Matchup: Washburn (12-1, 5-1 MIAA) vs Southwest Baptist (5-7, 2-3 MIAA) Date: Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009 Time: 5:30 p.m. CST Site: Topeka, Kan. - Lee Arena (3,907) Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 226-45 (.837) in his ninth season. McHenry is 16-3 against Southwest Baptist. SBU head coach J.C. Carter is 5-7 in his first year as the head coach at SBU and will be his first match up with Washburn. Rankings: Washburn was ranked No. 2 in the WBCA Coaches Poll. SBU is unranked. Series Record: WU leads the all-time series 25-11 Last Meeting: WU 74-62, 2/13/08 in Topeka Last WU win: Same Last SBU win: 66-61, 1/22/08 in Bolivar, Mo. Worth noting: Washburn has won the last eight meetings in Topeka and the Lady Blues are 31-10 under head coach Ron McHenry following a loss.

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Washburn looks to rebound from first defeat of season with visiting Southwest Baptist . . . 
The Washburn Lady Blues will wrap up their three-game home stand as they will entertain Southwest Baptist on Wednesday, Jan. 7 in Lee Arena. The Lady Blues (12-1, 5-1 MIAA) are coming off their first loss of the season falling 79-77 in overtime to Central Missouri. The Bearcats (5-7, 2-3 MIAA) enter the game on a two-game winning streak after snapping Emporia State's 16-game home court winning streak in an 86-73 win over the Lady Hornets. 

Lady Blues on radio . . .
Washburn games with Southwest Baptist will be on AM 580 WIBW. 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 226-45 (.833) record overall and 117-31 (.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 6 of notes.)
Southwest Baptist head coach J.C. Carter is in his first season as the Bearcats' head coach.

Last time out for the Lady Blues. . .
Jan. 3, 2009 -  TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn fell for the first time in overtime as Central Missouri snapped the Lady Blues' 14-game home court winning streak 79-77. Washburn will be back in action on Wednesday when they will play host to Southwest Baptist at 5:30 p.m.
Washburn's Janice Bright scored the first points in the extra session on a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Following a pair of free throws by Kara Fleming tying the game for the fifth time, Jessica Mainz was fouled and went to the line and hit the first free throw of a two-shot foul following a Central Missouri (12-1, 5-1 MIAA) timeout. However the Jennies (9-3, 4-1 MIAA) inbounded the ball and Dominca Blakemore was fouled on her lay up. WIth the foul on Washburn in the books, Mainz was allowed to shoot her second free throw, which she hit and then Blakemore stepped to the line hitting both of her free throws tying the score at 71.
Bright added a jumper in the lane giving Washburn a 73-71 lead. Washburn stretched the lead to four at 75-71 on a pair of Dayna Rodriguez free throws with 3:09 remaining. Washburn pushed the lead to six at 77-71 but Central Missouri would finish the game on an 8-0 run capped by UCM's Fleming hitting a jumper with two seconds remaining for the win.
To get the game into overtime, Washburn rallied from down eight points with 4:38 to go with Bright canning two free throws with 19 seconds to go as Katy Davenport's jumper at the buzzer missed sending the game into overtime.
Bright led the Lady Blues with a career-high 26 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Mainz added 10 points and recorded six assists with three steals. UCM's Brittany Slifer and Davenport led the Jennies with 20 points. Fleming finished with 12.
Washburn finished 25 of 56 from the field hitting 45 percent and the Jennies were 25 of 59 for 42 percent. The Jennies led the battle on the glass with 35 compared to 32 for the Lady Blues. Deidra Dace and Bright each had seven for game-high honors.

Notes from the Central Missouri Game . . .
Washburn fell to 5-3 on Jan. 3 … Washburn has dropped two straight games to the Jennies, but still lead the all-time series 28-13 … Washburn had won nine straight over the Jennies in Lee Arena … Washburn fell to 195-13 under McHenry when leading at the halftime break. 

About Southwest Baptist . . .
Southwest Baptist is 5-7, 2-3 in the MIAA after their win at No. 9 Emporia State 86-73. They have won three of their last four games.      Courtney Creed continues to lead the MIAA in scoring at 18.7 per game, She's also fourth in three-point field goal percentage at 43 percent and is third in 3-pointers made at 2.25 per game. Cortney Shewmaker leads the MIAA in assist/turnover ratio at 2.57 and is third in assists per game at 4.5.
SBU leads the MIAA with 8.83 3-pointers made per game and also tops the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.20).

Washburn/Southwest Baptist series notes . . .
Wednesday's meeting will be the 37th in the series with the Bearcats. Washburn is 25-11 all-time against the Bearcats. Washburn had their 15-game winning streak snapped in the first meeting of the 2007-08 season on Jan. 22 in Bolivar. Washburn has won the last eight meetings over Southwest Baptist in Topeka and they had won the last six in Bolivar until the five-point loss on Jan. 22. The Lady Blues also have two wins over SBU in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City on March 3, 2006 and last season on March 3, 2007 in the last meeting in the series. SBU's last win in Topeka was on Feb. 3, 2001 in a 73-65 win in Lee Arena. In the MIAA Tournament, Washburn is 5-1 against the Bearcats including a 2-0 mark in Kansas City. All six meetings in the MIAA Tournament have been in the quarterfinals. Ron McHenry is 16-3 overall against Southwest Baptist.

Last meeting between Washburn and Southwest Baptist . . .
(Feb. 13, 2008) 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).

Last time out for Southwest Baptist . . .
(Jan. 3, 2009) EMPORIA, Kan. -- Southwest Baptist used runs of 13-0 and 15-4 to take control after trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half of an 86-73 upset of ninth-ranked Emporia State at White Auditorium Saturday night (Jan. 3).
SBU (5-7, 2-3 MIAA) snapped win streaks of six games overall and 16 games at home by the Lady Hornets (11-2, 5-1 MIAA), doing so by converting 13 of 15 free throws in the final 3:47 to secure the win.
ESU led by as many as 12 in the first half before taking a 10-point lead into the halftime break. The Lady Hornets scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half to get a 50-34 advantage with 17:33 left.
The E-State lead was 12 with 9:58 to go thanks to a layup from senior F Ida Edwards before the Bearcats launched their first outburst.
Senior G Courtney Creed, the MIAA's scoring leader entering the game (18.7 ppg), had been held to just four points in the first half. Her first field goal of the second half at the 9:15 mark started a string of 13 straight SBU points.
The Bearcats grabbed their first lead since the 12:46 mark of the first half, 60-59, on a three-pointer by sophomore G Courtney Heady with 6:28 remaining.
Junior G Jamie Augustine put ESU back in front with 5:52 left with a three-point goal, but senior G Cortney Shewmaker knotted the game at 62-62 with a bucket on the next possession before a three from junior F Rachel Graves gave SBU a three-point lead with 4:23 to go.
ESU would tie the game two more times, but could not get the advantage again. With the score tied at 67-67 and 3:35 on the clock, the Bearcats scored 15 of the next 19 points -- including a run of eight straight at the foul line -- for an 83-71 lead with 46 seconds to go.
Creed scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half to pace SBU, leading four Bearcats in double figures. She just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
Freshman G Mia Gilreath had 17 points, Shewmaker scored 14 with six assists, while Graves added 13 with five assists.
Senior G Andrea Leiker and junior G Sophia Lenard each scored 14 points to lead ESU, while Edwards finished with 13 points and eight boards. Junior G Cassondra Boston had eight assists to go with eight points.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 25th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 309-57 (.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 118-12 (.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 110-7 (.944).

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 707-328 (.682 in 1,035 games) in its 40th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(Dec. 16, 2008) The Washburn Lady Blues basketball team remained No. 2 in the WBCA USA Today ESPN Division II Coaches Poll which was released today. The Lady Blues won their only game in a 58-39 win over Truman. The Lady Blues have been ranked in 99 consecutive top 25 polls and have received votes in the last 114 top 25 coaches polls.

Following a Lady Blues loss . . .
• Following a loss, the Lady Blues are 31-10 under head coach Ron McHenry.
• In the 31 wins, the average margin of victory has been 10.6 points. In the last six-plus years (including the 2003-04 season), the Lady Blues are 15-0 following a loss with an average victory margin of 17.9 points per game.

Tip-Ins . . .
• Washburn is 4-4 on Jan. 7 in the program's history.
• The Lady Blues have not lost back-to-back home games since a Feb. 3, 2001, 73-65 loss to Southwest Baptist and a Feb. 10, 2001 69-57 loss to Pittsburg State in McHenry's first year on the Washburn bench. Since those two games, the Lady Blues have lost only six games at home.
• Washburn has kept opponents under 100 in 297 consecutive games.
• Jessica Mainz is 14 of 17 (.824) from the free throw line in the last five minutes of games this season.
• Washburn is shooting 143 of 387 (.370) from the field in the first half of games this season and 174of 349 (.499) in the second half of games this season.
• Washburn is scoring 9.0 more points per game in the second half compared to the first half of games this season (38.8 to 29.8)

Under head coach Ron McHenry . . .
• With one more win, McHenry will tie former Lady Blues head coach Patty Dick for eighth on the MIAA's all-time win chart with his 227th win. McHenry enters the SBU game with a 226-45 record. Dick had a 227-96 record while she was on the sidelines from 1989-2000 with Washburn playing as an MIAA school after joining from the NAIA ranks.
• Washburn is 195-13 when leading at the half.
• Washburn is 68-0 when scoring at least 81 points.
• When opponents are held to 70 points or below, Washburn is 170-31 … when opponents are held to 60 points or less, the Lady Blues are 158-14.
• Washburn is 51-21 in the month of January.
• Washburn is 215-9 when leading with five minutes to go in the game.
• Washburn is 191-10 when outshooting their opponent.
• Washburn is 34-20 against ranked teams and the Lady Blues' record against ranked teams when both are ranked in the top 25 is 31-12.

Lady Blue Notes. . .
#3 • Brette Ulsaker • G • 5-9 • Jr. • Three of seven from field in the last two games (avg. 3.5 ppg)
#4 • Stanecia Graham • F • 6-1 • Sr. • Has had 25 rebounds in last four games
#5 • Erica Brown • G • 5-9 • Jr. • Three steals against UCM was a season-high
#10 • Lauren Henry • G • 5-4 • Fr. • Saw first action against FHSU after having appendix removed before Thanksgiving
#11 • Renata Germano • C • 6-2 • Sr. • 26 career blocks is 24th all-time at Washburn
#13 • Jessica Mainz • G • 5-9 • Sr. • 267 assists and 137 steals rank 15th all-time at Washburn
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • So. • Three of seven from field in last three games (avg. 2.6 ppg)
#20 • Hadleigh Meek • G • 5-8 • So. • Two of four from free throw line this season with four assists in seven games
#21 • Cassie Lombardino • C • 6-3 • Fr. • Four of eight from field in seven games with five rebounds
#23 • Jacki Tipping • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Redshirting after having preseason ankle surgery
#24 • Karla Tailele • G • 5-6 • Sr. • 47 career 3-pointers rank 20th on all-time chart at Washburn
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • Fr. • Five of 13 from 3-point range this season
#30 • Kalee Silovsky • F • 6-0 • Sr. • 27 of 41 rebounds have been on the defensive end
#32 • Janice Bright • G • 5-9 • Sr. • 65 career 3-pointers rank 14th on all-time chart, needs 14 more for 13th place
#33 • Hope Gregory • F • 5-10 • So. • 37 3-pointers in 51 games is 21st all-time at Washburn
#40 • Dayna Rodriguez • F • 6-2 • Jr. • 25 minutes played and four assists against UCM were career highs
#42 • Raychel Boling • F • 6-0 • Jr. • Redshirting after transferring from Fort Hays State
#44 • Emily Gibson • F • 6-1 • 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 begin a stretch of seven of their next 10 games on the road starting with a Jan. 10th trip to Missouri Southern. Washburn will return home for a Jan. 14th tilt with Pittsburg State in Lee Arena.