Complete game notes

No. 18 Lady Blues travel to face Bulldogs to keep pace in MIAA race . . . 
The No. 18 Washburn Lady Blues (18-4, 10-3 MIAA) will travel to Kirksville, Mo., to face the Truman Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 16 looking to stay in a first place tie with Emporia State atop the MIAA standings. The Lady Blues are coming off a 74-62 win over Southwest Baptist on Feb. 13. The Bulldogs fell at Northwest Missouri 86-71 to remain winless on the road in the MIAA falling to 13-8 overall and 5-7 in the MIAA. Washburn will return to Lee Arena following the game with the Bulldogs for three straight games beginning with Northwest Missouri on Feb. 20.

Quick Facts
Matchup: Washburn (18-4, 10-3 MIAA) at Truman (13-8, 5-7 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 16
Time: 1 p.m. CST
Site: Kirksville, Mo. -- Pershing Arena (2,500)
Radio: KTPK 106.9 FM / Topeka with play by play with Mark Elliott and Bruce Steinbrock
Online Audio: Through wusports.com (free)
Online Video: Through themiaa.tv ($5.50)
Live Stats: Through gobulldogs.truman.edu/livestats/basketball/xlive.htm
Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 206-41 (.833) in his eighth season - McHenry is 15-2 against Truman.
Truman head coach John Sloop is in his eighth year as head coach of the Bulldogs. He has compiled an 84-127 (.406) overall record and has a 52-22 mark in non-conference games. He is 2-15 against WU.
Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 18 in the WBCA/USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll - No. 3 in the NCAA South Central Regional Rankings.
Series Record: WU leads the all-time series 33-8
Streaks: WU has won the last 11 in the series
Last Meeting: WU 83-60, 1/19/08 in Topeka
Last WU win: same
Last TSU win: 76-71, 2/1/03 in Kirksville
Worth noting: Truman will be wearing pink uniforms as part of the WBCA's “Think Pink” campaign raising funds for Breast Cancer

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game with Southwest Baptist will be broadcast live on KTPK 106.9 FM 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.com.

The coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 206-41 (.834) record overall and 108-29 (.787) record in the MIAA with four MIAA regular season championships from 2003-06 and the 2005 NCAA National Championship. McHenry has the highest winning percentage (.834) 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 2 of notes.)
Truman head coach John Sloop is in his eighth year as head coach of the Bulldog women's basketball program. He has compiled an 84-127 (.406) overall record and has a 52-22 mark in non-conference games. Sloop is 2-15 against Washburn.
Sloop previously served as an assistant coach under Truman men's basketball head coach Jack Schrader, helping guide the team to the NCAA Division II Final Four during the 1998-99 season. He also worked at Missouri State University and Saint Louis University at the Division I level.

Last Time Out for the Lady Blues . . .
Feb. 16, 2008 - No. 18 Washburn 74, Southwest Baptist 62 • TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 18 Washburn basketball team placed four Lady Blues in double figures led by Corkey Stiger's 21 points and Amanda Holmes' picked up her 14th career double double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in a 74-62 win over Southwest Baptist. With the win, Washburn remains in a first place tie with Emporia State atop the MIAA standings with a 10-3 record, overall Washburn is 18-4.
In a match up of the No. 2 (Washburn) and No. 4 (Southwest Baptist) ranked teams in the region, Washburn trailed by no more than three points during the evening after Southwest Baptist's (17-5 overall) Erika Souza opened the game with a 3-pointer en route to her team-high 19 points and the Lady Blues built a lead as many as 10 in the first half at 34-24 with 3:45 to play in the opening half and finished off the period taking a 36-28 lead into the break.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first as the Lady Blues connected on 16 of 32 attempts and the Lady Bearcats hit 11 of 25 attempts from the field with both teams nailing four 3-pointers.
To open the second half, the Lady Bearcats cut the lead to 36-34 as the Lady Blues missed their first three shots of the half coupled with three turnovers as the Washburn was held scoreless the first 4:04 of the second half until Stiger hit a 3-pointer.
Washburn stretched the lead to as many as 13 in the half and kept Southwest Baptist from climbing within 10 points the final 7:36 of the game, except for when SBU cut the lead to nine at 69-60 with 1:07 to play, but a pair of free throws by Jessica Mainz 12 seconds later pushed the margin back to double digits.
Joining Stiger and Holmes in double figures were Mainz and Janice Bright who each had 10. Mainz would add seven rebounds with six coming on the defensive end.
Cortney Shewmaker scored 10 for SBU as the only other Lady Bearcat to reach at least 10 points.
Washburn outrebounded the Lady Bearcats 35 to 26 and forced 16 turnovers turning into 24 points for the Lady Blues.
Washburn hit 29 of 59 (.492) from the field and SBU was 22 of 51 (.431).

Notes from the Southwest Baptist game . . .
Washburn is now 25-11 all-time against SBU ... the double double game was Amanda Holmes' fourth of the season ... Holmes has now scored 799 points at Washburn ... the 18 points for Holmes was a season high ... SBU was a perfect 11 of 11 from the free throw line ... Washburn has now won eight straight games over SBU in Lee Arena ... Washburn is 298-56 all-time in Lee Arena and coach Ron McHenry is 106-10 all-time in Lee Arena ... Corkey Stiger moved past Jennifer Harris on the single-season 3-pointer chart hitting her 58th against SBU ... Washburn is now  126-2 when scoring at least 70 points under Ron McHenry.
 
Washburn/Truman series notes . . .
Saturday's meeting will be the 42nd all-time. The Lady Blues lead the all-time series with Truman 33-8. The Lady Blues have won the last 11 games in the series. The Bulldogs' last win in the series was Feb. 1, 2003 season by a score of 76-71 in Kirksville. The Lady Blues have won the last 21 games in Topeka as the Bulldogs won in their first trip to Topeka during the 1979-80 season, but have lost every game since then. In Kirksville, the Lady Blues have won the last four meetings and they are 10-6 all-time in Pershing Arena. The teams have met twice in the MIAA Tournament with the Lady Blues winning 77-48 in the quarterfinals in Kansas City on March 6, 2003 and again in the quarterfinals last season on March 2, 2006 in a 63-36 win in Kansas City.
 
Last Meeting Between Washburn and Truman. . .
(Jan. 19, 2008) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 8 ranked Washburn Lady Blues jumped out to a 15-0 lead to begin the game and never looked back in an 83-60 over Truman Saturday afternoon in Lee Arena. The win was the 21st in a row over the Bulldogs in Topeka and the 11th straight in the series.
Washburn held the Bulldogs scoreless for the first 5:53 of the game jumping out to the 15-0 lead, however Truman got themselves back in the game ripping off an 11-0 run of their own with 10:43 left in the first half. Corkey Stiger hit back-to-back 3-pointers stretching the lead to 10 at 21-11 scoring her 15th point of the night tying the entire Truman team with 15 points each.
The Lady Blues did not let Truman within eight points the remainder of the half and finished period on a 13-3 run the final 5:48 of the half taking a 44-23 lead into the break. Washburn was 15 of 31 from the field in the opening half while holding the Bulldogs to 7 of 25 while outrebounding the Bulldogs 24 to 16.
In the second half, Washburn outscored the Bulldogs 39 to 37 taking the 23-point win.
Stiger led the Lady Blues with 19 points scoring 17 in the first half playing only nine minutes in the second half. Stiger finished 6 of 9 from the field hitting 2 of 4, 3-point attempts. Amanda Holmes recorded her 13th double double at Washburn with 12 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds. Hope Gregory finished with 10 points hitting 5 of 7 shots from the field.
Georgia Mueller led the Bulldogs with 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting hitting all three 3-point attempts.
Candace McGee and 12 points and Laura Joya had 11 points.
Washburn outrebounded the Bulldogs 46 to 31 holding Truman to 17 of 52 shooting for the game (32.7 percent) while the Lady Blues finished 29 of 66 (43.9 percent).
 
About Truman . . .
The Bulldogs are 13-9 overall and 5-8 in the MIAA after dropping an 86-71 decision at Northwest Missouri last time out on Feb. 13.
Truman enters the game in seventh place in the MIAA standings.
Georgia Mueller is the second leading scorer and rebounder in the MIAA at 21.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Mueller is averaging 21.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in MIAA action. Candace McGee is the only other Bulldog averaging in double figures at 12.6 ppg.
Truman has gone 0-7 on the road in MIAA play, but they are 5-1 at home during the conference season. Central Missouri is the lone MIAA team to escape Pershing Arena with a win this season taking a 79-72 win on Feb. 6.

Last time out for the Bulldogs . . .
(Feb. 13, 2008) --  Feb. 13, 2008 - Junior forward Georgia Mueller had her MIAA-leading 12th double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds, but senior guard Kelli Nelson hit nine three-pointers for Northwest Missouri State as the Bearcats kept the Bulldog women's squad winless on the road in conference play with a 86-71 decision in Maryville, Mo. on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs were playing with a depleted bench, as guards Julia Montebello, Laura Joya and Julie Guinn all missed Wednesday's game - forcing freshmen Natalie Fleming and Mindy Hutchcroft to each play a season-high in minutes. Truman turned the ball over 23 times and hit just three-of-18 from beyond the arc as the Bulldogs dropped their fifth straight MIAA game and move to 13-9 on the season, 5-8 in the MIAA.
After playing to a 35-33 lead at the break, the Bearcats came out firing in the second half by putting together a 31-14 run over the first eight and a half minutes to take a 19-point lead at 66-47 with 11:33 to play. The purple and white were able to pull it to within nine with just over four minutes remaining, but another quick Bearcat spurt - this time a 9-1 run - put the game out of reach.
Senior guard Katie Fowler finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Fleming scored a career-high 11 points. After hitting nine three-pointers in the first meeting between the schools, senior guard Candace McGee was held without an attempt from long-distance, scoring just two points on the evening.
Truman did shoot 52% from the field (27-of-52); however, the combination of Truman turnovers and Bearcats offensive rebounds (24) allowed Northwest (12-10, 7-6) to take 32 more attempts and shoot 42% (35-of-84). The Bearcats, fueled by Nelson's career-high 31 points and nine three-pointers, hit 12 from long-distance for the game.

Lady Blues player Notes . . .
#3 – Brette Ulsaker – G – Averaging 2.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.0 apg since returning from stress fracture in foot.
#4 – Amanda Holmes – F – Had 17th game of career in double figure rebounding vs Southwest Baptist.
#11 – Renata Germano – C – Eight points on 4 of 5 shooting vs PSU was a season high.
#13 – Jessica Mainz – G – Ranked 29th on WU's all-time block chart with 17.
#14 – Alyssa Mullen – F – 2 of 5 from 3-point range in MIAA play this season.
#20 – Hadleigh Meek – G – 9 of 10 from the free throw line this season.
#21 – Corkey Stiger – G – 105 3-pointers in career is seventh all-time and 320 attempts is fifth.
#23 – Jacki Tipping – G – Career high 4 points against Truman hitting both field goal attempts.
#24 – Karla Tailele – G – 22 3-pointers this season is 36th in single-season history at WU.
#30 – Kalee Silovsky – F – Six of 10 from field in last four games averaging 4.5 ppg.
#32 – Janice Bright – G – 25 3-pointers this season is 31st on single-season chart.
#33 – Hope Gregory – G – Six of 10 from field in last two games and 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
#44 – Emily Gibson – F – Averaging 2.0 ppg and 3.0 minutes per game in last two contests.
#50 – Regiane Araujo – C – Last two rebounds have been on offensive side.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 24th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 298-56 (.842) 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 106-10 (.914) in home games under Ron McHenry.

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 689-324 (.680 in 1,013 games) in its 38th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(Feb. 12) The Washburn Lady Blues climbed one from up to No. 19 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 WBCA Coaches Poll which was released today. Overall, Washburn has received votes in the last 105 consecutive polls and has been in the top 25 in 89 consecutive polls. 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.

Lady Blues Individual Tip Ins . . .
• Corkey Stiger moved into seventh all-time at Washburn in 3-pointers with 105. She needs four more to move into sixth place all-time which will pass Jennifer Harris.
• Stiger's 320 3-point attempts is fifth all-time.
• Amanda Holmes is 13th all-time with 233 free throws made and 11th in free throw attempts with 347.
• Holmes is 12th all-time in rebounds at Washburn with 562. She needs 23 more to move into 11th all-time.
• Holmes' 96 career blocked shots is fourth all-time at Washburn needing six to move into sole possession of third place.
• Corkey Stiger has averaged 18.0 ppg in the four losses for the Lady Blues. She is the only Washburn player averaging double figures in the four losses. The next highest scorer is Janice Bright at 8.3 ppg.
• In the Feb. 10 NCAA statistics, Washburn's Jessica Mainz is 10th in the nation in assist to turnover ratio (2.24).

Lady Blues Team Tip Ins . . .
• The Lady Blues have held their opponents under 100 points in 273 consecutive games.
• Washburn is averaging 68.0 ppg in MIAA play.
• The Washburn bench is outscoring their opponents this season 462-335.
• In the last five minutes of games, Washburn is outscoring their opponents 222 to 221.
• In the four losses, the Washburn starters have been outscored 195 to 164.
• Washburn is averaging 72.4 ppg in games won and 53.5 ppg in their four losses.
• In the four losses, Washburn is 74 of 225 from the field (.329) and in the 18 wins they are 458 of 1071 (.428).
• From 3-point range in the four losses, Washburn is 17 of 75 (.227) and in the 17 wins they are 132 of 377 (.350).
• From the free throw line, Washburn is 256 of 361 (.709) in the 17 wins and in the four losses they are 49 of 79 (.620).
• In the Feb. 10 NCAA statistics, Washburn is 11th in turnovers per game (14.6), 13th in field goal percentage defense (.346), 14th in scoring defense (55.1), 19th in rebound margin (+7.5) and 23rd in scoring margin (+13.7).

Up Next . . .
Following the game with the Truman on Feb. 16, Washburn will return home for three straight games - Northwest Missouri on Feb. 20, Emporia state on Feb. 23 and Fort Hays State on Feb. 27 before wrapping up the regular season at Central Missouri at 1:30 p.m. The contest with Fort Hays State will also be senior day for two Lady Blues seniors - Amanda Holmes and Corkey Stiger.