Complete Game Notes

Lady Blues look to top UCO for 2nd time this season . . . 
The No. 24 ranked Washburn Lady Blues will take on Central Oklahoma for the second time this season with an appearance in the NCAA South Central Regional on the line as they will take on the Bronchos at 6 p.m. on March 15 in Canyon, Texas. The winner will advance to the regional championship on Monday night in Canyon at 7 p.m. Washburn reached the semifinals by topping Angelo State 69-44 while the Bronchos used overtime to dispatch St. Mary's 75-73. The Lady Blues have never met the Bronchos in the NCAA tournament as UCO will be playing in their second NCAA playoff game against Washburn on Saturday,

Quick Facts
Matchup: Washburn (24-6) vs Central Oklahoma (24-7)
Date: Saturday, March 15
Time: 6 p.m. CST
Site: Canyon, Texas -- First United Bank Center (4,700)
Radio: 106.9 FM / Topeka with play by play with Mark Elliott and Bruce Steinbrock
Online Audio: Through wusports.com (free)
Live Stats: Through gobuffsgo.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/08-ncaa-regional.html
Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 212-43 (.831) in his eighth season - McHenry is 2-0 against Central Oklahoma.
UCO is coached by Guy Hardaker, he is 39-20 in his second season at UCO. He is 0-1 against Washburn.
Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 24 in the WBCA/USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
Tournament Web Site: http://gobuffsgo.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/08-ncaa-regional.html
Series Record: WU leads the all-time series 3-0
Last Meeting: WU 66-56, on 12/20/07 in Miami Shores, Fla.
Last WU win: same
Last UCO win: n/a
Worth noting: The Lady Blues are 4-1 in NCAA second round games under head coach Ron McHenry.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game with Central Oklahoma 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 212-43 (.831) 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 2 of notes.)
Central Oklahoma head coach Guy Hardaker is 21-15 in his second year at Central Oklahoma. He is 0-1 against the Lady Blues.
 
Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
March 14, 2008 - No. 24 Washburn 69, Angelo State 45 • CANYON, Texas -- The No. 24 ranked Washburn Lady Blues moved into the NCAA South Central Regional Semifinals with a 69-44 win over Angelo State. Washburn will face Central Oklahoma at 6 p.m. Saturday night. It will be the second match up between the two teams this season as the Lady Blues took a 66-56 win over the Bronchos in Miami Shores, Fla. on Dec. 20.
Washburn led from start to finish allowing only two ties by the 'Belles in the game at 2-2 and 4-4 before going on a 12-4 run over the next five-plus minutes taking a 16-8 lead. Washburn pushed the lead to 17 late in the opening half at 33-16 with 3:25 left. Neither team would score the rest of the way.
Washburn held Angelo State to 6 of 24 from the field in the first 20 minutes while the Lady Blues were 12 of 27 as Janice Bright led the Washburn scorers with nine points hitting all three field goal attempts.
In the second half, ASU cut the lead to 11 at 37-26, but a lay up and a traditional three-point play by Brette Ulsaker pushed th lead back to 16 and the Rambelles would not get closer than 18 the rest of the way.
Corkey Stiger led the Lady Blues with 15 points. Amanda Holmes scored 14 and Bright finished with 12 points. Ulsaker scored seven points off the bench while pulling down five rebounds. Holmes finished with a game-high seven rebounds helping Washburn to dominate on the glass 48 to 22.
Camille Perkins led Angelo State with 17 points. Kandra Lakey scored 10.
Washburn finished 25 of 56 from the field while the Rambelles were held to 17 of 53 for the game.

Washburn/Central Oklahoma series notes . . .
Saturday's meeting will be the third in the series as Washburn holds a 3-0 advantage all-time. The two teams have never met in the NCAA tournament. Washburn won an earlier meeting this season in Miami Shoals, Fla., picking up a 66-56 on Dec. 20. Washburn also won meetings on Nov. 18, 2005 in Joplin, Mo., by a 96-59 score. The first game took place on Dec. 9, 1994 and the Lady Blues won that meeting 75-68.
 
Last Meeting Between Washburn and Central Oklahoma . . .
(Dec. 20, 2007) MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The No. 7 ranked Washburn Lady Blues finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 66-56 win over Central Oklahoma (7-3) in the final game of the Cruzin Classic. Washburn (8-1) will open the MIAA slate at Missouri Western on Jan. 2 in St. Joseph.
Corkey Stiger led the Lady Blues with 19 points after hitting 7 of 16 shots from the field. Stiger scored 11 points in the first half. Amanda Holmes hit 11 of 14 free throws en route to 15 points and 10 rebounds.
In the first half, Washburn pushed their lead to as many as eight on two different occasions while taking a 38-30 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, Washburn increased their lead to 14 with 6:50 to go in the game, but over the next two minutes, UCO cut the lead back to seven at 58-51 with 4:27 to go in the game. After four free throws by Holmes, Washburn jumped back to an 11-point lead at 62-51 with 2:36 left. After a Stiger jumper with 56 seconds left in the game, Washburn was up 65-52. A field goal by UCO with seven seconds left cut the final margin to 10.
Washburn outrebounded the Bronchos 47 to 34. Washburn hit 20 of 52 shots from the field for a 39 percent average. UCO was 17 of 57 from the field for a 30 percent clip. The Lady Blues forced 15 UCO turnovers into 13 points and the Washburn bench outscored the Broncho bench 19 to 11.
 
About Central Oklahoma . . .
Central Oklahoma is making their first NCAA appearance and topped St. Mary's in overtime 75-73. UCO went over the 20-win mark for the fourth time in school history and for the first time since the 1983-84 team. UCO leads the Lone Star Conference with a 75 point per game average.
Lizzie Brenner was an all-region selection on the Daktronics team with a 17.3 ppg average. She is joined by Cassidy Pillow in double-figure scoring at 13.6 ppg. Brenner leads the team on the glass with a 9.1 ppg average.

Last time out for UCO . . .
(March 14, 2008) -- CANYON, Texas (March 14) – Micha Hester and Karlie Free may not have ever hit bigger shots in their lifetime as Hester drained a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to force overtime and Free dropped in the game-winning basket with two seconds remaining in the extra session to send third-seeded Central Oklahoma past No. 6-seed St. Mary's, 75-73 at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
Trailing 61-58 with one possession remaining in regulation, Hester launched a desperation 3-point field goal from well beyond the arc that found nothing but net, tying the score and sending the game into overtime.
UCO trailed by as many as four in the extra session, but four straight points from Mallory Markus, a Kasey Tweed layup and a clutch 3-point field goal by Cassidy Pillow set up Free's late-game heroics as the senior calmly drained an eight-foot jumper from the baseline with two seconds remaining for the game-winner.
Lizzie Brenner notched a team-high 17 points and a game-best 18 rebounds -- the fourth-best game in school history -- while Markus and Tweed added 11 points, Pillow nine, Free eight and Hester six in the dramatic victory.
UCO began the contest on a blistering streak, receiving a running jumper from Cristina Yarbrough, a steal and layup by Markus and a pair of Cassidy Pillow free throw makes to race out to a 7-0 lead before St. Mary's staged a 10-0 scoring spurt of its own to take a three-point lead at the 14:40 mark.
A Markus layup followed by four free throw conversions between Brenner and Pillow kept it a one possession deficit, but the Rattlers scored five straight points, opening the gap to a six-point lead, 19-13. 
The Rattlers led by as much as eight with under 10 minutes left before Free's jumper ignited a 9-2 UCO scoring run that saw Brenner make two free throws, Markus drain a 3-point field goal and Kasey Tweed sink a pair of free throws to regain the advantage, 28-27 at the 5:14 mark. However, St. Mary's rallied off a scorching 11-0 scoring run to lead by double-digits, 38-28 with 1:47 remaining.
The deficit did not deter the Bronchos as they ended the half on a torrid 9-2 scoring streak that saw Brenner, Tweed and Taylor Allen all contribute points as the opening period ended with UCO trailing by three, 40-37 despite shooting a tepid 32 percent (10-of-31) and committing 12 turnovers.
Scoring was at a premium at the onset of the final period as the two teams combined to score 11 points through the first 8:30 of the half with the score tied at 45 after Brenner converted two free throws. UCO regained the lead after Brenner nailed a 3-pointer and Hester contributed three points on a free throw and layup to hold a 51-47 advantage with 8:41 showing on the clock.
St. Mary's trimmed the lead to one-point before a Markus layup followed by a pair of Pillow free throw conversions pushed the Broncho advantage to 55-52 at 5:12 but the Rattlers later tied the contest at 56-56 after a 4-1 scoring advantage and then took a three-point lead after Juanita Merchant sank a 3-point field goal from the corner with 27 seconds remaining on the clock.
Down 59-56, Free converted a layup at the 12 second mark to trim the lead to one before UCO sent Natalie Gamez to the free throw line, where she converted both opportunities to lead once again by three points with seven seconds showing.
With one chance to tie the contest on a last second effort, Hester's improbable shot found its mark to knot the contest at 61-61, shocking the opposition and the crowd while forcing the game into overtime.
Free's jumper with 3:55 remaining in the extra period allowed the Bronchos to take a one-point lead, 65-64 before Merchant struck again, knocking down another 3-pointer to put UCO in a four-point deficit with two minutes left in overtime.
Markus earned a pair of free throws, made them both and stole the inbounds pass and converted an uncontested layup to tie the contest at the 1:44 mark before Merchant again buried a 3-pointer to put the Rattlers up by three.
On the next UCO possession, Pillow answered with a 3-pointer of her own to tie the score and after a St. Mary's miss, Tweed made a driving layup to lead 73-71. St. Mary's tied the game with a jumper with 18 seconds remaining on the clock before the Bronchos took the last shot of the period, Free's game-winner from the baseline.
Despite making some clutch 3-point field goals, UCO was just 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) for the game while converting 80.6 percent (25-of-31) of its free throw opportunities.

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 695-326 (.681 in 1,021 games) in its 38th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(March 11) The Washburn Lady Blues dropped to No. 24 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 WBCA Coaches Poll. Overall, Washburn has received votes in the last 109 consecutive polls and has been in the top 25 in 93 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's 392 career 3-point attempts is third all-time.
• Stiger's 236 3-point attempts this season is the highest total on the single-season chart breaking the record of 228 set by Brooke Ubelaker last season.
• Stiger needs 30 points to become the third Lady Blue to reach at least 1,000 points in a two-year career at Washburn joining Jennifer Harris (1,314 points in 69 games) and Kelly Jennings (1,090 in 53 games).
• Stiger's 80 3-pointers this season is 13 shy of Ubelaker's record of 92 set last season.
• Amanda Holmes is eighth all-time with 268 free throws made and seventh in free throw attempts with 400. She needs four more makes to move into seventh place and 13 more makes to move into sixth.
• Holmes is tied for 10th all-time in rebounds at Washburn with 637.
• Holmes' 114 career blocked shots is third all-time at Washburn needing four 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 18.3 ppg in the six losses for the Lady Blues. She is the only Washburn player averaging double figures in the four losses. The next highest scorer is Amanda Holmes with 9.3 ppg.

Lady Blues Team Tip Ins . . .
• The Lady Blues have held their opponents under 100 points in 280 consecutive games.
• The Washburn bench is outscoring their opponents bench this season 556 to 445. However in the last five games, the Washburn reserves have been outscored 75 to 43.
• In the last five minutes of games, Washburn is being outscored by their opponents 326 to 318.
• The 207 3-pointers made by the Lady Blues this season is tied for fifth on the all-time chart. The team single-season record is 253 set last season.
• The 628 3-point attempts is third on the single-season chart this season. The school record is 732 set during the 2004-05 season when the Lady Blues won the NCAA title.

2008 Washburn postseason honors . . .
All-MIAA Team
Corkey Stiger - Unanimous First team all-MIAA
Jessica Mainz - Unanimous all-defensive team; MIAA's Defensive Player of the Year
Amanda Holmes - Second Team all-MIAA

MIAA all-tournament team
Corkey Stiger
Amanda Holmes

WBCA Regional All-American Finalist
Corkey Stiger

Daktronics all-South Central Regional team
Corkey Stiger

Lady Blues in the NCAA Tournament notes . . .
• The Lady Blues are 21-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Washburn is now 6-1 in their first round NCAA Tournament games under head coach Ron McHenry.
• Washburn is 4-1 in NCAA Tournament in second round under Ron McHenry.
• The Lady Blues are 9-3 against teams from the Lone Star Conference in the NCAA Tournament. They are 4-1 against West Texas A&M, 0-1 against Southeastern Oklahoma, 1-0 against Abilene Christian, 3-0 against Angelo State and 1-0 against Midwestern State and 0-1 against Texas A&M-Commerce.
• Washburn is 1-0 in NCAA Tournament games played in Texas.
• Washburn has been in 12 NCAA Tournaments with seven straight counting this year's tournament.
• Washburn has made five Elite Eight (1992, 1993, 1994, 2003, 2005)
• Washburn has reached two Final Fours (1993, 2005)
• Washburn won the 2005 NCAA Championships.
• All-time in the first round, Washburn is 10-3 winning their last five games.
• The last opening round loss was to Southeastern Oklahoma on March 7, 2002 in a 63-50 defeat in St. Joseph.

NCAA Tournament Schedule . . .
Saturday, March 15
Game #5 - Central Oklahoma (#3 seed) vs. Washburn (#2 seed)
- 6 p.m.
Game #6 - Emporia State (#4 seed) vs. Northwest Missouri (#8 seed) - 8 p.m.

Monday, March 17
South Central Region Championship Game - Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 7 p.m.