Matchup: Washburn (15-3, 8-3 MIAA) at Northwest Missouri (6-12, 2-9 MIAA) Date: Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009 Time: 5:30 p.m. CST Site: Maryville, Mo. -- Bearcat Arena (2,500) Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 229-47 (.832) in his ninth season. He is 16-5 against Northwest Missouri. Northwest's Gene Steinmeyer is 137-139 in his 10th year at Northwest and 497-279 in his 24th season overall. He is 4-19 against Washburn. Rankings: Washburn was ranked No. 10 in the WBCA Coaches Poll. NWMSU is unranked. Series Record: WU leads the all-time series 39-9 Last Meeting: WU 67-48, 12/6/08 in Topeka Last WU win: same Last NWMSU win: 59-56, 3/8/08 in MIAA Tournament Semifinals Worth noting: Washburn is 25-2 all-time against NWMSU in Topeka and 13-5 in games played in Maryville. Washburn is 1-2 in games on neutral courts.

Radio: KTPK 106.9 FM Web Stream Internet: themiaa.tv (free) Live Stats: Through NWMSU (free) Washburn Game Notes WBB Page Roster Statistics Schedule Northwest Missouri WBB Page Roster Statistics Schedule

No. 10 Lady Blues wrap up 3-game road trip with Northwest Missouri . . . 
The No. 10 ranked Washburn Lady Blues (15-3, 8-3 MIAA) will complete a three-game road trip as they travel to Northwest Missouri (6-12, 2-9 MIAA) on Wednesday in Bearcat Arena. The Lady Blues are coming off a 64-62 win at Nebraska-Omaha and the Bearcats were defeated at home by No. 5 Emporia State 104-86. Washburn is looking to snap a win/loss/win pattern the Lady Blues have had in their last seven games. The Bearcats have lost their last five games including three straight at home.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
Washburn games with Northwest Missouri will be on KTPK 106.9 FM. 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 229-47 (.835) record overall and 120-33 (.791) 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 (.835) in MIAA history of coaches who have at least 200 wins. McHenry is 32-13 when both teams are ranked in the top 25 and 34-21 overall against top 25 teams.
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.)
Northwest Missouri head coach Gene Steinmeyer is 137-139 in his tenth year at NWMSU and 497-279 in his 24th 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. . .
(Jan. 24, 2009) OMAHA, Neb. - Janice Bright topped the 20-point mark for the seventh straight game and the Lady Blues came back to defeat Nebraska-Omaha, 64-62 Saturday at Sapp Fieldhouse.
No. 10 Washburn improved to 15-3 and 8-3 in the MIAA while UNO fell to 7-9 and 4-7 in the league.
Bright shot 9 of 21 from the field and made four 3-pointers as she scored 25 points to lead all scorers. Mainz was 4 of 6 from the field for 11 points.
The Lady Blues took their first lead of the game at the 5:42 mark when Dayna Rodriguez hit a pair of free throws to make the score 54-53. A 3-pointer from Bright at 2:58 gave the Lady Blues a six-point lead but UNO scored five straight points to pull within one with 51 seconds remaining.
Mainz then hit a lay-up after a WU timeout to give the Lady Blues a three-point lead with 20 seconds left. Cayla Hargrove went to the free throw live for UNO with eight seconds left and she made both shots. Mainz was fouled on the next possession and she made one of two to give WU a two-point lead.
The Mavericks failed to get a shot off as the ball was knocked lose in the final seconds.
Washburn was out-shot, 50 percent to 43 percent but the Lady Blues were 13 of 15 (87 percent) from the free throw line while UNO was 10 of 15.
Dayna Rodriguez led the Lady Blues with seven rebounds and Mainz and Brett Ulsaker each led with three assists. Mainz had five steals.

Final Notes from the Nebraska-Omaha game . . .
Washburn improved to 7-7 on Jan. 24th in the program's history and snapped a four-game losing streak on the date … Janice Bright hit all three attempts against UNO giving her 18 in a row on the heels of her hitting all 15 free throw attempts at Emporia State setting a new MIAA record breaking the previous best of 14 of 14 by four others …  Washburn has kept opponents under 100 in 302 consecutive games  … McHenry passed former Central Missouri head coach John Pye (1985-95) who was 228-68 for the Jennies for seventh overall on the MIAA all-time win chart with former. McHenry enters the NWMSU game with a 229-47 record. In sixth is former SBU head coach Jim Middleton (1994-2008) who was 239-158 … Under McHenry, when opponents are held to 70 points or below, Washburn is 173-32, they are 54-23 in the month of January and 218-9 when leading with five minutes to go in the game.

Washburn/Northwest Missouri series notes . . .
Wednesday's meeting is the 49th all-time. Washburn has won 9 of the last 11 meetings in the series. Washburn is 39-9 all-time against the Bearcats. The Lady Blues won their 25th in a row in Topeka over the Bearcats on Dec. 6, 2008 in the first meeting this season. The Lady Blues are 25-2 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. In games in Maryville, the Lady Blues are 13-5 all-time. Ron McHenry is 16-5 against the Bearcats. Northwest Missouri head coach Gene Steinmeyer is 4-19 against Washburn.

About Northwest Missouri . . .
The Bearcats are 6-12 this season and 2-9 in MIAA play after dropping falling for the fifth straight game 104-86 to No. 5 Emporia State. Meghan Brue leads two Bearcats averaging double figures with 15.4 points per game. She is also averaging a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game. Rickeya McElroy is averaging 12.8 ppg and leads the team with 31 blocks. Northwest is averaging 66.8 ppg and allowing 71.4 ppg.

Last meeting between Washburn and Northwest Missouri . . .
(Dec. 6, 2008) TOPEKA, Kan.  -- The No. 2 ranked Washburn Lady Blues had five players score at least eight points as they defeated Northwest Missouri 67-48 in Lee Arena. The win was the 25th straight for the Lady Blues over the Bearcats in Topeka.
The Lady Blues (7-0, 2-0 MIAA) trailed at 12-8, but a 14-2 run over the next six-plus minutes reversed the game and gave Washburn a 22-14 lead with 5:54 to go in the first half. The Bearcats (4-4, 0-2 MIAA) cut back into the lead reducing the margin to five at 24-19, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Hope Gregory and Kalee Silovsky propelled Washburn to a 34-25 halftime lead.
In the second half, Washburn limited the Bearcats to 7 of 23 shooting from the field as Washburn held Northwest to at least a 10-point deficit the remainder of the game taking the 19-point win.
Janice Bright scored a game-high 13 points to lead the Lady Blues. Gregory finished with 10 points hitting three 3-pointers on the night in four attempts. Meghan Brue led the Bearcats with 11 points. Four different Lady Blues had four rebounds.
Washburn finished the game hitting 21 of 50 from the field while the Bearcats finished 16 of 47. Washburn was 18 of 27 from the free throw line and Northwest was 13 of 17 from the charity stripe.

Last time out for Northwest Missouri . . .
(Jan. 24, 2009) MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Junior G Sophia Lenard scored 19 points to lead seven Emporia State players in double figures as the fifth-ranked Lady Hornets claimed a 104-86 win over Northwest Missouri State Saturday afternoon (Jan. 24) at Bearcat Arena.
It was the fourth straight win for ESU (16-2, 10-1 MIAA) and 10th in 11 games. The Bearcats (6-12, 2-9 MIAA) fell for the fifth straight game and sixth time in seven outings.
Northwest jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the early going -- the first five for the Bearcats from senior G Meghan Brue and the next four from junior C Rickeya McElroy. Brue and McElroy each tallied 23 points in the game.
Emporia State then bounced back with a 19-5 outburst to get its own seven-point advantage, 21-14, as the game approached the midway point of the first half. Senior F Ida Edwards scored six of her 11 points in that run.
The Bearcats forged the first of five first-half deadlocks by scoring seven unanswered points, six by McElroy, to make it 21-21 at the 8:54 mark. A traditional three-point play by freshman G Brittney Miller sparked an 8-2 run which put the Lady Hornets up by a 29-23 count with 7:05 to go.
After senior F Jessica Burton tied the game at 31-31, Brue would cap an 8-0 spurt by Northwest with a jumper at the 4:43 mark for a two-point lead.
There were three more ties and five more lead changes in the first half before ESU closed the period on a 9-4 run to take a 49-44 lead into the locker room. The Lady Hornets then started the second half on a 17-4 run to take control.
Lenard scored eight of her 19 points in what proved to be the deciding run, as ESU claimed a 66-48 advantage with 15:20 to go when she finished a run of four straight foul shots to cap the spurt. Lenard was 13-of-14 at the charity stripe in the game.
Emporia State led by as many 36 points in the second half before Northwest scored the final 18 points of the game.
Junior G Jamie Augustyn hit a career-high five three-pointers for 15 points and junior G Cassondra Boston had 13 points for ESU. Edwards, senior G Andrea Leiker, and sophomore F Alli Volkens all scored 11 points while senior F Allie Renberg added 10.
Lenard added seven assists and three steals in her effort for the Lady Hornets, while Renberg led them with seven rebounds.
McElroy and Brue each added seven rebounds to go with their 23 points for the Bearcats. Senior F Micaela Uriell and freshman G Abby Henry each added 10 points.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 25th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 311-57 (.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 120-12 (.909) in home games under Ron McHenry. Five of the 12 losses came in his first year on the Lady Blues bench. In the last seven seasons, Washburn is 112-7 (.941).

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 710-330 (.682 in 1,040 games) in its 40th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(Jan. 20, 2009) The Washburn Lady Blues basketball dropped to No. 10 from No. 7 in the WBCA USA Today ESPN Division II Coaches Poll which was released today. The Lady Blues have been ranked in 102 consecutive top 25 polls and have received votes in the last 117 top 25 coaches polls.

Following a Lady Blues loss . . .
• Following a loss, the Lady Blues are 34-10 under head coach Ron McHenry.
• In the 34 wins, the average margin of victory has been 11.1 points. In the last six-plus years (including the 2003-04 season), the Lady Blues are 18-0 following a loss with an average victory margin of 18.1 points per game.

Tip-Ins . . .
• Washburn is 8-5 in the program's history on Jan. 28. The Lady Blues have never played NWMSU on Jan. 28.
• Janice Bright has hit her last 18 free throws after hitting all three attempts at UNO and then setting a MIAA record when she hit all 15 free throw attempts at Emporia State. The Washburn and the MIAA record for consecutive free throws is 36 by Nikki Olberding from Jan. 3 to Jan. 21, 1998.
• Washburn has kept opponents under 100 in 302 consecutive games.
• Washburn is shooting 198 of 531 (.373) from the field in the first half of games this season and 236 of 485 (.487) in the second half of games this season.
• Washburn is scoring 8.7 more points per game in the second half compared to the first half of games this season (39.0 to 30.3).
• Washburn opponents are shooting 165 of 461  (.358) in the first half and 187 of 456 (.410) in the second half of games this season.
• In the Lady Blues' 15 wins this season, Washburn has five players averaging at least six points per game - in the three losses, only four are averaging at least 6.0 ppg.
• Janice Bright has scored at a 25.7 ppg average in the three losses and 16.9 in the 15 wins. She is the only Lady Blue to average double figures in the two losses.
• The Lady Blues are shooting 39 percent from the field in road games this season (153 of 395). The are hitting 37 of 130 3-pointers (.285) and 109 of 138 free throws (.790). Washburn is averaging 64.6 ppg in road games and allowing 59.4.

Under head coach Ron McHenry . . .
• McHenry moved into seventh on the all-time win chart passing former Central Missouri head coach John Pye (1985-95) who was 228-68 for the Jennies. McHenry enters the NWMSU game with a 229-47 record. In sixth place on the MIAA win chart is former SBU head coach Jim Middleton (1994-2008) who was 239-158 on the Bearcats' bench.
• Washburn is 197-13 when leading at the half.
• Washburn is 69-0 when scoring at least 81 points.
• When opponents are held to 70 points or below, Washburn is 173-32 … when opponents are held to 60 points or less, the Lady Blues are 159-15.
• Washburn is 54-23 in the month of January.
• Washburn is 218-9 when leading with five minutes to go in the game.
• Washburn is 192-10 when outshooting their opponent.
• Washburn is 34-21 against ranked teams and the Lady Blues' record against ranked teams when both are ranked in the top 25 is 32-13.

Lady Blue Notes. . .
#3 • Brette Ulsaker • Jr. • Seventeen of 21 from FT line this season (.810)
#4 • Stanecia Graham • Sr. • Seven of 18 from field in two games coming off the bench this season (10.0 ppg)
#5 • Erica Brown • Jr. • Has scored in all 8 games since joining team at semester
#10 • Lauren Henry • Fr. • Saw first action against FHSU after having appendix removed before Thanksgiving
#11 • Renata Germano • Sr. • 28 career blocks is 24th all-time at Washburn
#13 • Jessica Mainz • Sr. • Needs 13 assists to reach 300 for career and 6 steals to reach 150 for career
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • So. • 19 of 43 rebounds this season have been offensive
#20 • Hadleigh Meek • So. • Was a high school teammate of NWMSU's Melissa Nyquist
#21 • Cassie Lombardino • Fr. • Four of eight from field in seven games with five rebounds
#23 • Jacki Tipping • Jr. • Redshirting after having preseason ankle surgery
#24 • Karla Tailele • Sr. • 47 career 3-pointers rank 20th on all-time chart at Washburn
#25 • Stevi Schultz • Fr. • Has hit all 6 free throw attempts this season
#30 • Kalee Silovsky • Sr. • Four steals at UNO tied a career high at WU
#32 • Janice Bright • Sr. • 45 3-pointers this season is 14th on single-season WU chart
#33 • Hope Gregory • So. • 39 career 3-pointers rank 21st all-time at WU (56 games)
#40 • Dayna Rodriguez • Jr. • Averaging 9.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg as a starter in last two games
#42 • Raychel Boling • Jr. • Redshirting after transferring from Fort Hays State
#44 • Emily Gibson • So. • Has played in eight games scoring six points hitting all four free throw attempts

NCAA Regional dates and Elite Eight dates have changed . . .
This year's NCAA South Central Regional dates have been changed to the 13, 14, and 16th of March and the Elite Eight in San Antonio, Texas has moved to the 24, 25 and 27th of March with the championship game scheduled for a Friday instead of the normal Saturday title game.

Up Next . . .
Washburn will return home for their first game in Lee Arena since Jan. 14 when they will take on Missouri Western on Jan. 31 at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Blues will then take on Truman on Feb. 4 at home before returning to the road for another three-game road stretch which will take them to Fort Hays State on Feb. 7, Central Missouri on Feb. 11 and Southwest Baptist on Feb. 14. The Lady Blues will then host Missouri Southern on Feb. 19 as part of the WBCA's Pink Zone cancer awareness program. Washburn will put away the home white uniforms for a set of pink uniforms. Washburn will make one more regular season road trip to Pittsburg State on Feb. 21 before wrapping up the regular season on Feb. 25 against Emporia State on senior night. The MIAA's regular season will wrap up on Feb. 28, but the Lady Blues will have an “off night” as the other 10 schools will play their final regular season games. The MIAA Postseason Tournament will start on March 6.