Game #2 Matchup: Washburn (1-0) vs Southwestern College (3-2) Date: Saturday, Nov. 22 Time: 7 p.m. CST Site: Topeka, Kan. - Lee Arena (3,904) Radio: WIBW AM 580 / Topeka with play by play with Mark Elliott and color commentary by Bruce Steinbrock Game Notes: Washburn Online Audio: Through wusports.com (free) Television: None Live Stats: Through wusports.com Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 215-44 (.831) in his ninth season. McHenry is 3-0 against Southwestern. Dave Denly is in his 11th season at Southwestern… he is 192-113 overall. Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 3 in the WBCA Preseason Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the Division II Bulletin Preseason Poll.

Radio: AM 580 WIBW | AM 580 WIBW Web Stream Live Stats: wusports.com Washburn Lady Blues Roster Statistics Schedule Southwestern College Roster Statistics Schedule

Lady Blues continue home stand with Southwestern College . . . 
Washburn will play host to Southwestern College on Saturday in Lee Arena at 7 p.m. as they continue a seven-game home stand to open the 40th season of Lady Blues basketball. Washburn started the season on the right foot with a 73-50 win over Missouri-St. Louis on Wednesday. The Lady Moundbuilders enter the game with a 3-2 record and will face Baker on Thursday night. The Lady Blues are the third MIAA squad Southwestern College will have faced this season.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game will be broadcast live on AM 580 WIBW with Mark Elliott calling the action and Bruce Steinbrock providing color commentary. The games will also be streamed live online by clicking the live audio button under Lady Blues Basketball on the WU web site at wusports.coml. Pregame show starts 15 minutes before tip.

The coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 215-44 (.833) record overall and 112-30 (.789) record in the MIAA with five MIAA regular season championships and the 2005 NCAA National Championship.  McHenry has also led the Lady Blues to four MIAA Postseason Tournament titles including four of the six played in Kansas City. McHenry has the highest winning percentage (.833) in MIAA history of coaches who have at least 200 wins.
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 6 of notes.)
Southwestern College coach Dave Denly is in his 11th year as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Southwestern College.  He has built a program from scratch into one of the best in the KCAC.  An up-tempo, aggressive style has enabled the Lady Builders to finish no lower than fourth in every season competing in conference play.  Denly's overall record at the helm of the Lady Builders' is 192-113.

Last time out for the Lady Blues. . .
Nov. 19, 2008 -  TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 3-ranked Washburn Lady Blues opened the 2008-09 regular season with a 73-50 win over Missouri-St. Louis in Lee Arena.
Washburn trailed by as many as three in the first half at 9 to 6, but after back-to-back 3-pointers by Alyssa Mullen and Stevi Schutlz Washburn was off and running 17 entering the halftime break. Washburn was 15-of-28 from the field in the opening stanza for 54 percent while they held Missouri-St. Louis to 9-of-28 from the field.
In the second half, both teams were cold coming back out to the floor and UMSL cut the Lady Blues' lead to 15 and 40-25 but the Tritons would get no closer than 16 the remainder of the game.
Stanecia Graham led all scorers with 15 points hitting 6-of-9 field goal attempts. Renata Germano scored 10 off the bench. MaryHelen Slaughter led the Tritons with 13 points.
Washburn shot 55 percent in the second half (12-of-22) and finished with a 54 percent shooting night connecting on 27-of-50 from the field. Washburn also was 14-of-15 from the free throw line. Washburn held a 37 to 24 advantage on the backboards and doubled up the Tritons in the paint 40 to 20. Washburn did have one more turnover than UMSL committing 20 leading to 13 points for their opponent.
Karla Tailele had five assists to lead the team and Mullen had a team-high seven rebounds. Jessica Mainz saw 13 minutes of action after participating in her first basketball practice yesterday after joining the team after the conclusion of the Lady Blues soccer season in the NCAA Tournament. Fellow soccer player Lauren Henry played two minutes.

Notes from the win over Missouri-St. Louis . . .
• Washburn improved to 14-2 all-time against Missouri-St. Louis.
• Ron McHenry improved to 2-1 against Missouri-St. Louis.
• The Lady Blues are 4-1 all-time on Nov. 19 with the only loss coming in a 76-53 setback to Wichita State.
• The Lady Blues are 22-3 in home openers in Lee Arena. Their last loss in the first game in Lee Arena was on Nov. 16, 1998 in a 73-60 setback to Nebraska-Kearney.
• Under head coach Ron McHenry, the Lady Blues are 9-0 in season openers as well as home openers.

Washburn/Southwestern Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the tenth between the two squads with the Lady Blues leading the series 6-3. Counting Saturday's game, the Lady Blues have played the Moundbuilders only four times since the Feb. 3, 1973.
 
Last Meeting Between Washburn and Southwestern
(Nov. 17, 2007) The sixth-ranked Lady Blues quickly turned a five-point halftime lead into a double-digit rout as they defeated Southwestern College 75-44 in their season opener.
Amanda Holmes led the starters with 11 points while Regiane Araujo equaled that total off the bench. Karla Tailele and Janice Bright each had 10.
The Lady Blues shot 41 percent on the night while the Moundbuilders had just a 22 percent effort. Holmes was 4 of 6 from the field while Hope Gregory was 4 of 5 for eight points.
Washburn never trailed but was never able to pull away until the second half. After a 4-4 tie Bright hit a 3-pointer and the Lady Blues led the rest of the way. They led by 10 twice in the opening half but Southwestern cut it as close as three points in the final minute before Corkey Stiger scored two of her nine points to give WU a 34-29 halftime lead.
Two 3-pointers in the opening minutes gave the Lady Blues a double-digit lead. They pushed it to 20 on a free throw from Araujo and then to 30 when Emily Gibson hit a free throw.
Holmes pulled in 14 rebounds to lead the team while Araujo had eight. Holmes also led the way with four assists and two blocked shots.
 
About Southwestern . . .
Southwestern is 3-2 entering a game with Baker on Nov. 20th before taking on the Lady Blues on Saturday. The Lady Moundbuilders have played two other MIAA schools. The fell to Pittsburg State 91-46 on Nov. 16 and dropped a 76-41 decision to Missouri Southern the day before.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 25th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 302-56 (.842) overall at home. Washburn won their 300th game against Emporia State on Feb. 23, 2008. The longest winning streak was 44 games from Dec. 1, 1990 to March 20, 1993.
The Lady Blues have won 36 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 111-11 (.909) in home games under Ron McHenry. Five of the 11 losses came in his first year on the Lady Blues bench. In the last seven seasons, Washburn is 103-6 (.944).

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 696-327 (.681 in 1,022 games) in its 40th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(Nov. 5, 2008) The Washburn Lady Blues basketball team was tabbed at No. 3 in the USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll which was released today. The Lady Blues finished fifth in the final poll of the 2007-08 season. The Lady Blues have been ranked in 95 consecutive top 25 polls and have received votes in the last 110 top 25 coaches polls.

Lady Blues Notes . . .
#3 • Brette Ulsaker • G • 5-9 • Jr. • Hit both free throw attempts against UMSL.
#4 • Stanecia Graham • F • 6-1 • Sr. • Was 6 of 9 from the field against UMSL.
#5 • Jacki Tipping • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Will miss season after having ankle surgery in late September.
#10 • Lauren Henry • G • 5-4 • Fr. • Played two minutes in WU debut.
#11 • Renata Germano • C • 6-2 • Sr. • Had 10 points hitting 3 of 5 field goal attempts against UMSL.
#13 • Jessica Mainz • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Played 13 minutes missing both shot attempts with one assist.
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • So. • Seven rebounds were a new career high.
#20 • Hadleigh Meek • G • 5-8 • So. • Played five minutes in opener.
#21 • Cassie Lombardino • C • 6-3 • Fr. • Scored four points with two rebounds in eight minutes against UMSL.
#24 • Karla Tailele • G • 5-6 • Sr. • Played 12 minutes and had a career-high five assists.
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • Fr. • Hit first collegiate 3 point attempt against UMSL.
#30 • Kalee Silovsky • F • 6-0 • Sr. • Made second start of WU career and scored 9 points in 18 minutes.
#32 • Janice Bright • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Had seven points on 3 of 5 shooting while hitting only free throw attempt against UMSL.
#33 • Hope Gregory • G • 5-10 • So. • Had eight points hitting 2 of 3 3-point attempts.
#40 • Dayna Rodriguez • F • 6-2 • Jr. • Had four points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals against UMSL.
#42 • Raychel Boling • F • 6-0 • Jr. • Will sit out the season after transferring from Fort Hays State.
#44 • Emily Gibson • F • 6-1 • So. • Scored two points and had four rebounds in eight minutes against UMSL.

Tip-Ins . . .
• The Lady Blues are 4-2 all-time on Nov. 22. The third-largest victory margin in school history came on Nov. 22 during the 2003-04 season when the Lady Blues beat St. Mary's 106-38 in Lee Arena. The 68-point margin trails only the 87-point win over St. John's (Kan.) on Nov. 25, 1983 and the 81-point win over Missouri Valley on Jan. 1, 2006.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues will continue the longest home stand of the season when they will host Drury on Nov. 25 at 5:30 p.m. before opening the Lady Blues Holiday Classic with games against Sterling on Nov. 28 and Indiana (Pa.) the next day. Washburn will then open MIAA play with home games against Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 3 and Northwest Missouri on Dec. 6 before hitting the road for the first time in the regular season against Truman on Dec. 13.