Complete Game Notes

Game #10
Matchup: Washburn (8-1, 0-0 MIAA) vs Missouri Western (4-3, 0-0 MIAA)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 2
Time: 5:30 p.m. CST
Site: St. Joseph, Mo. - MWSU Fieldhouse (3,750)
Radio: KTPK 106.9 FM / Topeka with play by play with Mark Elliott and Bruce Steinbrock
Online Audio: Through wusports.com
Live Video: Through themiaa.tv
Live Stats: not available
Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 196-38 (.836) in his eighth season - McHenry is 11-9 against Missouri Western.
The Griffons are coached by Lynn Plett. He is 4-3 in his first season at MWSU. He is 189-181 in his 14th season overall.
Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 7 in the WBCA/USA Today/ESPN Preseason Coaches Poll.
Series Record: MWSU leads the all-time series 37-35
Last Meeting: WU 71-70 in MIAA Tournament Finals, 3/4/07 in KC
Last WU win: same
Last MWSU win: 49-47, 1/27/07 in St. Joseph
Worth noting: MWSU snapped WU's 26-game MIAA win streak on 12/9/06

Lady Blues open MIAA play at Missouri Western on Jan. 2  . . . 
The No. 7 ranked Lady Blues will open the MIAA slate at Missouri Western on Jan. 2 after a 13-day lay-off from a pair of wins at the Cruzin' Classic in Miami, Fla., topping regional foes Cameron and Central Oklahoma. The Griffons are currently 4-4 on the season.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game with Missouri Western will be broadcast live on 106.9 FM KTPK with Mark Elliott calling the action. The games will also be streamed live online by clicking the live audio button under Lady Blues Basketball on the WU web site at www.wusports.com by clicking the live audio link under Lady Blues Basketball.

The coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 196-38 (.839) record overall and 98-26 (.790) record in the MIAA with four MIAA regular season championships from 2003-06 and the 2005 NCAA National Championship. He was named the Lady Blues head coach prior to the 2000-01 season. He is second among active women's NCAA Division II Coaches in winning percentage. McHenry was named the MIAA's Coach of the Year in 2005 and in 2006 and the Division II Bulletin National Coach of the Year in 2005. (complete bio on page 2 of notes.)
Lynn Plett is the seventh head coach of the Griffon program. He comes to MWSU from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois where he led the Flyers program for the previous five seasons (2002-2007). He is 4-3 in his first season at MWSU and he is 189-181 in his 14th season overall.
Plett earned a bachelor's degree in Physical Education and another in Humanities and Biblical Studies from Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas where he competed in basketball and soccer. He and his wife Brenda have a son, Matt and a daughter, Stacy.

Last Time Out for the Lady Blues . . .
Dec. 20, 2007 - #7 Washburn 66, Central Oklahoma 56 • MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The No. 7 ranked Washburn Lady Blues finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 66-56 win over Central Oklahoma (7-3) in the final game of the Cruzin Classic.
Corkey Stiger led the Lady Blues with 19 points after hitting 7 of 16 shots from the field. Stiger scored 11 points in the first half. Amanda Holmes hit 11 of 14 free throws en route to 15 points and 10 rebounds.
In the first half, Washburn pushed their lead to as many as eight on two different occasions while taking a 38-30 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, Washburn increased their lead to 14 with 6:50 to go in the game, but over the next two minutes, UCO cut the lead back to seven at 58-51 with 4:27 to go in the game. After four free throws by Holmes, Washburn jumped back to an 11-point lead at 62-51 with 2:36 left. After a Stiger jumper with 56 seconds left in the game, Washburn was up 65-52. A field goal by UCO with seven seconds left cut the final margin to 10.
Washburn outrebounded the Bronchos 47 to 34. Washburn hit 20 of 52 shots from the field for a 39 percent average. UCO was 17 of 57 from the field for a 30 percent clip. The Lady Blues forced 15 UCO turnovers into 13 points and the Washburn bench outscored the Broncho bench 19 to 11.

Notes from the Central Oklahoma Game
The Lady Blues used its fourth different starting line up of the season and its second in the last two games … Washburn is now 677-321 all-time in 998 all-time games … Kalee Silovsky made her first start at Washburn and pulled down a career-high six rebounds … Ron McHenry improved to 196-38 all-time at Washburn in his eighth year … Washburn is now 3-0 all-time against Central Oklahoma … Amanda Holmes recorded her 12th double-double of her career at Washburn and her second of her senior season … UCO shot 29 percent for the game marking the 80th time Washburn has held an opponent to under 50 percent shooting from the field … Corkey Stiger has led the Lady Blues in scoring in the last six games averaging 18.8 ppg … the six blocked shots against UCO tied a season high … the 52 field goal attempts by the Lady Blues was a season-tying low … the 11 free throws made and the 11 free throw attempts by Amanda Holmes were both career highs … the 12 field goal attempts by Janice Bright were a season-high … Jessica Mainz's six rebounds tied a season-high.

Washburn/Missouri Western series notes . . .
The Jan. 2 meeting will be the 73rd between the Lady Blues and the Griffons. Washburn is 35-37 against the Griffons as Washburn has won 11 of the last 13 meetings after losing both regular season meetings during the 2006-07 campaign while taking the last meeting on March 4, 2007 in the MIAA Tournament Championship game. The teams have met twice in the NCAA Tournament with Missouri Western winning both match-ups. The Griffons won 66-62 on March 11, 1994 and March 9, 1995 73-57.

Last Meeting Between Washburn and Missouri Western . . .
(March 4, 2007) KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sophomore G Jessica Mainz's free throw with 4.0 seconds left lifted the second-seeded Washburn Lady Blues to a 71-70 win over the top-seeded Missouri Western Griffons in the title game of the MIAA Women's Basketball Championships Sunday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium. The Lady Blues (27-3) won the tournament for the fourth time in the five years it has been played in Kansas City, and third year in a row. They earned the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
Washburn had a 21-point advantage at one point in the first half's proceedings, but settled on an 18-point, 42-24 lead at the break. The Lady Blues shot 18-of-32 (56.3 percent) from the floor in the first half, with junior F Amanda Holmes (11) and junior G Corkey Stiger (10) accounting for half of the team's offensive output.
The Griffons went nearly nine minutes without a field goal in the opening stanza -- junior G Ashleigh Curry's three-pointer with 51 seconds left was Western's first field goal since a bucket by senior C Inga Buzoka with 9:37 on the clock. MWSU was out-scored, 16-3, during the drought.
The second half brought a 180-degree turn to the game -- the Griffons warmed up and things went south for the Lady Blues. Washburn went without a made field goal for more than six minutes -- and saw a 15-point lead evaporate in that cold spell.
Western embarked on a 21-5 outburst, fueled by eight points from junior G/F Yanique Javois and six from Buzoka, and grabbed its first lead since the 16:54 mark of the first half -- 53-52 with 8:57 remaining.
There were seven lead changes and six ties in the last 8:39 of the game, as neither team could get more than one possession's difference. The Griffons last lead came after a pair of free throws by junior G Chemia Woods at the 4:16 mark, making it 63-62.
Holmes answered with a jumper one minute later to give the Lady Blues the lead. The break for Washburn came on the next possession, as Curry went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe following a foul on the baseline charged to WU senior G Cindy Keeley to leave the score at 64-64 with 2:46 left.
Western would knot the score three more times in the final 2:16, the last on a Curry jumper with 20 seconds left. After WU planned their strategy in a timeout with 13.2 seconds left, Mainz was fouled by Javois on a drive to the bucket 9.2 seconds later.
Mainz, who led the Lady Blues soccer team to the MIAA title last fall as the conference's MVP, stepped up to the foul line having made just two charities in her previous five tries -- and missed her first try. She regrouped and calmly sank the second attempt.
Western moved quickly to get a game-winning shot off, but Davis' trey was wide of the mark, handing the Griffons their second loss in the last four games.
Holmes led Washburn with 19 points (on 8-of-24 shooting from the field) and nine rebounds, and earned All-Tournament honors. Stiger ended up with 15 points off the bench and picked up the tournament's Most Valuable Player award. Senior F Brooke Ubelaker chipped in 10 points.
Javois was 5-of-9 from three-point range and led all scorers in the final with 21 points. Curry and Buzoka each registered 14 points -- Buzoka added seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Davis had 12 rebounds and six assists to go with six points.
Javois, Curry and Davis rounded out the All-Tournament Team.
 
About Missouri Western . . .
The Griffon women stand 4-3 after splitting a pair of games in the Henderson State Holiday Classic on December 17 & 18.  The Griffons will take on Central Methodist on Dec. 29 before playing the Lady Blues.
Statistically the Griffons rank in the middle of the pack in every offensive category in the MIAA including seventh in points per game (71.6) and fourth in field goal percentage (.454).  Individually, the Griffons are well represented in many categories.  Yanique Javois, who has twice been named the MIAA player of the week during the non-conference schedule, ranks fourth in the MIAA scoring (20.2 ppg), first in field goal percentage (.575) and third in three point field goal percentage (.448).  Jill Johnson is also having an outstanding first seven games as she is sixth in the MIAA in scoring (18 ppg), third in rebounding (9.2 rpg), eighth in field goal percentage (.437) and ninth in free throw percentage (.774).  Defensively, Tierra Ford leads the MIAA in steals per game (3 spg) and is tied for sixth with teammate Rachel Luteyn in the blocked shot category.  Chemia Woods has done an ample job at the point guard position ranking third in the MIAA in assists (4.2 apg) and second in steals (2.8 apg).

Last time out for Missouri Western (Prior to Central Methodist) . . .
 (Dec. 18, 2007) ARKADELPHIA, ARK. – The Missouri Western Griffons (4-3) could not find their best effort on Tuesday evening in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. A combination of an off night from the field (31%), 24 turnovers, and 23 offensive rebounds against them spelled defeat as the Lady Reddies of Henderson State (5-4) defeated the Griffons 66-45 in the final game of the Henderson State Classic.
The first half was a half where neither team could get into much of a rhythm. In all 21 fouls were called and 19 free throws were attempted. Combine that with 21 turnovers between the two teams and neither squad headed to the locker room satisfied. Missouri Western began the game turning the ball over on three of their first four possessions. After that sequence the Griffons settled down, but could not find good shots. Western held a 9-8 lead on a three pointer from senior Amanda Thomas, but the Lady Reddies would go on a 15-2 run over the next seven and a half minutes to open up a 23-11 advantage. All three seniors had picked up two fouls with 9:03 remaining and left the duties to Thomas and the freshman class. Rachel Luteyn scored six first half points and Lauren Nolke chipped in five first half points to keep the HSU lead at 30-18 with only 3:07 to go in the half. Jill Johnson entered back into the game and scored all of her six first half points to lead MWSU on a 8-2 run to end the half with the Lady Reddies leading 32-26. Neither team was impressive from the field as HSU shot 30% (10-of-34) and MWSU hit 33% (9-of-27).
In the second half Missouri Western couldn't do much to change their fate. They would inch closer and closer early in the second half as Johnson's jumper with 14:41 remaining would end an 8-0 run and cut the lead to 39-36. The Griffs would only close the lead to three once more as Nolke hit two free throws and get it to 41-38. MWSU would only score seven more points in the final 14:15 of the game. Henderson State dominated on the offensive glass and grab 14 offensive rebounds in the second half alone. The Lady Reddies were also able to stop one of the hottest players in the MIAA in Yanique Javois as she only had eight points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field. Western was led by Johnson who had 12 points and was the only Griffon in double figures. Luteyn and Nolke finished with eight and seven points respectively.
For the game, Western shot 31% (15-of-49) from the field, 33% (4-of-12) from three point range, and 73% (11-of-15) from the free throw line. Henderson State did not shoot much better as they were 21-of-70 (30%) from the field, 8-of-33 (24%) from beyond the arc, and 16-of-21 (76%) from the charity stripe.

Lady Blues Notes . . .
#3 – Brette Ulsaker – Had career high 2 FT's against Cameron on 12/18
#4 – Amanda Holmes – Recorded 12th double double of career against Central Oklahoma
#11 – Renata Germano – Made first career start against Cameron
#13 – Jessica Mainz – Averaging 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 points per game in last four
#14 – Alyssa Mullen – Hit first career 3-pointer against Central Oklahoma on 12/20
#20 – Hadleigh Meek – Has hit 7 of 8 FT attempts this season
#21 – Corkey Stiger – Needs 8 points for 600 in 2-year Washburn career
#23 – Jacki Tipping – Both rebounds are offensive this season
#24 – Karla Tailele – Seven of eight from FT line this season
#30 – Kalee Silovsky – Made first career start against Central Oklahoma
#32 – Janice Bright – Double figure points in 5 of 9 games this season
#33 – Hope Gregory – Recorded first block of career against Central Oklahoma
#44 – Emily Gibson – Tied season high with eight minutes played against UMSL
#50 – Regiane Araujo – Hit both FG attempts against Cameron on 12/18 in 10 minutes of action

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 24th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 293-55 (.841) overall at home. 
The longest winning streak was 44 games from Dec. 1, 1990 to March 20, 1993.
The Lady Blues have won 35 straight regular season non-conference games in Lee Arena. The last defeat by a non-conference team in the regular season was to Missouri-St. Louis in a 59-51 setback on Dec. 30, 2000.
Washburn is 101-10 (.910) in home games under Ron McHenry.

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 677-321 (.675 in 998 games) in its 38th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
The Washburn Lady Blues climbed from No. 8 to No. 7 latest USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll which was released Dec. 18. Washburn was ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll which was released on Oct. 31. The Lady Blues were ranked No. 8 in the final poll of the 2007-08 season after finishing with a 29-4 overall record. The poll marks the 92nd consecutive week the Lady Blues have been ranked.

Washburn in MIAA openers . . .
The Lady Blues are 11-6 in MIAA openers since the 1990-91 season. Washburn had their four-game winning streak to open the MIAA season snapped last season against the Griffons. Washburn is 4-3 in MIAA openers with McHenry on the bench.

TIp-ins . . .
• Head coach Ron McHenry is 28-19 against ranked teams and 26-11 when both teams are ranked in the WBCA National Poll.
• The Lady Blues have not allowed an opponent to shoot above 50 percent in a game in a streak of 80 contests - Angelo State was the last opponent to hit 50 percent of their shots in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Springfield when they connected on 26 of 52 shots on March 12, 2005.
• The Lady Blues have held their opponents under 100 points in 260 consecutive games.
• Washburn is shooting .442 from the field at home and .361 on the road.
• Missouri Western's Tierra Ford and Washburn's Emily Gibson were prep teammates at Bishop Miege High School in Kansas City.
• Washburn is hitting 138 of 312 (.442)  from the field at home and only 79 of 220 (.359) on the road.
• Washburn is 41 of 117 from 3-point land in home games (.350) and 19 of 68 (.279) on the road.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues will play its 1,000 game when they take on Central Missouri in Lee Arena at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 5.