Complete Game Notes

Lady Blues to face off with arch-rival Emporia State in regional finals with Elite Eight bid on the line
The Turnpike Tussle is moving 572 miles south to Canyon, Texas as the Lady Blues will face off with Emporia State with a ticket to the NCAA Elite Eight on the line for the winner. Monday's meeting will be the third in the last four years the two teams have met in the finals. Washburn and Emporia State have split the two meetings. The St. Patrick's Day game will be the fourth time the two rivals have met in the NCAA tournament. Washburn leads in NCAA Tournament games 2-1 with the lone loss coming on March 13, 2006 in Lee Arena in a 61-59 overtime loss snapping the Lady Blues' 51-game winning streak. Twelve of the last 16 games have been decided by less than ten points. Washburn and Emporia State have combined to win 10 MIAA championships since 1992-93 with each team taking five titles while sharing the 2004 and 2008 crowns. Washburn reached the regional finals - their fourth straight and their fifth in the last six years - with a 73-66 win over Central Oklahoma. The Lady Hornets topped Northwest Missouri 83-71 to make their reservation for the regional finals. Washburn is looking for their sixth Elite Eight trip joining the 1992, 1993, 1994, 2003 and 2005 teams to have won regional championships. The game will also be on St. Patrick's Day - which the Lady Blues are 1-0 all-time with the win coming against Emporia State in the 2003 regional semifinals in Topeka in a 66-60 win.

Quick Facts
Matchup: Washburn (25-6) vs Emporia State (23-7)
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 7 p.m. CST
Site: Canyon, Texas -- First United Bank Center (4,700)
Radio: 580 AM WIBW / 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 213-43 (.831) in his eighth season - McHenry is 15-7 against Emporia State.
ESU head coach Brandon Schneider is 250-60 (.809) in his tenth year as head coach. He is 11-13 against Washburn
Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 24 in the WBCA/USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, Emporia State is the No. 25 ranked team in the nation.
Tournament Web Site: gobuffsgo.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/08-ncaa-regional.html
Series Record: ESU leads the all-time series 39-35
Blue Notes: WU has won 12 of the last 16 meetings
Last Meeting: WU 78-52, 2/23/08 in Topeka
Last WU win: same
Last ESU win: 74-67, 2/17/07 at ESU
Worth noting: This meeting will be the 17th straight in which both teams have been nationally ranked …  Monday's meeting will be the third in the last four years they have met in the regional final.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game with Emporia State will be broadcast live on WIBW AM 580 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 213-43 (.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.)
ESU head coach Brandon Schneider is 250-60 (.805) in his tenth year as head coach. He is the winningest coach in Lady Hornet history and is responsible for over one third of ESU's all-time victories. He is the third winningest active coach by percentage in Division II.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
March 15, 2008 - No. 24 Washburn 73, Central Oklahoma 67 • CANYON, Texas -- The No. 24 ranked Washburn Lady Blues advanced to their fourth straight NCAA South Central Regional final with a 73-66 win over Central Oklahoma.
Washburn (25-6) trailed by four at 32-28 with 4:30 to go in the opening half, but a four-point play by Corkey Stiger knotted the score at 32 marking the third tie of the of period. After another 3-pointer by Janice Bright, Washburn took a 35-32 lead and never looked back taking a 39-34 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Lady Blues turned up the defense holding the Bronchos (24-8) without a field goal for the 4:03 of the half as UCO was 0-5 from the field with three turnovers. During the span, the lady Blues pushed their lead to 44-34 before the bucket by the Bronchos.
Washburn eventually stretched the lead to as many as 18 at 67-49 with 4:30 to play before the Bronchos finished the game on a 15 to 6 run to close the game.
Amanda Holmes scored 14 of her career and game high 27 points in the first half as she connected on 10 of 15 shots from the field before fouling out. She notched her seventh double double of the season and the 17th of her career by adding a game-high 11 rebounds. Stiger scored 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field as well as 5 of 8 from 3-point range giving her 992 for her Washburn career. Bright added 11 points and six assists for the Lady Blues.
Lizzie Brenner led the Bronchos with 21 points on 6 of 20 shooting from the field as the only UCO player to reach double figures.
Washburn shot 55 percent for the game hitting 27 of 49 attempts from the field, while they held UCO to 30 percent shooting on 18 of 60. UCO was 23 of 30 from the free throw line while Washburn hit 10 of their 12 attempts.
Washburn dominated on the boards out rebounding UCO 41 to 27. Washburn did commit 23 turnovers which led to 23 points for the Bronchos.

Washburn/Emporia State series notes . . .
Monday's meeting will be the 75th in the series. The Lady Hornets lead the all-time series 39-35. Washburn has won 15 of the last 20 games in the series. Both teams have been nationally ranked the last 15 times they have played and they have both been in the top ten during 11 of the last 12 meetings. Twelve of the last 16 games between the two have been decided by less than ten points with four games decided by two points or less. In Topeka, Washburn is 18-19 against ESU. In games played in Emporia, Washburn is 13-20 in White Auditorium. On neutral courts, Washburn has won all four meetings going 4-0 winning the only two meetings in Kansas City during the MIAA Tournament.  In the NCAA Tournament, the teams have met three times with Washburn holding a 2-1 lead. Washburn won March 15, 2003 in Topeka, in the regional semifinals 66-60 and on March 14, 2005 with Washburn taking a 63-51 in Springfield, Mo. ESU won the last meeting on March 13, 2006 when the Lady Hornets topped the Lady Blues 61-59 in overtime snapping Washburn's NCAA Division II record 51-game winning streak. Washburn was the No. 1 ranked team in the country the entire season before the loss to ESU in Topeka. Ron McHenry is 15-7 against Emporia State. ESU head coach Brandon Schneider is 11-13 against Washburn.
 
Last Meeting Between Washburn and Emporia State . . .
(Feb. 23, 2008) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 17 Washburn Lady Blues moved into sole possession of first place in the MIAA with two games to play and swept the regular season series with arch-rival Emporia State in a 78-52 win over the No. 18 ranked Lady Hornets. Washburn improves to 21-4 overall and takes a one-game lead over ESU and two-games over SBU entering the final week of the season.
Washburn jumped out to a 40-21 lead at the break after holding the league's leading offensive team to 5 of 23 from the field while Washburn connected on 51 percent of their attempts hitting 16 of 31 led by Amanda Holmes' 11 points. Washburn outscored the Lady Hornets 28 to 6 in the paint in the first half.
In the second half, the Lady Blues kept the defensive pressure up by limiting ESU to 9 of 32 from the field scoring 31 points while Washburn put up 38 points leading to the 14-point win.
Holmes led the Lady Blues with 19 points and 10 rebounds recording her 15th double double of her career and her fifth of the season. Corkey Stiger scored 18. Also hitting double figures were Janice Bright with 13 on 6 of 8 shooting from the field and Jessica Mainz with 10 points.
Michelle Stueve led ESU with 11 points and Alli Volkens scored 10 off the bench for the Lady Hornets.
 
About Emporia State . . .
The Lady Hornets are 23-7 this season and tied the Lady Blues for the MIAA regular season championship. The Lady Hornets are led by MIAA MVP and two-time All-American Michelle Stueve who needs one point to become ESU's all-time leading scorer with 2,378. Stueve is leading 21.6 points per game. She leads four other Lady Hornets in double figures with Ida Edwards with 14.0 ppg, Andrea Leiker with 12.4 ppg and Cassondra Boston with 12.2 ppg.

Last time out for ESU . . .
(March 15, 2008) -- CANYON, Texas  -- Senior F Michelle Stueve became co-holder of Emporia State's career scoring record as she led the Lady Hornets to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional final with an 83-71 semifinal victory over Northwest Missouri State Saturday night at the First United Bank Center.
Emporia State (23-7) will take on Washburn for the regional championship Monday night (March 17). It is the third time in four years the Lady Hornets and Lady Blues, MIAA regular season co-champions, will meet for the opportunity to go to the Elite Eight. WU won the 2005 meeting in Springfield, Mo. and ESU won in 2006 on the Lady Blues' home floor.
Stueve scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as Emporia State came from behind to get the win, as she tied Carolyn Richard (2,378 points from 1982-87) as the school's all-time scoring leader.
ESU scored 10 straight points in a span of 1:49 in the second half to take a 66-61 lead at the 9:18 mark. The Lady Hornets shot 64 percent in the last 20 minutes (16-of-25) while Northwest (18-14) made just 28.2 percent (11-of-39).
The Bearcats jumped out to a 16-8 lead, with senior C Mandi Schumacher scoring eight of her 17 points in the first 5:11 of the contest. Northwest remained in control until Emporia State knotted the game at 34-34 with 3:57 left with a 10-2 run.
Northwest ended up scoring seven of the last nine points -- four from Schumacher -- and held a 41-36 lead at the break.
Senior G Kelli Nelson opened the second half with three for the Bearcats, but ESU scored the next 10 points for a 46-44 lead with less than three minute gone in the period. Junior G Andrea Leiker nailed a pair of three-point goals in that outburst for the Lady Hornets.
The game featured four more ties and three lead changes, as the Bearcats took a 61-56 lead with 11:25 left on a trey by junior F Micaela Uriell before ESU's deciding flurry.
Junior F Ida Edwards scored six of the Lady Hornets' next 10, while sophomore G Cassondra Boston tallied the other four. ESU ended the game on a 15-4 run for the final margin after Northwest cut the gap to one, 68-67, on a layupr by Uriell with 6:37 left.
Schumacher's 17 led Northwest, while junior F Meghan Brue -- the heroine of the Bearcats' opening-round win -- finished with 14 points and Nelson had 10. Schumacher also had team highs of eight rebounds and four steals.
Leiker finished with 17 points for the Lady Hornets, while Boston and Edwards each added 15. Boston also dished out seven assists.

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 694-326 (.681 in 1,020 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 396 career 3-point attempts is third all-time - with two more attempts, she'll move into second by herself.
• Stiger's 244 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 15 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 85 3-pointers this season is eight shy of Ubelaker's record of 92 set last season.
• Amanda Holmes is seventh all-time with 274 free throws made and seventh in free throw attempts with 404.
• Holmes is 10th all-time in rebounds at Washburn with 639.
• 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 281 consecutive games.
• The Washburn bench is outscoring their opponents bench this season 564 to 474. However in the last six games, the Washburn reserves have been outscored 83 to 72.
• In the last five minutes of games, Washburn is being outscored by their opponents 343 to 328.
• The 216 3-pointers made by the Lady Blues this season is third on the all-time chart. The team single-season record is 253 set last season.
• The 648 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 22-10 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 5-1 in NCAA Tournament in second round under Ron McHenry.
• Washburn is 2-2 in the regional final under McHenry winning in 2003, 2005 and falling in 2006 and 2007.
• The Lady Blues are 10-3 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, 1-0 against Central Oklahoma, 1-0 against Midwestern State and 0-1 against Texas A&M-Commerce.
• Washburn is 6-3 in the NCAA Tournament against teams from the MIAA going 2-0 against Central Missouri, 1-0 against Missouri Southern, 0-2 against Missouri Western, 1-0 against Northwest Missouri and 2-1 against Emporia State.
• Washburn is 2-0 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.
• Appearances: 12 overall, 7 straight (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
• All-time record NCAA Postseason Tournament: 20-10 (.667)
• Elite Eight Appearances - (5): 1992, 1993, 1994, 2003, 2005
• Final Fours - (2): 1993, 2005
• National Championships - (1): 2005

NCAA regional Tournament Schedule . . .
Monday, March 17
South Central Region Championship Game - Washburn vs Emporia State - 7 p.m.