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Washburn women fall in OT to Northwest Missouri, 66-61
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball came out on the wrong end of its first overtime game of the season on Saturday as the Ichabods fell 66-61 to Northwest Missouri State in Lee Arena.
Despite fighting foul problems and attempting 14 fewer free throws than the visiting Bearcats, Washburn extended the game to an extra session but couldn't keep up with Northwest in the five-minute period.
Junior Yibari Nwidadah led Washburn with 11 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 66-61 overtime loss to Northwest Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Bearcats scored the first five points of overtime to lead 62-57 with 3:16 left. Washburn pulled within three after Gabi Giovannetti hit a 3-pointer with 1:18 remaining in OT, but that was all it could muster as Northwest Missouri put the game at the way at the free throw line to post the five-point win.
"That was frustrating,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said. "We felt like the ball was where we wanted it to go and it just didn't fall tonight and that's tough.
"But at the same time I thought we lost the game defensively by just not adjusting to some tighter officiating and we lost the game on the free throw line.''
Through the first six minutes of play Washburn (8-8 overall, 2-4 MIAA) jumped out to a 12-6 lead with half of the points coming from junior Payton Sterk.
Junior Amaya Davison knocked down a triple to move the lead up to seven points at the 2:26 mark in the opening quarter.
The Bearcats (9-7, 2-4) were held to just 2-7 shooting in the frame as the Ichabods built a 15-10 lead.
Northwest Missouri bounced back offensively with two made 3-pointers to begin the second quarter and tied the game at 18 on a layup.
Two more connections from deep from the Bearcats quickly put them up by six as they went 5-8 from 3-point range in the quarter.
Washburn settled in on defense, keeping Northwest Missouri off the board for nearly four minutes as they went on an 8-0 run to take the lead. The advantage changed once more before the half and flipped back to the Ichabods after junior Aniyah Wayne sank a 3-pointer to go up 31-29 at the break.
No. 2-ranked Ichabod men snap seven-game losing streak to Bearcats with 96-66 romp
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Granted, perennial MIAA and NCAA Division II power Northwest Missouri State is in the midst of a transition season after former Bearcat coach Ben McCollum moved on to Division I Drake following last season and took multiple Bearcats with him.
Brayden Shorter (20), celebrating a big play with Brady Christiansen, led Washburn with 18 points in Saturday's 96-66 win over Northwest Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn senior Andrew Orr scored 16 points on Saturday in the Ichabods' 96-66 win over Northwest Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the Bearcats' tradition -- four national titles and 21 MIAA regular-season championships -- coupled with the fact that the Ichabods had dropped seven straight games to Northwest gave Washburn plenty to play for in Saturday's conference matchup.
And the Ichabods took full advantage of Northwest's inexperience and current struggles, leading for all but 19 seconds in a wire-to-wire 96-66 win in Lee Arena.
"We talk about how there's guys in our program who built us up to where we are today and they went through that Ben McCollom/Northwest era and I went through it, too,'' said Ichabod senior Andrew Orr, who moved into the No. 19 spot on Washburn's career scoring chart with 16 points.
"It feels really good to get this type of win because that's a prideful program and to beat a team of that level by that much is special.''
Ichabod coach Brett Ballard, who entered Saturday's game with a 3-18 career record against the Bearcats, agreed.
"We have a lot of respect for that program and what they've accomplished and it is a big game,'' Ballard said. "Every game is a big game, but that's a big game and that's a good win for us, a good statement win.''
Washburn, which improved to 15-0 overall and 6-0 in the MIAA, is likely to be the top-ranked team in the country for the first time since 1992 when the national rankings are released on Tuesday after previous No. 1 Nova Southeastern lost earlier in the week on the road to Palm Beach Atlantic.
Washburn jumped out to a 9-1 lead and never looked back as the Ichabods recorded their first win over Northwest since Feb. 9, 2013.
No. 2-ranked Washburn men roll up 105 points in 28-point road romp past rival Hornets
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA – Washburn University men's basketball christened the new year in style as the No. 2-ranked Ichabods led for 39:33 of the 40-minute contest and by as many as 33 points, cruising to a 105-77 MIAA road win over Emporia State on Saturday in White Auditorium.
Sophomore Jack Bachelor led six double-figure scorers for Washburn with 19 points as the No. 2-ranked Ichabods rolled to a 105-77 road win over Emporia State. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn improved to 13-0 overall and 4-0 in MIAA play and will return to Lee Arena for the first time since Nov. 30 next Wednesday as the Ichabods will host Missouri Western at 7:30 p.m.
Washburn jumped out to a 13-3 lead 3:49 into the game behind Jack Bachelor's 11 points, including three-straight 3-pointers.
The Hornets (4-8, 1-3) trimmed the lead back to five at 17-12, but the Ichabods used another 13 to 3 run, doubling up Emporia State with 9:13 to play in the half.
ESU cut the lead to 11 but that margin was the closest the Hornets would get the rest of the game as the Ichabods finished the frame 9 of 11 from the field over the final 7:01 of the half, taking a 56-39 lead into the break.
Washburn shot 61 percent in the opening half, paced by 17 points from Washburn Rural product Bachelor and 10 points and eight assists from Jacob Hanna as the Ichabods reached at least 50 points in a half since scoring 52 against William Jewell on Nov. 23, 2024 in Lee Arena.
A 12-1 run over a three-minute stretch followed by a 16-7 Ichabod run stretched the Ichabod lead to a game-high 33 with 9:28 to play as Washburn snapped a four-game slide to the Hornets.
Bachelor finished with a game-high 19 points and added eight assists, leading six Ichabods in double figures.
Birthday boy Andrew Orr had 16 points as did Hanna, who also had eight assists and six rebounds.
Dillon Claussen had a career-high 15 points on 7 of 7 shooting while Brayden Shorter hit three 3-pointers en route to 11 points with six boards and Brady Christiansen had 11 points as well.
Malik Edwards scored 13 points to lead the Hornets.
After shooting 61 percent in the first half, the Ichabods improved to 67 percent in the second half, hitting 20 of 30 shots overall to close the game at a season-high 63 percent on 43 of 68 shooting.
Washburn outrebounded the Hornets 34 to 25 in the game and tallied 26 assists on 43 baskets in the game. Washburn also outscored the Hornets 58 to 22 in the paint and forced 22 turnovers, leading to 27 points for the Ichabods.
The 105 points scored by the Ichabods was the second time Washburn reached the century mark in the 222 previous meetings in the series, topping the old record of 103 set against ESU on Jan. 7, 2004 in Topeka.
The Ichabods just missed setting the largest margin of victory in the series as the Hornets hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left avoiding the record mark of 31 in a 73-42 Ichabod win on Jan. 16, 2010.
