By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball returned to Lee Arena Thursday for only the third time over its past 10 games and took full advantage of the opportunity, draining a season-high 13 3-pointers on the way to an 85-70 MIAA win over Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Washburn senior Payton Sterk scored a game-high 23 points in Thursday's 85-70 MIAA win over Arkansas-Fort Smith. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn senior Aniah Wayne (24) is congratulated by her teammates after draining one of her six 3-pointers in Thursday's 85-70 MIAA win over Arkansas-Fort Smith. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The underdog Lions stayed within striking distance for most of the night before Washburn stretched out its lead down the stretch, improving to 16-7 overall and 9-5 in the MIAA while Arkansas-Fort Smith dropped to 4-19, 3-11.
"I know what everybody else saw in their record,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said. "We knew they were a much better team than that and they can score and move and defend. So we had to settle in and wear them out a little bit and I think we stayed consistent enough.
"We turned it over too many times on some unforced things, but I was really proud of our resiliency and then we saw some shots go in.''
After Washburn scored the first six points of the game the next 12 came from the Lions.
Washburn answered right back, scoring 10 in a row after senior Aniah Wayne knocked down a fast break 3-pointer. It was the first of four 3-pointers for Wayne inside the final five minutes of the quarter as she helped the Ichabods build a 25-21 advantage.
Senior Aniah Wayne hit six of nine 3-pointers Thursday in Washburn's 85-70 MIAA win over Arkansas-Fort Smith. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Wayne, who tied her career-high with 19 points while hitting 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range, said she had an inkling before the game that Thursday was going to be a good night.
"I think I felt it during warmups,'' Wayne said. "I have a consistent little shot routine before games, so getting shots up and seeing them go in helped me build my confidence going into the game.''
Despite fighting foul trouble, the Ichabods continued to churn offensively, shooting 46.2 percent in the second quarter with three more connections from deep.
Arkansas-Fort Smith kept pace, staying within four before going in front 38-36 with 1:45 remaining in the half, using a 6-0 run.
Washburn scored the final six points on triples from Wayne and senior Payton Sterk to lead 42-38 going into halftime.
Both teams continued to trade baskets out of the break, but Wayne provided some breathing room for the Ichabods, pushing the lead to four with 4:55 left in the third when she hit another 3-pointer.
The Ichabods then got stingy on the defensive end, holding the Lions without a basket for the final 4:44 of the third quarter. Washburn finished the stanza on a 6-0 run to lead 58-49.
Senior Gabi Giovannetti scored the first five points of the fourth quarter for Washburn, pushing the lead into double figures.
The Ichabod offense kept the lead there, shooting 68.8 percent for the quarter to score 27 points in the frame. The Ichabods led by as many as 18 points after Kellyn Hunter scored with 2:34 left as the Ichabods eased into the 15-point win.
Both teams shot an even 50.0 percent from the field in the game, but the Ichabods took 18 more shots than Arkansas-Fort Smith while also going 13-25 from 3-point range to create their advantage.
Washburn had a narrow 31-28 lead on the glass but won the turnover battle 22-15, leading to 27 points off turnovers while the Lions had just 11. Paint scoring also went in favor of the Ichabods, 34-24.
Sterk led the way with 23 points on 7-15 shooting, turning in her second straight big night against the Lions after burning Arkansas-Fort Smith for 33 points last season.
"That's crazy,'' Sterk said. "I don't know what it is. I must just play good against them.
"I think us guards had been struggling a little bit shooting-wise in past games, so that was a good part of today and Aniah killed it. She was just hot, but it was all good.''
Senior Yibari Nwidadah, Washburn's leading scorer and rebounder on the season, was relegated to the bench for most of the first half after picking up two early fouls and did not register a point or a rebound in the opening half.
But Nwidadah scored 10 second-half points and junior Madelyn Amekporfor had six steals to go along with five points.
Haleigh Jackson led Arkansas-Fort Smith with 18 points on 4-6 shooting and 8-9 at the line.
The Ichabods finish their brief homestand on Saturday, facing Northeastern State in a 1 p.m. MIAA game.
WASHBURN WOMEN 85, ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH 70
Ark.-Fort Smith 21 17 11 21-- 70
Washburn 25 17 16 27 -- 85
Ark.-Fort Smith (4-19, 3-11) -- Wemba 4-7 0-0 8, Ross 2-3 4-4 8, Gregory 4-9 0-0 12, Jackson 4-6 8-9 18, Brown 0-2 2-4 2, Horton 0-1 0-0 0, Linville 4-6 1-2 9, Chineke 0-1 0-0 0, Rainey 3-7 2-4 11, Beatty 1-1 0-0 2, Young 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-44 17-23 70.
Washburn (16-7, 9-5) -- Amekporfor 2-6 0-0 5, Nwidadah 5-6 0-1 10, Gomez 2-3 1-2 6, Giovannetti 3-7 2-2 9, Sterk 7-15 5-6 23, Kogbara 2-5 0-1 4, McKenzie 1-1 0-1 2, Hunter 2-7 1-2 5, Wayne 6-9 1-2 9, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Shipman 1-2 0-0 2, Gideon 0-0 0-0 0, Luebbert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-62 10-17 85.
3-point shots -- Arkansas-Fort Smith 9-19 (Gregory 4-9, Rainey 3-6, Jackson 2-3, Young 0-1), Washburn 13-25 (Wayne 6-9, Sterk 4-8, Giovannetti 1-4, Amekporfor 1-2, Gomez 1-1, Hunter 0-1). Rebounds -- Arkansas-Fort Smith 28 (Wemba 8), Washburn 31 (Kogbara 6). Assists -- Arkansas-Fort Smith 12 (Wemba 3, Wilson 3), Washburn 18 (Amekporfor 4). Turnovers -- Arkansas-Fort Smith 22, Washburn 15. Total fouls -- Arkansas-Fort Smith 16, Washburn 21. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.
