No. 3 seed Washburn took control with a strong first quarter and never looked back, knocking off No. 6 seed and two-time defending tournament champion Pittsburg State 60-49 on Friday afternoon in a MIAA Tournament quarterfinal.
Senior Yibari Nwidadah registered a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 60-49 MIAA Tourament win over Pittsburg State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods, who have now won seven straight games, advanced to a 2:15 p.m. semifinal on Saturday to face No. 7 seed Missouri Western in Kansas City, Mo.
After a brief 5-4 lead for the Gorillas (18-11) in the opening minutes of the game, Washburn (22-7) went on a 5-0 run to take a lead that would last for the rest of the day.
A pair of 3-pointers for seniors Aniah Wayne and Payton Sterk capped off the first quarter but the defensive side led the way, holding Pittsburg State to 2-10 shooting to open the game with an 18-6 lead after one.
The Gorillas began to chip away at the start of the second quarter, cutting the lead down to six points with 7:17 remaining in the half.
But the Ichabod defense tightened up from that point on in the quarter as they allowed just two points in the final four minutes of the quarter.
Senior all-conference pick Yibari Nwidadah had the final four points of the half for Washburn as the Ichabods went into the locker room leading, 28-22.
Nwidadah and junior Madelyn Amekporfor combined to score the first 10 points of the second half for the Ichabods. After a Pittsburg State layup made it an eight-point game at the 5:30 mark, the next 10 points were scored by the Washburn trio of Nwidadah, Gabi Giovannetti and Sterk to go up 48-30. The lead was 17 heading into the fourth quarter.
"I think we defended well in the first half, we just didn't finish our possessions,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling told KTPK Radio. "We were getting worked on the glass in the first half.
"I challenged our team and showed them we were negative eight and I was really proud of our response out of halftime.''
After an early bucket for Amekporfor, the Ichabod offense slowed down to begin the fourth, but Washburn remained solid on the defensive end, holding the Gorillas under 25.0 percent shooting in the quarter.
An 8-0 run over nearly four minutes brought the lead down to 10 inside the final minute, but free throws by Sterk and Giovannetti were able to clinch the win as Washburn advanced into the tournament semifinals for a second straight season.
The Ichabods shot just 34.4 percent in the game and 3-19 from deep, but held Pittsburg State to just 26.8 percent shooting overall and under 30.0 percent from behind the 3-point arc. The Gorillas won the rebounding battle 46-39 but Washburn made up for it with a 17-10 turnover advantage, leading to 23 points to just nine for Pitt State.
Nwidadah led the way with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 8-10 from the field and adding a block and steal.
Amekporfor and Giovannetti both added 12 points while Sterk scored nine with eight rebounds and three steals.
"We talk a lot about finishing possessions, with the rebounding aspect of it,'' Nwidadah told KTPK Radio. "We didn't start off very well, but we made that adjustment and I felt like that helped us a lot.
"At this point in the season it's about who executes and can be more tough, so we're just focusing in on what we need to do.''
Clara Swearingen led the Gorillas scoring 15 points and Marin Adams added 12.
