The Washburn Ichabods set up for tip off in Lee Arena Dec. 9, 2023, at 1 p.m. With an almost immediate turnover by Washburn’s senior guard, Aubree Dewey, the Ichabods were off to a slow start allowing Rogers State to lead 4-0 until halfway through the first quarter.
It was Senior Guard Mackenzie Gamble who was able to put Washburn on the board when she was sent to the free throw line after being fouled on a put-back layup five minutes into the game, bringing the score to 4-2.
“We needed to relax. We need to slow it down and get back to [the team] we are,” Dewey said. “We needed to get back to playing together, sharing the ball and then putting the ball in the bucket.”
The struggle continued for the Ichabods throughout the second quarter as Rogers State was able to push their lead to 15-6 at the seven-minute mark while Washburn picked up seven turnovers in the quarter.
However, by the midway point of the second quarter, things started to fall into place for the Ichabods. Dewey was fouled on a made basket in the paint but came up empty on the and-one free throw, which started Washburn’s comeback.
As halftime approached, Yiibari Nwidadah, sophomore center, put up four points for the Ichabods, and Aniah Wayne, sophomore guard, cashed a three-pointer, shrinking Rogers State’s lead to 19-15 at the buzzer.
Head Coach Lora Westling shared her thoughts about the team’s first-half performance.
“I thought we defended well enough that we still had a chance [to come back] after a pretty miserable offensive half, so I really credited our defensive effort,” Westling said.
After a locker room meeting, the Ichabods headed back to the court and took control of the game. Right out of the half, Wayne hit a jumper in the paint off of a fastbreak, closing the score deficit to two points.
Washburn took its first lead of the game when Nwidadah was sent to the free-throw line on back-to-back possessions, where she made three of four shots, putting the Ichabods up 22-21.
The lead was short-lived due to Rogers State’s Junior Guard Breanna Fowler who converted three points on an and-one opportunity.
Toward the end of the third quarter, Washburn found its footing and started to build up a lead they would keep through the rest of the game thanks to Dewey banking a jump shot and handing her freshman teammate, Liz Boyd, an assist in the paint. By the end of the third, the Ichabods held a 37-29 lead.
At the eight-and-a-half-minute mark of the fourth quarter, Freshman Forward Madelyn Amekporfor hit a three-pointer, expanding Washburn’s lead to 12 points, the first double-digit lead of the game.
Amekporfor and Dewey continued to knock down shots for the remainder of the game with some help from Nwidadah as well. The team was able to pull out a 56-44 win over Rogers State giving the Ichabods a 6-2 record on the season.
Edited by Jeremy Ford and Jayme Thompson
