By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn University women's basketball secured a trip to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament as they knocked off the No. 4 seeded Nebraska-Kearney Lopers 78-65 on Friday night in the quarterfinal round.
Junior Yibari Nwidadah had 28 points and 15 rebounds in Washburn's 78-65 Friday's MIAA tournament win over Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]
The No. 5 seed Ichabods will face the top seed and No. 9 nationally-ranked Pittsburg State at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The first four points of the game came from Washburn (18-12) on buckets from Yibari Nwidadah and Gabi Giovannetti.
The Lopers (19-9) were held off the board until the 7:32 mark in the first quarter and did not make a field goal until the game was nearly five minutes old.
After a basket by Giovannetti put the Ichabods up 8-3 Nebraska-Kearney scored the next eight points to go ahead by three. The lead changed hands twice more in the opening quarter with the Lopers in front 16-14.
A 5-0 run early in the second quarter tied the game for Washburn after a layup by Madelyn Amekporfor.
After two more lead changes the Ichabods took a lead they would never relinquish with a 3-pointer by Aniyah Wayne the five-minute mark. The run continued with the final nine points of the quarter, finished by a buzzer-beating layup by Amaya Davison to go into the break leading 33-24. Washburn outscored Nebraska Kearney 19-8 in the quarter, shooting 8-12 from the field.
The run continued into the second half, with Nwidadah and Giovannetti each with buckets, forcing a Loper timeout. A fast break layup by Amekporfor pushed the lead to a game-high 16 points with 7:42 left in the quarter. Nebraska-Kearney responded, heating up from deep with three made triples in the quarter cutting the lead to as little as six. A 3-pointer from the Lopers on the final possession made it 52-44 going into the fourth.
Both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws from Giovannetti with 6:51 remaining pushed the lead back up to 12, capping off a 4-0 mini run. Nebraska Kearney cut the deficit to seven with 4:04 left but the Ichabods continued to answer on the other end, getting to the line and converting.
Washburn shot 12-12 from the line in the final quarter, extending the lead to 11 with 2:55 to go. Nwidadah scored the next four points, putting the game away with just over two to play as the Ichabods secured the 78-65 win.
Washburn shot 30.78% in the first quarter but finished the game at 52.0% (26-50) and were 24-29 at the line. WU held Nebraska Kearney to 34.3% (24-70) shooting while the Lopers went just 9-16 at the line they did make nine 3-pointers.
A 45-32 rebounding advantage led to a 44-32 margin in paint scoring for the Ichabods. Second chance scoring also went to Washburn, 17-10.
Nwidadah led the way with 28 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double. She shot 9-13 overall and 10-12 from the free throw line.
Giovannetti scored a season-high 21 points on 8-11 shooting and Amekporfor had a double-double of her own, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds while also adding three blocks. Off the bench Davison had nine points.
Three players scored in double figures for the Lopers, led by Jillian Aschoff, who had 15 points along with six assists.
Friday's win was the first MIAA Tournament victory for head coach Lora Westling along with every player on the Ichabod roster.
