Complete game notes

Lady Blues aim to continue eight-game winning streak in regular season finale against Central Missouri
The Washburn Lady Blues will wrap up the regular season on the road in Warrensburg, Mo., at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday as they will take on the Central Missouri Jennies. Washburn, who has already secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MIAA Postseason Tournament, will look to land an outright title with a win over the Jennies. Washburn (22-4, 14-3 MIAA) is coming off a 64-60 win over Fort Hays State winning its eighth straight game. The Jennies (13-13, 8-9 MIAA), handed Southwest Baptist its only home loss of the season in a 74-64 win in Bolivar, Mo., on Tuesday. Following the game with the Jennies, Washburn will open MIAA Tournament play on Thursday at noon in Municipal Auditorium against an opponent to be determined from the eighth place team in the final conference standings.

Quick Facts
Matchup: Washburn (22-4, 14-3 MIAA) at Central Missouri (13-13, 8-9 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, March 1
Time: 1:30 p.m. CST
Site: Warrensburg, Mo. -- UCM Multipurpose Building (8,500)
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 www.ucmo.edu/athletics/live/mensbb/xlive.htm
Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 210-41 (.835) in his eighth season - McHenry is 15-2 against Central Missouri.
David Slifer is in his fourth season at Central Missouri compiling a 72-45 (.640) record at UCM and a 454-144 (.759) career mark. He is 16-16 overall against Washburn going 0-9 against WU at Central and 16-7 while at MWSU.
Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 17 in the WBCA/USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll - No. 2 in the NCAA South Central Regional Rankings.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game with Central Missouri 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 www.wusports.com.

The coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 210-41 (.837) record overall and 112-29 (.790) 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 (.837) 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.)
Jennies head coach Dave Slifer is in his fourth season at Central Missouri and his 19th year as a collegiate coach. Slifer (Mount Mercy, 1982) has compiled a 72-45 record at UCM and a 454-144 career mark. He is 16-16 overall against Washburn going 0-9 against WU at Central and 16-7 while at Missouri Western.
 
Last Time Out for the Lady Blues . . .
Feb. 27, 2008 - No. 17 Washburn 64, Fort Hays State 60 • 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. With the win, Washburn (22-4, 14-3 MIAA) clinches at least a share of their fifth MIAA regular season championship in the last six years and the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Postseason Tournament March 6-9 in Kansas City. Washburn will wrap up the regular season on Saturday in Warrensburg, Mo., when they take on Central Missouri at 1:30 p.m.
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.

Notes from the Fort Hays State game . . .
Washburn now leads the all-time series with FHSU 35-25 and has won the last 10 meetings … Jessica Mainz tied a career high with eight assists … Amanda Holmes tied a career high with six blocks … Mainz also set a career high with 40 minutes played after recorded three games with 39 minutes played … Washburn was 15 of 22 from the free throw line and FHSU was 1 of 1 … Washburn forced 20 FHSU turnovers leading to 21 points for the Lady Blues.
 
Washburn/Central Missouri series notes . . .
Saturday's meeting will be the 40th in the series between the two schools. Washburn is 28-11 all-time against the Jennies. Overall, the Lady Blues have won 14 straight over the Jennies. The Lady Blues have won the last five in Warrensburg and the last nine in Topeka. The Jennies last win in Topeka was on Feb. 16, 2000 in a 66-50 win.
 
Last Meeting Between Washburn and Central Missouri . . .
(Jan. 5, 2008) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 4 Washburn Lady Blues topped Central Missouri for the ninth straight time in Lee Arena and the 14th straight time overall as the Lady Blues picked up a 68-47 win in the 1,000th game in program history. Washburn will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 9th in Emporia as they travel to battle arch-rival Emporia State in the Turnpike Tussle.
The Lady Blues (10-1, 2-0 MIAA) led from start to finish as the Lady Blues jumped out to an 8-0 lead to open the game and the Jennies (5-6, 0-2 MIAA) would not get any closer than seven points the remainder of the game.
Corkey Stiger led the Lady Blues in scoring for the eighth straight game with a game-tying high 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting including a 4 of 8 performance from 3-point range in the game.
Joining Stiger in double figures were Karla Tailele who scored a career-high 13 points off the bench on 5 of 6 shooting and Janice Bright who tallied 9 of her 11 points in the first half.
Washburn finished the game hitting 25 of 50 from the field after hitting 12 of 22 from the field in the opening period. The Lady Blues limited Central Missouri to 7 of 30 from the field in the first half and 6 of 23 in the second half for a 25 percent clip for the game.
Lindsey Maple led the Jennies with 18 points off the bench.
The Lady Blues held a slim 35 to 33 advantage on the boards despite allowing Central Missouri to grab 18 offensive rebounds.
 
About Central Missouri . . .
The Jennies enter Saturday's game with a 13-13 overall record and 7-9 record after handing Southwest Baptist its only home loss of the season in a 74-64 win in Bolivar.
Central Missouri has two players averaging in double figures to date: senior guard Lindsey Maple (17.5 ppg) and senior forward Jojuana Jones (12.7 ppg).
Jones averages a team-leading 10.3 rebounds per game.
As a team, UCM is shooting 40.5 percent from the field (610 of 1506), 35.1 percent from 3-point range (176 of 501) and 73.5 percent from the free throw line (416-566).

Last time out for the Jennies . . .
(Feb. 26, 2008) --  The Central Missouri Jennies rallied from 10 points down in the second half to stun Southwest Baptist and hand the Lady Bearcats their first home loss of the season on Tuesday night at the Meyer Wellness and Sports Center. The Jennies (13-13, 8-9 MIAA) clinched no worse than the No. 6 seed at the MIAA Tournament with the win.
Just like in the previous game, Kara Fleming took the opening tip-off and laid it in to give UCM a 2-0 lead just five seconds into the game. The Jennies led by as many as four early on, but a 17-7 run near the end of the half put the Lady Bearcats up 10 and SBU went into the intermission with an eight-point lead at 36-28. Jojuana Jones led UCM with 10 points and five rebounds in the opening period.
The second half got off to a rocky start. The Jennies trailed 41-33 with 15:40 to go when head coach Dave Slifer was hit with a technical foul. SBU sank both free throws to take a 10-point lead, but the technical seemed to ignite the Jennies as they responded with an 11-0 run to take a 44-43 lead with 11:17 remaining.  The run was capped by a Stephenie Cook three-pointer.
The two teams battled back and forth with each team regaining the lead on seemingly every possession. The game was tied 54-54 when Lindsey Maple sank a three from the top of the key to put the Jennies ahead for good. Another Maple three gave the Jennies a 60-54 lead with just under five to go. SBU cut the lead to two with 2:34 to remaining, but back-to-back layups by Fleming and Becca Roberts put UCM back up six with 1:23 to play.
The Lady Bearcats had one last gasp when they cut the lead to four, but Maple sank six consecutive free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
Maple scored 22 of her game-high 24 points in the second half. Fleming finished with 15 points, while Jones chipped in 10 and six rebounds. Deidra Dace and Cook led the Jennies with seven rebounds apiece, tying a career-high for Cook.


Lady Blues player notes . . .
#3 – Brette Ulsaker – G – 10 of 17 from free throw line this season
#4 – Amanda Holmes – F – Six blocks against FHSU was a career high and 22 pts was career high
#11 – Renata Germano – C – Averaging 9.8 minutes per game
#13 – Jessica Mainz – G – 40 minutes against FHSU was career high
#14 – Alyssa Mullen – F – Eight of 17 from the field in home games this season
#20 – Hadleigh Meek – G – Has hit all four free throw attempts in MIAA play this season
#21 – Corkey Stiger – G – 67 3-pointers this season is third on single-season chart - 26 shy of the record
#23 – Jacki Tipping – G – All three rebounds this season have been offensive
#24 – Karla Tailele – G – Averaging 5.7 ppg in home games this season hitting 14 of 36 3-pointers at home
#30 – Kalee Silovsky – F – Has hit 4 of 8 3-point attempts in MIAA games this season
#32 – Janice Bright – G – Has hit last 10 free throws - hit last 24 of 27 free throws
#33 – Hope Gregory – G – Averaging 5 rebounds per game in last three games
#44 – Emily Gibson – F – Will miss the remainder of the season - will have back surgery on 2/28
#50 – Regiane Araujo – C – Dressed for FHSU game, but did not play after missing time with back injury

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 24th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 301-56 (.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 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 110-11 (.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 102-6 (.944).

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 693-324 (.681 in 1,017 games) in its 38th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(Feb. 26) The Washburn Lady Blues remained at No. 17 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 WBCA Coaches Poll which was released today. Overall, Washburn has received votes in the last 107 consecutive polls and has been in the top 25 in 91 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.

WU in the Regional poll . . .
(2/27/08)    (WBCA)D-II Record / In Region
1     West Texas A&M     21-4     20-1
2     Washburn     18-4     17-4
3     Central Oklahoma     19-6     18-6
4     Southwest Baptist     16-6     15-6
5     Emporia State     17-5     16-5
6     Missouri Southern State     14-8    14-8
7     Angelo State     21-6     20-6
8     Northeastern State     15-10     15-10
9     St. Mary's (Tx.)     19-3     16-2
10     Texas A&M-Commerce     16-8     15-8

Lady Blues Individual Tip Ins . . .
• Corkey Stiger moved into fifth all-time at Washburn in 3-pointers and she needs seven more to move into the top four all-time at Washburn.
• Stiger's 347 3-point attempts is fourth all-time.
• Amanda Holmes is 10th all-time with 247 free throws made and 10th in free throw attempts with 367.
• Holmes is 11th all-time in rebounds at Washburn with 593. She needs 45 more to move into the top 10 all-time.
• Holmes' 105 career blocked shots is third all-time at Washburn needing 12 to move into sole possession of second place.
• Holmes became only the fourth Lady Blues to record at least 800 points, 500 rebounds, 100 steals and 100 blocks joining Jannica Beam, Laura Mueller and Brenda Shaffer-Dahl.
• 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.

Lady Blues Team Tip Ins . . .
• The Lady Blues have held their opponents under 100 points in 276 consecutive games.
• Washburn is averaging 69.8 ppg in MIAA play.
• The Washburn bench is outscoring their opponents this season 524 to 399. The game against Fort Hays State was the first game this season the Lady Blues' bench were held scoreless.
• In the last five minutes of games, Washburn is being outscored by their opponents 272 to 268.

Up Next . . .
Following the game with Central Missouri, Washburn will clinch the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Postseason Tournament in Kansas City with an opponent to be determined by the MIAA final regular season standings. The Lady Blues will play either Truman, Fort Hays State or Missouri Western at noon on March 6 in Municipal Auditorium.