By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women put a bow on the 2023 portion of their season Tuesday afternoon, running away in the second half with a 75-56 win over Northeastern State at Lee Arena.
WU coach Lora Westling said Tuesday was a great way to head into the holiday break.
"That was the first thing I told my girls, 'Thank you for getting a win while I'm in this ridiculous (Christmas) sweater,' '' Westling said. "I think it's a combination of the work they've been putting in.
"These girls deserve going into break with a little bit of joy and a little bit of confidence because they've certainly been putting in the work.''
Washburn's NIbari Nwidadah (32) is congratulated by her teammates after scoring and drawing a foul in Tuesday's 75-56 MIAA win over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn coach Lora Westling, decked out in a Christmas sweater, coaches her Ichabods during Tuesday's 75-56 MIAA win over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn, 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA, and Northeastern State were deadlocked at 17 at the end of the first quarter and 34-all at halftime before the Ichabods took control with a 20-9 third quarter and cruised the rest of the way.
The RiverHawks (4-6, 1-4) claimed the first run of the game, jumping out to an 8-2 lead with 5:50 to play in the first quarter.
A pair of Washburn 3-pointers from senior Lakryn Schieferecke and sophomore Aniah Wayne got the offense going.
The lead was pushed back to seven before the Ichabods ended the quarter on a 7-0 run, with senior Aubree Dewey scoring five, including a bucket just before the break to tie it at 17.
Washburn scored the first four of the second quarter but couldn't push the lead past four at any point in the first half.
Northeastern State was able to tie the game and take a 30-29 lead with 4:23 remaining in the half.
The RiverHawks stayed in front until Wayne was able to convert an old fashioned three-point-play in the final seconds of the half to leave knot the game at 34 at the break.
After shooting 31.3 percent in the first half, Washburn came out of halftime rolling on offense, shooting 55.6 percen from the floor.
The Ichabods began the half on a 7-0 run, with sophomore Yibari Nwidadah scoring the first five points.
The Ichabod defense held strong all quarter, holding Northeastern State to three of 14 shooting, until the lead was pushed to double- digits on a corner 3-pointer by sophomore Amaya Davison with 1:15 left in the third. A triple by Wayne before the quarter's end made it 54-43 after three.
Wayne stayed hot, leading off the fourth with another shot from behind the arc.
The RiverHawks cut the lead down to 10 in the opening minutes of the quarter, but that was as close as they got.
Nwidadah converted an and-one with 5:10 left to push the lead back to 16.
Nia McKenzie scored the final two baskets of the game to account for the final score, the largest lead of the game for the Ichabods.
Washburn shot 43.4 percent from the game, missing only eight shots in the second half.
The offense also generated 27 free throws hitting 22 of them
Northeastern State was limited to 37.0 percent shooting. The Ichabods pulled down eight more rebounds and the WU bench outscored the RiverHawks, 25-12.
Nwidadah set a career-high with 19 points on four of four shooting from the field and going 11 of 12 from the free throw line.
She also added six rebounds and a pair of steals in just 21 minutes.
Washburn senior Aubree Dewey drives to the hoop in Tuesday's 75-56 MIAA win over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Dewey finished with 13 points, four steals, seven rebounds and seven assists and Wayne made four 3-pointers on her way to 15 points.
Eight of the 10 players that suited up for Washburn cracked the scoring column against the RiverHawks.
"It's not that we'll have just one person go off on a night,'' Nwidadah said. "We just have a lot of players on the court who can go off when needed.''
Courtney Lee and Halie Jones were the only RiverHawks in double figures with Lee scoring 14 and Jones finishing with 10 points.
The Ichabods will return to action Jan. 4 against Central Oklahoma at Lee Arena.
WASHBURN WOMEN 75, NORTHEASTERN STATE 56
Northeastern State 17 17 9 13 -- 56
Washburn 17 17 20 21-- 75
Northeastern State (4-6, 1-4)
Lee 5-7 2-4 14, Tomokino 2-6 4-4 8, Kirchhoff 3-7 0-0 8, Alford 1-4 2-2 4, Jones 4-12 1-2 10, Brown 2-4 0-0 4, Pawlata 2-8 2-2 6, Abercrombie 0-1 0-0 0, Camara 1-3 0-2 2, Eubanks 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 11-18 56.
WASHBURN (8-3, 3-2)
Snyder 0-1 0-0 0, Nwidadah 4-4 11-12 19, Gamble 1-4 0-0 3, Dewey 4-8 5-6 13, Wayne 5-15 1-1 15, Boyd 2-5 2-2 6, Schieferecke 2-7 2-3 7, Amekporfor 0-2 0-0 0, Davison 3-5 1-3 8, McKenzie 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 23-53 22-27 75.
3-point goals -- Northeastern State 5-16 (Lee 2-2, Kirchhoff 2-4, Jones 1-4, Alford 0-2, Tomokino 0-1, Brown 0-1, Abercrombie 0-1, Eubanks 0-1), Washburn 7-20 (Wayne 4-11, Gamble 1-4, Schieferecke 1-2, Davison 1-1, Amekporfor 0-1, Dewey 0-1), Rebounds -- Northeastern State 32 (Tomokino 7), Washburn 50 (Gamble 7, Dewey 7). Assists -- Northeastern State 6 (Tomokino 2), Washburn 12 (Dewey 7). Turnovers -- Northeastern State 15, Washburn 15. Total fouls -- Northeastern State 19, Washburn 18. Fouled out -- Lee, Pawlata, Nwidadah). Technical fouls -- none.
