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Washburn University women's basketball will head to Edmond, Okla. to tip off the 2025-26 season Friday and Saturday in the Central Region Crossover.

 

The Ichabods will face St. Cloud State at 5 p.m. on Friday and will take on No. 18-ranked Southwest Minnesota State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, with both games on the campus of Central Oklahoma.

 

WU coach Lora Westling, whose team went 18-13 last season and returns all five starters, said the Ichabod coaches and players are excited to get the season under way.

 

"It's time,'' Westling said. "We get those three scrimmage dates to break it up but it's hard to simulate actual game play. Our players have been working hard, it's just we've got to figure out who we are and you can't do that until you compete.''

 

Ichabod standout senior guard Payton Sterk agreed that it's time to face off another team.

 

"We've only played each other for however long it's been, so we're really excited to play someone else and use what we've been working on against someone else,'' Sterk said. "Both of these teams we're playing this weekend beat us last year so we'd all like to get some revenge and want to be able to beat them and show that we've gotten better.''  

 

Westling admits that she hasn't always been pleased with her team's practices over the past four weeks, but understands that some of that is because of the high hopes for this year's team.

 

"I think part of that is because my expectations are so high for this team, which they should be,'' Westling said. "They're capable of doing some really special things. We have great people, we have talented players, so it's going to be very hard to please me this year and I think they've earned that.

  

"You want higher expectations and I think we've gotten better out of every scrimmage situation we've had, but the bar's high for this group.''

 

Ichabod standout senior guard Payton Sterk said the Washburn players also have extremely high hopes for the season.

 

"We have a unique opportunity this year and I think that having everyone basically returning and then adding key people, I think we all expect a lot and I think we all know that we should do a lot,'' Sterk said. "I think everyone on our team expects greatness and is striving for greatness.'' 

 

Washburn finished fifth in the MIAA regular season last winter with an 11-8 record and advanced to the MIAA Tournament semifinals a year ago. The Ichabods were picked to finish second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and were tabbed third by the media. Washburn received votes in the first WBCA Poll of the year.

 

Washburn is 41-15 all-time in season openers after falling 82-72 to Southwest Minnesota State last season. 

Washburn returns 10 letter-winners from last season's roster while adding four new faces in the form of three transfers and one freshman.

The experienced Ichabod roster consists of four seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and one freshman. 

Yibari Nwidadah is back for year four with the Ichabods as a senior, earning All-MIAA second-team and MIAA All-defensive recognition as a junior after starting in 29 games and logging 28.4 minutes per game.

Nwidadah led Washburn in scoring with 16.8 points per game on 62.6 percent shooting from the floor while averaging 8.0 rebounds. The Olathe North product had 12 scoring efforts of 20-plus points and had eight double-doubles on the year. She finished first in the MIAA and third nationally in field goal percentage.

Sterk also earned All-MIAA second-team honors as a junior and was named the MIAA co-newcomer of the Year. Sterk  started in all 31 contests, logging a team-high 31.1 minutes per game while averaging 15.7 points on 41.5 percent shooting overall. She led the team with 62 3-pointers while also shooting a team-best 38.0 percent from deep.

The Colorado Springs, Colo. native grabbed 3.4 rebounds per game and averaged 2.3 assists, second most on the team. She had 10 20-plus scoring games, including three 30-plus point games. She finished second in the MIAA with 84.6 percent shooting at the free throw line and was third in the MIAA and 25th in the nation in 3-point percentage. She was also eighth in the conference in points per game.

Gabi Giovannetti enters her senior season with Washburn after being one of two players to start in all 31 games last season. She logged 27.3 minutes per game and was third on the team with an 11.6 scoring average on 41.7 percent shooting from the floor and 32.0 percent from deep with 47 made 3s, second most on the team. The Bishop Miege product also averaged 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals. Giovannetti delivered 18 double-digit scoring efforts and finished 11th in the MIAA in total 3-pointers made. 

Madelyn Amekporfor returns for her junior season after playing in 30 games and making 29 starts last season and logging 26.7 minutes per game. She averaged 7.8 points on 47.0 percent shooting from the floor while grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game, second most on the team. Defensively the Andover product averaged a team-high 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks and had nine games with 10-plus points and seven games with either three steals or blocks. 

Sophomore Brooke Gomez played in all 31 games and made 30 starts as a freshman, averaging 4.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and a team-high 2.7 assists. The Northglenn, Colo. native had five games with 5-plus assists, tops on the team. 

Four new Ichabods will join the team with three transfers and one true freshman coming to Topeka. 

Kellyn Hunter will be a junior for the Ichabods after transferring from Spring Hill College where she spent two seasons. She was the 2023-24 SIAC Freshman of the Year and averaged 14.1 points in 2024-25, earning All-SIAC first-team honors. She is a Mobile, Alabama native and played in high school at Faith Academy.

Britany Kogbara comes to Washburn as a junior from Mesa Community College where she averaged 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds as a sophomore and earned NJCAA first-team All-American honors for the Thunderbirds. She is from Peoria, Arizona. 

St. Cloud State finished the 2024-25 season with a 15-14 record overall and went 11-11 inside the NSIC. The Huskies  were knocked out in the quarterfinal round of the NSIC Tournament in a 76-60 loss to Concordia-St. Paul. 

Jada Eggebrecht returns as a senior St. Cloud after starting in all 29 games a season ago and averaging 13.3 points while shooting 41.6 percent from the floor. She drilled 47 3-pointers while also passing out 2.2 assists and grabbing 3.3 rebounds per game. She was 11th in the NSIC in 3-pointers made and earned All-NSIC second team honors. 

Junior Alana Zarneke is back for her junior season after starting all 29 games a season and averaging 11.1 points while shooting 39.9 percent from the floor and drilling a team-high 52 3-pointers on 39.4 percent, also a team-high. She averaged 4.7 rebounds, dished out a team-high 2.3 assists and averaged 1.3 steals while being named to the All-NSIC second team. 

Southwest Minnesota State is 1-1, including a 63-62 win over Tampa last time out. 

The 2024-25 SMSU squad went 28-5 overall and 19-3 in the NSIC. They fell in the NSIC Tournament semifinals but advanced to the NCAA Central Region championship where they lost 85-82 to Pittsburg State. 

Audrey Swanson is leading the Mustangs in scoring at 16.5 points per game while adding 8.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists and leading the team with six 3-pointers. 

Nicole Maenke is averaging 16.0 points and Kylan Gerads 15 points on a team-high 61.1 percent from the floor to begin the year.

Washburn will head home to a renovated Lee Arena for the first time next weekend at the Washburn Classic where the Ichabods will host Southwest Baptist at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21, and MSU-Denver on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m.