Game #7 Matchup: Washburn (6-0, 1-0 MIAA) vs Northwest Missouri (4-3, 0-1 MIAA) Date: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008 Time: 5:30 p.m. CST Site: Topeka, Kan. - Lee Arena (3,904) Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 220-44 (.831) in his ninth season. McHenry is 15-5 against NWMSU. Northwest's Gene Steinmeyer is 135-130 in his 10th year at Northwest and 495-271 in his 24th season overall. Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 2 in the WBCA Coaches Poll. NWMSU is unranked. Series Record: WU leads the all-time series 38-9 Streaks: WU has won the last 24 meetings in Topeka Last Meeting: NWMSU, 59-56, 3/8/08 in MIAA Tourney semis Last WU win: 81-71, 2/20/08 in Topeka Last NWMSU win: same as above Worth noting: Washburn is 24-2 all-time against NWMSU in Topeka with their last win in coming on Nov. 30, 1985 - their only win in Lee Arena.

Radio: AM 580 WIBW AM580 Web Stream (free) Internet: www.themiaa.tv (free) Live Stats: wusports.com Washburn Lady Blues Game Notes Roster Statistics Schedule Northwest Missouri Roster Statistics Schedule

No. 2 ranked Lady Blues wrap up season-opening homestand with Bearcats on Saturday night . . . 
The No. 2 ranked Washburn Lady Blues will look to keep their 24-game winning streak over Northwest Missouri alive when they play host to the Bearcats on Saturday in Lee Arena. Washburn is 24-2 all-time against Northwest in Topeka and 24-1 against the Bearcats in Lee Arena. Washburn (6-0, 1-0 MIAA) is coming off a 61-52 win over Nebraska-Omaha on Wednesday. The Bearcats (4-3, 0-1) fell in Emporia last time out 71-60 to the Lady Hornets.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
Washburn's game with Northwest Missouri 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 220-44 (.833) record overall and 113-30 (.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.)
Nebraska-Omaha head coach Gene Steinmeyer is 135-129 in his tenth year at NWMSU and 495-269 in his 25th season as a head coach. Steinmeyer came to Northwest from Doane College in Crete, Neb., where he notched a 369-132 record. He took Doane to eight conference championships, three district titles and made three consecutive NAIA Final Four appearances.
Steinmeyer holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. He earned his master's degree from Nebraska-Lincoln in 1988.

Last time out for the Lady Blues. . .
Dec. 3, 2008 -  TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 2 Washburn lady Blues opened the MIAA season with a 61-52 win over Nebraska-Omaha in Lee Arena.
Washburn trailed by as many as six points in the game as they missed their first five field goals and were held scoreless until the 14:02 mark of the game when Stanecia Graham hit a free throw while UNO jumped out to a 6-0 lead prior to the charity stripe. Dayna Rodriguez connected on Washburn's first field goal with 13:29 to go in the first half when she hit a 3-pointer cutting the Maverick lead to 6-4.
The Lady Blues and Mavericks would trade leads five times in the opening frame with Washburn taking a 23-19 lead into the break when Jessica Mainz hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the half.
Washburn held UNO to six field goals in the opening 20 minutes on 21 attempts. Washburn was 9 of 21 from the field.
In the second half, jumped out to a seven-point lead at 33-26 on a Hope Gregory 3-pointer. After a pair of jumpers by UNO's Alyssa Green which cut the lead to one at 35-34, Washburn's Brette Ulsaker hit a couple of free throws putting Washburn up 37-34. UNO cut the lead back to one on two more occasions, but 3-pointers by Mainz and Janice Bright kept the Mavericks at bay as Washburn went on to the 61-52 win.
Graham led the Lady Blues with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field. Kalee Silovsky had a career-high 10 points hitting a pair of 3-pointers. Green led UNO with 18 points.
WU shot 48 percent in the game hitting 21 of 44 from the field including a 12 of 23 effort in the second half. UNO shot 40 percent on 19 of 48 shooting. Washburn was outrebounded for the first time this season 27 to 24. Washburn was also outscored in the paint 28 to 20 and committed 24 turnovers leading to 21 Maverick points.
 
Notes from the Nebraska-Omaha game . . .
Washburn improved to 2-1 all-time against UNO with the first meeting since an 84-59 win on Dec. 6, 1986 in Topeka … Washburn is now 9-5 all-time on Dec. 3 … Washburn is now 108-6 in the last seven seasons under Ron McHenry … Washburn is 13-6 all-time in MIAA openers since joining the MIAA … the win improved Washburn to 701-327 all-time in the program's history.

Washburn/Northwest Missouri Series Notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 48th all-time. Washburn has won 8 of the last 10 meetings in the series. Washburn is 38-9 all-time against the Bearcats. The Lady Blues won their 24th in a row in Topeka over the Bearcats on Feb. 20. The Lady Blues are 24-2 all-time against the Bearcats in Topeka. The last win for the Bearcats in Topeka was in a 79-65 win on Nov. 30, 1985. Their other victory over Washburn came on Dec. 11, 1981 in Whiting Fieldhouse in a 75-54 win. In the MIAA Tournament, Washburn is 2-2 all-time against Northwest Missouri and 1-2 against the Bearcats in Kansas City. The Bearcats snapped the Lady Blues 10-game winning streak in the MIAA Tournament in the 2008 semifinals on March 8 in a 59-56 win. Ron McHenry is 15-5 against the Bearcats. Northwest Missouri head coach Gene Steinmeyer is 4-18 against Washburn.

About Northwest Missouri . . .
The Bearcats are 4-3 this season and 0-1 in MIAA play after dropping their conference opener to Emporia Stat 71-60. Meghan Brue leads three Bearcats averaging double figures with 15.3 points per game. She is also averaging a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. Rickeya McElroy and Jessica Burton are also scoring in double figures per game with averages of 12.7 and 10.6 respectively.

Last time out for Northwest Missouri . . .
EMPORIA, Kan. – A strong second-half performance brought Northwest Missouri State within four points of No. 12 Emporia State, but the Bearcats couldn't overcome an early Hornet scoring run in dropping the MIAA-opener for both teams 71-60 in William L. White Auditorium.
The Hornets scored the first nine points and held Northwest scoreless through the first six minutes, 49 seconds, before a layup by Rickeya McElroy put the Bearcats on the board. The Northwest defense made a stand in the first half and held Emporia State to its lowest first-half output of the season at 29 points. Meghan Brue led the Bearcats with a season-best four steals by halftime and ended with a career-best five steals.
Northwest shot 58.1 percent in the second half and closed a 16-point Hornet lead to four points with 5:45 remaining on a fast break jumper from Brue. The Hornets answered with a 13-3 run to take a 66-52 lead with 2:25 remaining and held for their 13th straight home victory.
Brue led Northwest with 15 points for her fifth game with 10 or more points. Amber Vandevender made a season-best 12 points and added four steals, as she moves within six points of surpassing 1,000 career points. Jessica Burton rounded out Bearcats in double figures with 10 points and made a team-high four assists.
In a match up of the top three blockers in the MIAA, McElroy led all players with a season-best five blocks. She added another eight points and finished with four rebounds.
Andrea Leiker scored a game-high 22 points for Emporia State while Alli Volkens recorded her second double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 25th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 307-56 (.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 116-11 (.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 108-6 (.944).
Overall, Washburn has won 12 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 701-327 (.682 in 1,028 games) in its 40th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(Dec. 2, 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 did pick up two first place votes after a 3-0 week with wins over two then-ranked top 10 teams. The Lady Blues have been ranked in 97 consecutive top 25 polls and have received votes in the last 112 top 25 coaches polls.

Lady Blues Notes . . .
3 • Brette Ulsaker • G • 5-9 • Jr. • Four assists against UNO tied a career high
4 • Stanecia Graham • F • 6-1 • Sr. • 17 of 26 from field in last two games (averaging 19.0 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. • 3 of 6 from field in last two games
13 • Jessica Mainz • G • 5-9 • Sr. • 3 of 7 from field in last two games, 2 of 3 from 3-point range
14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • So. • Has averaged 2.0 points, 3.3 rebounds in last three games
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. • Tied for team-lead with 11 3-pointers this season
25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • Fr. • Has hit 4 of 10 3-pointers this season
30 • Kalee Silovsky • F • 6-0 • Sr. • 10 points vs UNO was a career high
32 • Janice Bright • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Averaging 14.0 ppg in last three games
33 • Hope Gregory • G • 5-10 • So. • Tied for team-lead with 11 3-pointers this season
40 • Dayna Rodriguez • F • 6-2 • Jr. • Has hit at least one 3-pointer in three of last four games
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. • Two assists against Drury tied a career high

Tip-Ins . . .
• Washburn is 4-5 on Dec. 6 all-time, which is also Finnish Independence Day.
• Washburn is 42-4 all-time in the month of December under head coach Ron McHenry.
• Washburn is 27 of 32 in the last five minutes of games from the free throw line hitting 84 percent. The Lady Blues' opponents are 8 of 12.
• Jessica Mainz is 8 of 10 from the free throw line in the last five minutes of games.
• Washburn is 189-12 under McHenry when leading at the half.
• Washburn has kept opponents under 100 in 290 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 164-31 … when opponents are to 60 points or less, the Lady Blues are 153-14 with McHenry on the sidelines.

Up Next . . .
Washburn will hit the road for the first time in the regular season against Truman on Dec. 13 while taking the week off from games during Washburn's finals week. After the Lady Blues' first road test of the season, they will travel to the Cruzin' Classic to take on Barry on Dec. 18 and Nova Southeastern on Dec. 19 before returning to MIAA play at Missouri Western on Dec. 29 and a New Year's Eve date with Fort Hays State on Dec. 31 with a 1:30 p.m. tip.