Game #11 Matchup: Washburn (10-0, 3-0 MIAA) at Missouri Western (0-9, 0-3 MIAA) Date: Monday, Dec. 29, 2008  • Time: 5:30 p.m. CST Site: St. Joseph, Mo. - MWSU Fieldhouse (3,500) Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 224-44 (.831) in his ninth season. McHenry is 14-9 against the Griffons. Lynn Plett is in his second season at MWSU. He is 12-24 overall and 197-202 in his 15th season of head coaching. Plett is 0-3 against Washburn. Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 2 in the WBCA Coaches Poll. Series Record: WU leads the all-time series 38-37. Streaks: WU has won the last four in the series Last Meeting: WU 78-63 on 3/6/08 in Kansas City (MIAA Quarterfinals) Last WU win: same Last MWSU win: 49-47, 1/27/07 in St. Joseph Worth Noting: WU is 5-1 in last six in St. Joseph Game #12 Matchup: Washburn vs Fort Hays State (6-3, 2-0 MIAA entering 12/29 match up with NWMSU) Date: Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008  • Time: 1:30 p.m. CST Site: Topeka, Kan. - Lee Arena (3,907) Coaches: WU's Ron McHenry is 5-0 against Fort Hays State. FHSU head coach Tony Hobson is 6-3 in his first season at FHSU. He is 217-43 in eighth year of coaching overall. Rankings: FHSU is unranked in the WBCA Coaches Poll. Series Record: WU leads the all-time series 35-25 Streaks: WU has won the last 10 in the series Last Meeting: WU 64-60 on 2/27/08 in Topeka Last WU win: same Last FHSU win: 67-62, 12/3/94 in Topeka Worth Noting: WU's first-ever game on New Year's Eve.

Radio: 106.9 FM KTPK Web Stream (free - both games) Internet: FHSU game not available Live Stats Missouri Western: Through gogriffons.com Live Stats Washburn: Through wusports.com Washburn Lady Blues Game Notes Roster Statistics Schedule Missouri Western Roster Statistics Schedule Fort Hays State Roster Statistics Schedule

Washburn continues MIAA slate with Dec. 29th match up at Missouri Western . . . 
The No. 2 ranked Washburn Lady Blues will go back to MIAA play at Missouri Western (0-9, 0-3 MIAA) on Dec. 29 and then return home to face Fort Hays State on New Year's Day with a 1:30 p.m. tip. The Lady Blues return to conference action with a 10-0 record (and 3-0 in the MIAA) after picking up a pair of wins at the Cruzin Classic in Florida while dispatching No. 16 ranked Barry 67-54 and then Nova Southeastern 64-62 with both wins coming on their opponents home court. The Dec. 31 match up with Fort Hays State will be the first of three straight MIAA games in Lee Arena.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
Washburn games with will be on AM 580 WIBW. 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 224-44 (.833) record overall and 115-30 (.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.)
Missouri Western head coach Lynn Plett is in his second season guiding the Griffon program. He came to MWSU from Lewis University where he led the Flyers program from 2002 to 2007. He is 12-24 in his second season at MWSU and he is 197-202 in his 15th season overall.
Fort Hays State head coach Tony Hobson is 6-3 in his first season on the Lady Tiger's bench. He is 217-43 overall. He came from Hastings where he posted a 211-40 record in seven years and guided the women's team to three NAIA National Championships (2002, 2003, 2006). Hobson is in his 18th year of collegiate coaching. He spent six years as women's coach at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan., where he posted a record of 124-44. He then was women's coach at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan., from 1997-2000, where he posted a record of 78-22.

Last time out for the Lady Blues. . .
Dec. 19, 2008 -  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The No. 2 ranked Washburn Lady Blues rallied from a seven-point deficit with 4:35 to play in the game and Hope Gregory hit a 15-foot jumper as time expired to keep the Lady Blues unblemished season intact with a 64-62 win over Nova Southeastern.
The Sharks' Eliza Allen hit a 3-pointer with 4:35 to go in the game putting Nova Southeastern up 60-53, but on the next possession following a timeout, Janice Bright hit a 3-pointer of her own cutting the deficit back to four at 60-56 with 4:10 remaining. A missed three and two turnovers by the Sharks with the last turnover coming on a swipe and a bucket by Bright pulled Washburn within two at 60-58 with 3:11 left to go in the game.
Two free throws by Jessica Mainz knotted the score at 60 with 1:28 remaining. It was the fourth time the score had been tied in the second half. After a Shark jumper by Abbie Tepe made the score 62-60 with 1:10 remaining. Bright drove on the next Lady Blues possession and was fouled and hit both free throws tying the score at 62 with 51 seconds remaining.
On the Sharks' next possession, Mainz picked up a steal and then called timeout setting up the final sequence. Bright drove the lane and her floater in the lane missed, Stanecia Graham tipped the ball and Mainz going out of bounds tossed the ball to Gregory who hit the game-winner as the horn sounded giving Washburn the 64-62 win.
Washburn led only once in the first half as Bright connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer sending the Lady Blues into the halftime break with a 27-26 lead. Coming out of the locker room at halftime, the Sharks went on a 7-0 run taking a 33-27 lead. They would lead the remainder of the half until Mainz had a conventional 3-point play putting Washburn up 53-51 with 8:47 to go in the game. It would be the last lead for Washburn until the final buzzer sounded.
Bright led Washburn with 18 points on 6 of 15 shooting including 2 of 5 from 3-point range and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line. Graham finished with 14 points and finished with a team-high nine rebounds. Karla Tailele scored all 13 of her points in the second half. Mainz finished with seven points with all of hers coming in the second half as well.
Preseason All-American Stephanie Sarosi had 15 points to lead the Sharks.
Washburn finished the game 24 of 62 while the Sharks were 22 of 51 from the field. Washburn did hit all nine of their free throws while NSU hit 13 of 23. The Lady Blues also had a 40 to 34 advantage on the glass.

Notes from the Nova Southeastern Game . . .
Washburn is now 1-0 against Nova Southeastern … Washburn is now 705-327 in the program's history … Washburn is 5-0 all-time on Dec. 19 … Washburn improved to 46-4 all-time in the month of December under head coach Ron McHenry … Washburn improved to 6-35 when trailing under head coach Ron McHenry when trailing with five minutes remaining … the Lady Blues improved to 193-12 under McHenry when leading at the half.

About Missouri Western . . .
Missouri Western is 0-9 this season and 0-3 in the MIAA. The Griffons were part of the 2008 AM 580 WIBW/Topeka Capitol Plaza Holiday Classic in November and fell to No. 7 Indiana (Pa.) 68-47 and to Sterling 96-71.
The Griffons, who have played only two home games, are led by Tierra Ford who is averaging 11.0 ppg. She also leads the team with 6.0 rpg. She is averaging nearly a double double in MIAA play with averages of 14.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg. Jessica Kock is averaging 11.7 ppg and 3.4 rpg.
The Griffons are -17.8 in scoring margin this season and -7.9 in rebounding margin. They are shooting .367 from the field hitting 209 of 570 while opponents are 244 of 566 (.431).

Washburn/Missouri Western series notes . . .
The meeting on the Dec. 29th will be the 76th between the two schools. Washburn leads the all-time series 38-37. Washburn has won 14 of the last 16 meetings including sweeping two regular season meetings and a MIAA Tournament quarterfinals win last year. 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. In the MIAA Tournament, the Griffons hold a 5-4 lead in the nine games played. Washburn has won all five meetings in Kansas City in the postseason tournament. Ron McHenry is 14-9 against the Griffons. Missouri Western head coach Lynn Plett is 0-3 against Washburn in his second season on the Griffon bench.

Last meeting between Washburn and Missouri Western . . .
(March 6, 2008) KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Washburn Lady Blues rolled into the MIAA Tournament semifinals hitting a tourney record 15 3-pointers, tying a school record in the process, in a 78-63 win over Missouri Western.
Washburn's Jessica Mainz jump started the scoring on their first possession with a 3-pointer en route to five in the game for the league's defensive most valuable player. However the Griffons (12-15) would lead for nearly half of the opening period building a lead as many as six after ripping off a 9-0 run after Washburn's first bucket.
Washburn would battle back and take the lead for good at the 9:59 mark of the first half on a 3-pointer by Amanda Holmes at 17-15. The Lady Blues capped the half going on a 13-2 run turning a 27-22 lead into a 40-24 lead going into the break.
Washburn hit 9 of 20 3-point attempts in the first half while shooting 46 percent from the field.
In the second half, Washburn would stretch the lead to as many as 27 with 3:47 remaining at 78-51 before the Griffons would end the game on a 12-0 run.
Stiger led the Lady Blues with a game-high 28 points after hitting 10 of 21 shots from the field, including a 7 of 14 performance from 3-point range. Holmes finished with 21 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Mainz finished with 15 after hitting 5 of 6 3-pointers to go along with seven assists and six rebounds in 37 minutes of play.
Jill Johnson and Lauren Nolke scored 13 to lead the Griffons.
Washburn finished 28 of 63 from the field for the game. Washburn's 15 3-pointers tied the school record set against Lincoln on Dec. 16, 2006 and Baker earlier this season on Nov. 20, 2007. The mark also set a MIAA Tournament record for makes and attempts. Washburn pulled down 42 rebounds compared to 21 for the Griffons. The Lady Blues had 21 on both ends of the court.

Last time out for Missouri Western. . .
(Dec. 20, 2008) ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon sophomore guard Lauren Nolke scored a career high 23 points in Western's 83-77 to the RiverHawks of Northeastern State. Western outscored Northeastern State 42-40 in the second half of Saturday's (Dec. 20) contest but it would not be enough as the Griffons fall to 0-9 on the season.
The first half would be a back and forth battle as the RiverHawks made 8-of-18 three points shots to forge ahead at the half 43-35. The RiverHawks took an early lead at 14-8 but the Griffons went on a 12-6 run to take a three point lead at 20-17 with 11:23 left in the frame.
The RiverHawks would convert on Western's mistakes and crash the offensive boards to close the half on a 26-15 run to take the eight point advantage into the locker room. Nolke led the Griffons in the opening half with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from long range. Western shot 40-percent (14-35) in the half to the RiverHawks 56.7-percent (17-30). The Griffons did force 10 turnovers and had seven assists in the frame.
The Griffons closed the eight point gap quickly to start the second half as Rachel Luteyn hit two consecutive jumpers to close the lead to four with less then a minute gone by in the half. Western would claim the lead at 48-47 on a Colleen Schneider free throw with 16:40 left in the contest.
The two teams would be tied at 66 with 8:43 left in the contest, but like the first half the RiverHawks would close the game on a 17-11 run to claim the victory and improve to 6-4 on the season.
Schneider finished the game with a career high 15 points for the Griffons while Tierra Ford and Jessica Koch had 13 and 12 respectively. Schneider also collected a career high eight rebounds for Western.
Jasmine Webb led the RiverHawks with a double double of 22 points and 11 rebounds. Nine of those rebounds were on the offensive end of the floor.
Western finished the contest shooting 42.2-percent (27-64) from the floor and 81.0-percent (17-21) from the free throw line. Western forced 17 turnovers to their 15 and had six blocked shots to NSU's one.

About Fort Hays State . . .
The Fort Hays State Lady Tigers are ridding a four-game winning streak entering their Dec. 29th match up with Northwest Missouri. Overall FHSU is 6-3 and 2-0 in the MIAA prior to taking on the Bearcats.
Erica Biel leads the Lady Tigers in scoring with a 15.4 ppg average. She is also pulling down 11.2 rebounds per game and leads the squad with 20 blocks. She is hitting 49 of 100 of her field goal attempts and 41 of 55 free throw attempts.

Last time out for Fort Hays State (prior to NWMSU match up) . . .
(Dec. 13, 2008) The Fort Hays State women's basketball squad hosted Missouri Western on Saturday, December 13, at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays. The Lady Tigers jumped out to an 11-0 lead to start the game and never looked back, winning by a final of 73-61.
Erica Biel put in a team-high 19 points for the Lady Tigers. She earned seven of her points at the free-throw line and pulled down seven rebounds in the game. It was the first game this season that Biel had less than eight rebounds in a game. She also recorded three blocked shots and three steals in the game.
Three other Lady Tigers reached double figures in scoring, which included Audra Binford with 15, Kayla Klug with 14, and Naomi Bancroft with 12. Morgan Clark had a team-high eight rebounds. Klug and Bancroft each hit four three-point field goals in the game.
Fort Hays State made 10 three-point field goals in the game, compared to only three for the Griffons. Missouri Western was just 3-of-22 from beyond the arc (13.6 percent).
Missouri Western had three players tie for a team-high in scoring with 13 points, which included Jessica Koch, Tierra Ford, and Lauren Nolke. Ford had a double-double for the Griffons, pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Fort Hays State improved to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA. The Lady Tigers now have a four-game winning streak and will not return to action until December 29 at Northwest Missouri State. Missouri Western went to 0-7 overall and 0-3 in the MIAA.

Last meeting with Fort Hays State. . .
(Feb. 27, 2008) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The two Washburn Lady Blues seniors put up career nights as Corkey Stiger and Amanda Holmes combined to score 49 of Washburn's 64 points in a 64-60 senior night victory in Lee Arena over Fort Hays State.
Stiger paced the Washburn attack with a career-high 27 points on 10 of 21 shooting and Holmes tied her career best with 22 points on 8 of 15 from the field with a game-high nine rebounds in the win.
The Lady Blues took a 10-point lead into the break at 34-24 after leading the entire first half. Washburn forced 10 Lady Tiger turnovers leading to 12 points for the Lady Blues as Holmes scored 14 first half points. Naomi Bancroft had 11 after hitting three first half 3-pointers.
In the second half, Washburn had their lead cut to one just three minutes in as the Lady Tigers (11-15, 5-12 MIAA) opened the period on a 9-0 run capped by a jumper by Erica Biel. Washburn pushed the lead back to five at 38-33, but a 9-1 run by Fort Hays State put the Lady Tigers up 40-39 with 9:30 to play.
Fort Hays State and Washburn would trade buckets on their next three possessions and the Lady Tigers stretched the lead to three at 46-43 with 7:42 remaining.
After a pair of Holmes free throws trimming the FHSU lead to one at 46-45, Washburn's Janice Bright hit a pair of charity tosses to give the Lady Blues a 47-46 lead with 6:49 to play. A jumper by Holmes pushed the led to three at 49-46 with 6:01 to play, but FHSU tied it at 49 with a 3-pointer by Meshia Mason.
Another jumper by Holmes with 5:23 to play gave Washburn the lead for good at 51-49. Trailing by two at 62-60 with 43 seconds left, the Lady Tigers were whistled for three seconds after a missed shot and Jessica Mainz hit a pair of free throws after being fouled to lock up the win.
Stiger and Holmes were the only Lady Blues to reach double figures as Bright scored seven and Mainz scored five along with three points from Hope Gregory. The Washburn bench was held scoreless on 0 of 4 shooting from the field with any free throw attempts. Brianna Whilhite led the Lady Tigers with 15 points after hitting 7 of 10 shots from the field. She led four FHSU players in double figures being joined by Mason with 14, Bancroft with 11 and Sheen Kuntzsch with 10.
Washburn finished the game 21 of 56 from the field (.375) compared to the Lady Tigers hitting 25 of 57 (.439).
Washburn was outrebounded for only the fifth time this season as the Lady Tigers held a 37 to 30 advantage on the backboards.

Series History with Fort Hays State. . .
The New Year's Eve meeting will be the 61st in the series which started in 1970 with a FHSU 34-21 win. The Lady Blues lead the all-time series 35-25. The Lady Blues have won the last 10 in a row and the five in Topeka. Washburn has also won the last nine meetings in Hays. The Lady Tigers have not won in Topeka since Dec. 3, 1994 in a 67-62 win over Washburn. The series with the Lady Tigers is the fifth most-played series despite not playing any games between 2001-06 when FHSU was part of the RMAC.

Lady Blues Individual Notes . . .
#3 • Brette Ulsaker • G • 5-9 • Jr. • Six assists against Barry was a career-high
#4 • Stanecia Graham • F • 6-1 • Sr. • 10 of 21 in last two games (avg. 12 ppg)
#5 • Jacki Tipping • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Will miss season after having ankle surgery in late September
#10 • Lauren Henry • G • 5-4 • Fr. • Had appendix removed after the Drury game
#11 • Renata Germano • C • 6-2 • Sr. • At least 1 FG in 8 of 10 games this season
#13 • Jessica Mainz • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Ten of 17 from field in last six games (6.3 ppg)
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • So. • Two blocks against Barry was a career high
#20 • Hadleigh Meek • G • 5-8 • So. • Set new career high with four assists against Southwestern
#21 • Cassie Lombardino • C • 6-3 • Fr. • 4 of 8 from the field this season
#24 • Karla Tailele • G • 5-6 • Sr. • Seven of 18 from 3-point range in last two games (avg. 12.5 ppg)
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • Fr. • Has hit 1 3-pointer in 5 of 8 games played this season
#30 • Kalee Silovsky • F • 6-0 • Sr. • Two 3-pointers against Barry tied a season high
#32 • Janice Bright • G • 5-9 • Sr. • 21 points vs Barry was 1-shy of career high (22 vs PSU)
#33 • Hope Gregory • F • 5-10 • So. • Hit game-winner against Nova Southeastern as time expired
#40 • Dayna Rodriguez • F • 6-2 • Jr. • 12 of 14 from the free throw line 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 hit all four free throw attempts this season (11 of 15 for career)

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 25th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 308-56 (.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 40 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 117-11 (.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 109-6 (.944).
Overall, Washburn has won 13 straight home games with the last defeat coming on Feb. 6, 2008 to Missouri Southern in a 69-61 setback.

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 705-327 (.682 in 1,032 games) in its 40th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(Dec. 16, 2008) The Washburn Lady Blues basketball team remained No. 2 in the WBCA USA Today ESPN Division II Coaches Poll which was released today. The Lady Blues won their only game in a 58-39 win over Truman. The Lady Blues have been ranked in 99 consecutive top 25 polls and have received votes in the last 114 top 25 coaches polls.

Tip-Ins . . .
• Washburn has never played a game on New Year's Eve.
• Washburn is 46-4 all-time in the month of December under head coach Ron McHenry.
• Washburn's Raychel Bolling, who is redshirting for the Lady Blues after transferring from FHSU, played two seasons for the Lady Tigers.
• Washburn's Emily Gibson and Missouri Western's Tierra Ford were teammates at Bishop Miege High School and won a state championship as seniors.
• Washburn is 193-12 under McHenry when leading at the half.
• Washburn has kept opponents under 100 in 294 consecutive games.
• Washburn is 68-0 when scoring at least 81 points under McHenry.
• When opponents are held to 70 points or below, Washburn is 168-31 … when opponents are to 60 points or less, the Lady Blues are 156-14 with McHenry on the sidelines.

Up Next . . .
Washburn will continue MIAA action in Lee Arena following the Fort Hays State game when they will take on Central Missouri on Jan. 3 and Southwest Baptist on Jan. 7. Washburn will then have seven of the next 10 games on the road starting with a Jan. 10th trip to Missouri Southern.