Game #3 Matchup: Washburn (2-0) vs Drury (3-0) Date: Tuesday, Nov. 25 Time: 5:30 p.m. CST Site: Topeka, Kan. - Lee Arena (3,904) Radio: KTPK 106.9 FM / Topeka with play by play with Mark Elliott and color commentary by Bruce Steinbrock Game Notes: Washburn | Drury Online Audio: Through wusports.com (free) Television: None Live Stats: Through wusports.com Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 216-44 (.831) in his ninth season. McHenry is 5-2 against Drury. Steve Harold is 31-4 in his second season at Drury and 293-111 in his 14th season overall. He is 1-1 against Washburn. Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 3 in the WBCA Preseason Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the Division II Bulletin Preseason Poll. Drury was ranked No. 7 in the WBCA Preseason Poll and No. 10 in the Bulletin Preseason Poll.

Radio: KTPK 106.9 FM KTPK Web Stream (free) Internet: www.themiaa.tv (free) Live Stats: wusports.com Washburn Lady Blues Roster Statistics Schedule Drury Roster Statistics Schedule

Lady Blues to host Drury in Top 10 match up Tuesday night . . . 
The Lady Blues will put a 37-game non-conference regular season homecourt winning streak on the line when they face No. 7 ranked Drury. Washburn is 2-0 this season and the Lady Panthers are 3-0.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game will be broadcast live on KTPK 106.9 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 www.wusports.com by clicking the live audio link under Lady Blues Basketball. Pregame show starts 15 minutes before tip.

The coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 216-44 (.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.)
Drury head coach Steve Harold is 31-4 in his second season at Drury and 293-111 in his 14th season overall.

Last time out for the Lady Blues. . .
Nov. 21, 2008 -  TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 3-ranked Washburn Lady Blues jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back as they defeated Southwestern College 87-42 in Lee Arena.
Washburn hit their first four field goals of the game with a pair of jumpers by Stanecia Graham and a pair of 3-pointers by Hope Gregory jumping out to the 10-0 lead and pushed it to a 12-point lead after a couple of free throws by Brette Ulsaker. Southwestern did not scored until the 15:46 mark of the first half.
Washburn stretched the lead to as many as 16 at 27-11 with 7:26 to play in the opening half before a 10-2 run by the Moundbuilders cut the lead to eight at 21-21 with 3:44 before the halftime break. The teams traded 3-pointers and Washburn took a 37-24 lead in the locker rooms at the halfway point.
In the second half, Washburn held the Moundbuilders to 6 of 29 from the field as they hit 4 of 19 3-point attempts while Washburn was 20 of 36 from the field including a 6 of 11 performance from behind the 3-point arc. Washburn also outrebounded the Moundbuilders 28 to 13 in the second half.
Gregory led the Lady Blues with 15 points while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. Gregory was 4 of 5 from downtown. Also in double figures were Renata Germano with 11 points and Karla Tailele with 11 also. Tailele was 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Jordyn Cossman led the Moundbuilders with 10 points.
Washburn shot 49 percent from the field hitting 35 of 72 attempts from the field and hit 10 of 16 3-pointers. Southwestern was held to 16 of 56 from the field for  29 percent clip. They hit eight 3-pointers on 26 attempts.
Washburn outrebounded the Moundbuilders 49 to 29 for the game and forced 19 turnovers turning into 27 points. Washburn also outscored the Moundbuilders 46 to 6 in the paint.

Notes from the win over Southwestern College. . .
• Washburn improved to 7-3 all-time against Southwestern College winning the sixth-straight in the series.
• Ron McHenry improved to 34-1 all-time in the month of November on the Lady Blues' bench.

Washburn/Drury Series Notes . . .
The Lady Blues are 5-2 all-time against the Lady Panthers having won the last three of the last four games. Washburn fell in the last meeting between the two teams on Dec. 8, 2007 in Springfield when No. 12 Drury topped No. 3 Washburn 66-47. The Lady Blues are 3-0 against the Lady Panthers in Lee Arena winning 68-65 in overtime on Dec. 8, 2000 and winning 87-71 on March 17, 2003 in the NCAA South Central Regional final along with a 89-66 win on Dec. 17, 2005 in Topeka when Washburn was ranked No. 1 in the country and Drury was No. 2. The Lady Blues are 2-2 against the Lady Panthers in Springfield.
 
Last Meeting Between Washburn and Drury ...
(Dec, 8, 2007) SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The No. 3 ranked Washburn Lady Blues fell for the first time this season 66-47 to No. 12 ranked Drury on the road falling to 6-1 on the season.
The Lady Blues trailed for the first time at the break by three 28-25 after shooting 35 percent in the half hitting 12 of 34 shots. Drury jumped out to a 9-0 lead to begin the game as Washburn did not hit their first field goal until the 15:19 mark of the half on a lay-up by Corkey Stiger.
Washburn held the Lady Panthers to 9 of 25 shooting in the first half, but held an 8 of 10 advantage from the free throw line as Washburn was 0 of 4.
In the second half, Drury pushed the lead to 38-26 to open the half and would eventually push their lead to as many as 20 late in the game.
Stiger led the Lady Blues with 14 points as the only Washburn player to reach double figures. Jessica Mainz had nine points.
Washburn committed 23 turnovers in the loss and were held to five field goals in the second half.
Washburn did hold a 47 to 35 advantage on the glass with 22 coming on the offensive end.
 
About Drury . . .
Drury made its first Lady Panthers/Sleep Inn Classic a success by posting victories over Christian Brothers (82-64) and Grand Valley State (73-62) to capture the event. In the latter Saturday night, junior forward Melanie Oliver scored a career-high 22 points as Drury used an early second-half spurt to build a lead and then held off the perennial power Lakers. The Lady Panthers have four players averaging in double-figures through the 3-0 start, with sophomore guard Ja'Nell Jones at 13.3 points and Oliver at 12.7 points to lead the way. Junior guard/forward Lindsay Ballweg adds 11.3 points and junior post Caitlin Shouse is contributing 11.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in a reserve role. Junior forward Sara Bos is averaging 7.0 rebounds per contest to pace Drury, which has forced an average of 25 turnovers over its first three games. Nine Lady Panthers are playing an average of 10 minutes or more per game for the nation's 12th-ranked team in the USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 preseason poll.

Last time out for Drury . . .
Drury junior forward Melanie Oliver scored a career-high 22 points to lead No. 7 Drury to a 73-62 victory over Grand Valley State to claim the Lady Panther/Sleep Inn Classic Saturday afternoon at Weiser Gym.
Oliver hit 8 of 10 from the field and added a team-high four steals as Drury rallied from a 32-31 deficit at the half to pull away from the Lakers (3-1).
Sophomore guard Ja'Nell Jones added 11 points for  the Lady Panthers, who went on a 14-2 run midway through the second half to build a 15-point cushion (55-42) with 9:02 remaining.
Grand Valley State cut it to seven (62-55) with 3:45 left, but three free throws from Oliver and a jumper from junior forward Lindsay Ballweg pushed it back to 12 and Drury wasn't threatened again.
The Lady Panthers, after hitting just 12 of 29 shots (41 percent) in the opening half, canned 13 of 24 (54 percent) over the final 20 minutes to finish at 47 percent for the game. By contrast, GVSU made just 9 of 28 shots in the second half and finished at 37 percent (20 of 54).
Oliver, a returning Third Team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection, had struggled a bit offensively the first two games, but broke out with a big effort against the Lakers.
Junior forward Sara Bos grabbed seven rebounds to pace the Lady Panthers, who were beaten 36-32 on the boards. Junior guard Hannah Carter had eight points, six assists and four rebounds in 32 minutes, while freshman guard Katie Pritchard picked up eight points, three rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes.
Freshman guard Liz Moriondo also gave the Panthers a lift with six points in the first half, on a pair of 3-pointers, to keep Drury close after Grand Valley State had led by as many as eight on a couple of occasions, last at 20-12 with 10:18 left in the half.
Kentucky Wesleyan defeated Christian Brothers 63-58 in Saturday's early game to go 1-1 in the Sleep Inn Classic. The Bucs finished 0-2.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 25th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 303-56 (.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 37 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 112-11 (.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 104-6 (.944).

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 697-327 (.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., Four field goal attempts against Southwestern was a career-high
#4, Stanecia Graham, F, 6-1, Sr., 4 of 6 from free throw line this season
#5, Jacki Tipping, G, 5-10, Jr., Will miss season after having ankle surgery in late September
#10, Lauren Henry, G, 5-4, Fr., Has played two minutes in each game this season
#11, Renata Germano, C, 6-2, Sr., Only Lady Blue to have double figure points each game this season
#13, Jessica Mainz, G, 5-9, Sr., Had four assists against Southwestern
#14, Alyssa Mullen, F, 5-11, So., Tied career high with 7 points in second consecutive game against Southwestern
#20, Hadleigh Meek, G, 5-8, So., Set new career high with four assists against Southwestern
#21, Cassie Lombardino, C, 6-3, Fr., 3 of 6 from the field this season
#24, Karla Tailele, G, 5-6, Sr., 11 points against Southwestern was fifth time in double figures in career
#25, Stevi Schultz, G, 5-9, Fr., Seven points on 3 of 5 shooting against Southwestern
#30, Kalee Silovsky, F, 6-0, Sr., 4 of 7 from the field this season
#32, Janice Bright, G, 5-9, Sr., 5 of 12 from the field this season
#33, Hope Gregory, G, 5-10, So., 15 points against Southwestern was a career high
#40, Dayna Rodriguez, F, 6-2, Jr., 5 of 10 from the field this season
#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., Has averaged 4.5 rebounds per game this season

Tip-Ins . . .
• The Lady Blues are 8-3 all-time on Nov. 25. The largest victory margin in school history came on Nov. 25 during the 1983-84 season when they beat St. John's (Kan.) 113-26 in an 87-point win.
• Washburn is 104-30 all-time in the month of November.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues will open the Lady Blues Holiday Classic with games against Sterling on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. and Indiana (Pa.) the next day at 8 p.m. 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.