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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Due to forecasted weather this weekend Washburn University's women's basketball's game with Missouri Western has been moved up to 4 p.m. Friday in Lee Arena.

 

Washburn women's basketball will host Missouri Western at 4 p.m. Friday in a game that was moved up a day to due to forecasted inclement weather. [File photo/TSN]

 

Washburn improved to 13-5 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA with a 45-38 Wednesday night win over Northwest Missouri State while Missouri Western fell to 6-12, 2-7 with an 80-71 road loss at Central Missouri on Wednesday.

 

The Ichabods will be looking to avenge a 75-67 loss to the Griffons on Jan. 7 in St. Joseph, Mo.

 

Senior Yibari Nwidadah is averaging team-highs of 13.2 points and 8.1 rebounds for the Ichabods and coming off a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds in the win over Northwest Missouri.

 

With 278 career offensive rebounds Nwidadah is third in program history and she ranks fifth in overall rebounding with with 761 career boards. 

 

Her career field goal percentage of .579 is the second best in program history and she ranks 13th among all Ichabods with 1,216 career points. 

 

Nwidadah had 23 points and 13 rebounds in the earlier loss to Missouri Western.

 

Senior Payton Sterk led all scorers with 16 points on 7-13 shooting against the Bearcats and is averaging 11.7 points with a team-high 29 3-pointers.

 

Sterk's career free throw percentage of 85.4 percent is the best for any Ichabod. 

 

Senior Gabi Giovannetti averages 10.8 points for the Ichabods with a 27 3-pointers and a team-high 1.8 steals per game.

 

Missouri Western leads the MIAA and is 14th in the nation in 3-pointers per game at 8.3. The Griffons are second in the conference in 3-point percentage and fourth in field goal percentage.

 

Mia Morel leads Missouri Western with a 14.3 scoring average along with 3.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game for the Ichabods.

 

Ana Olivera Dias is averaging 13.5 points and Nakiya Harris 11.5 points.

 

Washburn has a 58-49 lead in the all-time series with Missouri Western and the Ichabods are 29-18 against Missouri Western in Lee Arena. 

 

After Friday's game Washburn heads back on the road for three games, beginning with Fort Hays State on Thursday. 

 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods men's basketball team will look for its 20th win of the season as the Ichabods play host to Missouri Western at 6 p.m. on Friday in Lee Arena in a game that has been moved up a day because of the weather forecast.

No. 1-ranked Washburn will be aiming for its 20th straight win in Friday's 6 p.m. MIAA home game against Missouri Western. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn enters the game with a 19-0 and is 9-0 in the MIAA, one of two remaining undefeated teams in Division II after topping Northwest Missouri by 50 in a 94-44 home win on Wednesday.

The Griffons are 13-7 overall and 5-4 in the conference after falling at Central Missouri 97-83 last time out.

The Ichabods defeated the Griffons on Jan. 7 in St. Joseph, 87-75.

Washburn is looking for its 32nd 20-win season in program history and their sixth under coach Brett Ballard in his ninth season on the Ichabod bench.

The Ichabods lead NCAA Division II in scoring margin at plus 28.2 points per game and are ranked third in field goal percentage at 52.3 percent.

WU is second in rebound margin (plus 12.7) and has not been out-rebounded in a game this season and has only been tied twice (Lubbock Christian and Emporia State).

The Ichabods' 19-game winning streak is the longest in D-II after Daemen lost on Jan. 21 to Gannon, ending its 20-game winning streak.

The 19-game winning streak by the Ichabods is tied for the fourth-longest in program history. 

Washburn's 50-point Wednesday win over the Bearcats was the largest in the series history.

Junior Jeremiah Jones' nine steals tied the school record with Larry Farmer set vs. Friends on Nov. 26, 1996.

Sophomore Dillon Claussen paced Washburn with 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting night and a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line while junior Jack Bachelor added 14 points, including three 3-pointers.

Noah King averages a team-high 17.6 points for Missouri Western while Seaman product Ty Henry is scoring 11.5 points per game, Marko Pavlovic 11.4 and William Kiburis 10.4. 

Friday's game will be the 110th between the two schools, with Washburn leading the series, 65-44.

Washburn has won the last five in the series and 10 of the last 13. However, each time the Griffons threatened, Washburn answered, keeping Western at arm's length.

Claussen led Washburn with 18 points in the earlier Ichabod win over the Griffons and eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Senior Sam Ungashick provided a big lift off the bench against Western with a season-high 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting and Bachelor added 16 points.

After Friday Washburn is back on the road for a three-game road trip starting at Fort Hays State on Jan. 29.

Washburn will then face Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 31 and Central Missouri on Feb. 7 before returning home on Feb. 12 to host Arkansas-Fort Smith.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 1-ranked Washburn University men's basketball posted its 20th straight win to open the season Friday at Lee Arena, posting a 90-78 MIAA decision over Missouri Western.

Senior Sam Ungashick came off the bench to score 17 points for No. 1-ranked Washburn in Friday's 90-78 MIAA win over Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

The Ichabods used efficient shooting, balanced scoring and several timely runs to keep the Griffons at arm's length, improving to 20-0 overall and 10-0 in the conference.

And while Washburn coach Brett Ballard wasn't necessarily pleased with every aspect of Friday's win, he also knew it was solid enough to get the job done.

"We got up 22 there in the first half with about three minutes left and had a chance to kind of slam the door,'' Ballard said. "We didn't finish the half real well, so that was disappointing, and then we just never could never string together enough stops to put this thing away.

"But I've got to remind myself that we're so spoiled with the teams we've had here the last couple of years and how we've won a lot of these games. You crush a team on Wednesday (94-44 over Northwest Missouri) and I think sometimes you assume that's how it's going to go every time, but in this league that's just not the reality. You're going to have to grind through some of these and ultimately that will be good for us.'' 

Washburn weathered an early back-and-forth stretch that featured six ties and one lead change in the opening minutes before exploding offensively.

After Missouri Western (13-8, 5-5) briefly led 3–0, Washburn responded with a surge fueled by transition baskets and inside touches, eventually stretching the margin to as many as 22 points late in the first half.

Washburn turned a 42-30 lead with 5:34 to go in the first half into a 54-32 margin with 2:44 to play in the half after a 12-2 run.

However, Missouri Western closed the half on a 10-2 run, trimming the Washburn advantage back to 14 at 56-42.

The Ichabods shot a scorching 81.5 percent from the field and 75 percent from deep in the opening period, building the lead.

Missouri Western mounted multiple challenges in the second half, trimming the deficit into single digits midway through the period, but every run was answered by the Ichabods.

A sequence of interior buckets and fastbreak finishes helped Washburn stabilize the lead, and a late push pushed the margin back into double figures down the stretch.

The Ichabods finished with 25 fast-break points and 48 points in the paint, consistently beating the Griffons down the floor and attacking the rim.

Washburn placed eight players in the scoring column, with several delivering standout performances. 

Sophomore Dillon Claussen led the way for the Ichabods with 18 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting night while adding six rebounds and four assists.

Senior Sam Ungashick provided a major spark off the bench, knocking down shots in transition and finishing with 17 points in 17 minutes on 7-of-9 shooting from the field while making his first six shots of the game.

Ungashick's top two scoring games of the season have both come against the Griffons as has his Washburn career-high.

"I think it might be a little bit of chance,'' Ungashick said. "But it's always a matchup game and all my guys are always instilling confidence in me and having faith in me to go out there and prove it.

"When you see those first couple go in it helps and when I hit the late stepback 3 (in the first half) that's kind of when I felt it was a good game for me.'' 

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