were able to build a 32-27 lead going into the break.
Out of the half Cameron cut the lead down to five points in the opening minutes. The response from Washburn came in the form of a 9-0 run, ending with a layup by Amekporfor.
An 8-0 run later on pushed the lead to 20 points as the Ichabod offense exploded to shoot 10-14 (71.4%) in the quarter while holding the Aggies to just 2-14 shooting. The five-point game turned into a 58-37 contest heading into the fourth.
In the final frame the Ichabods pushed the lead to 25 points at the 6:59 mark after a pair of free throws by Britany Kogbara. The margin grew to a game-high 30 as Cloie Jansky got a bucket to go with 2:28 remaining. Washburn would go on to win by its largest margin of the season at 29 points.
Exploding for 46 points in the second half, the Ichabods shot 47.3% for the game while shooting just 4-17 from deep. They forced the issue going 22-28 at the charity stripe to gain an advantage. On the other end they held Cameron to 31.3% shooting and just 5-22 from beyond the arc.
The rebounding battle was won 37-23 by Washburn, along with a 26-15 advantage in turnovers. The Ichabod bench outscored the Aggies 32-10 and they also led 44-16 in paint scoring.
Four players scored in double figures led by 14 on 5-6 shooting off the bench for Kogbara, who grabbed six rebounds. Senior Gabi Giovannetti scored 13 while grabbing a game-high seven boards and swiping five steals. Amekporfor had 12 points with six rebounds and senior Payton Sterk added 10.
Madison Griggs had a game-high 23 points for Cameron.
The Ichabods take the floor next in 2026, hosting Emporia State at 1 p.m. on January 3.
