Game Facts Date: Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009 Time: 7 p.m. Site: Springfield, Mo. - Weiser Gym (2,200) Radio: 106.9 FM KTPK Online Audio:  wusports.com Live Stats: drurypanthers.com Internet Streaming:

Washburn Lady Blues (1-0) Polls 18th in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach: Ron McHenry Alma Mater: Washburn, 84 WU Record:    242-49, 10th season Career Record: 242-49, 10th season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Drury Lady Panthers (3-2) Polls Receiving Votes in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach:     Steve Harold Alma Mater: Glenville State, 87 Drury Record: 50-14, 3rd season Career Record: 340-125, 15th season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Athletic Web Site

Lady Blues hit the road for first time in 2009-10
The Washburn Lady Blues hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Springfield, Mo. for a Tuesday night showdown with Drury at 7 p.m.
Washburn tipped-off the 2009-10 season with a 102-43 win over Southwestern (Kan.) on Saturday night. Drury is 3-0 entering the contest and is averaging nearly 98 points per game. This will be the second game against MIAA competition for the Lady Panthers after they defeated Missouri Western 103-74 last Saturday in Springfield.
Washburn won last season and has won four of the past five meetings, but Drury won the last meeting in Springfield.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game will be broadcast live on 106.9 FM KTPK with Mark Elliott calling the action. The games will also be streamed live online by clicking the live audio button under the Lady Blues Basketball tab on the Washburn athletics web site at www.wusports.com.

The coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 242-49 (.832) record overall and 128-34 (.790) record in the MIAA with five MIAA regular season championships and the 2005 NCAA National Championship. McHenry has also led the Lady Blues to five MIAA Postseason Tournament titles including five of the seven played in Kansas City. McHenry has the highest winning percentage (.831) 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 leads the country 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 8 of notes.)
Drury head coach Steve Harold, is in his third season leading the Lady Panthers and his 15th season overall as a college head coach. His record at Drury is 50-14 (.781), while his overall mark stands at 340-125 (.731). Last season, Harold led the Lady Panthers to a 19-10 overall record, a 13-4 conference mark and a second place finish in the Great Lakes Valley West Division.

Last Time Out for the lady Blues . . .
Nov. 21, 2009 - TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 18-ranked Washburn Lady Blues opened the game on a 15-0 run and cruised to a 102-43 season-opening win over Southwestern (Kan.) College on Saturday night at Lee Arena.
Washburn took the first and only lead of the game at 2-0 on a Dayna Rodriguez layup a minute in. The lead ballooned to 34 at 50-16 and the Lady Blues led 50-20 at the break. Washburn shot 55 percent, 17-of-31, in the first half, including 7-of-11 from behind the arc as 11 Lady Blues scored.
The Lady Blues started the second half on a 19-3 run to open a 69-23 lead with 11:19 to play. Washburn increased the lead to 59 with 4:41 to play and closed out the game by that same margin. The Lady Blues held Southwestern to 27 percent shooting from the field, including 13 percent from three point range.
Rodriguez led Washburn with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Hope Gregory added 11 points and Stevi Schultz chipped in 10 on 4-of-5 shooting.
Annjelina Robinson led the Lady Builders with nine points.
The Lady Blues finished the game shooting 54 percent on 38-of-70 shooting, including 12 three-pointers.
Washburn forced 24 Lady Builder turnovers and turned those into 38 points. WU outscored Southwestern 40-12 in the paint and won the battle of the boards 46-21.

Notes from the win over Southwestern . . .
• Washburn improved to 8-3 all-time against Southwestern.
• Ron McHenry improved to 4-0 against Southwestern
• The Lady Blues are 10-0 in season and home-openers under McHenry.
• The Lady Blues 10-0 all-time on Nov. 21, including 2-0 under Ron McHenry and 2-0 against Southwestern.
• The Lady Blues are 23-3 in home opener in Lee Arena. Their last loss in a home-opener at Lee Arena was on Nov. 16, 1998, a 73-60 setback to Nebraska-Kearney

Washburn/Drury series notes . . .
Tuesday's meeting will be the ninth between Washburn and Drury with the Lady Blues holding a 6-2 advantage in the series. Washburn has won four of the past five meetings, including last season in Topeka. Drury won the last meeting in Springfield 66-47 in 2007.

last meeting between washburn and drury . . .
(Nov. 25, 2008) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 2 Washburn Lady Blues jumped out to an 11-0 lead and kept the No. 4 Drury Lady Panthers playing catch up the entire game as Washburn won 84-62 in a battle of top five teams. Washburn improves to 3-0 and will be back in action on Friday at 7 p.m. against Sterling in the Lady Blues Holiday Classic. Washburn will take on No. 7 Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday at  8 p.m.
In the opening minutes, Washburn pushed the lead to as many as 11 at 17-6 before Drury cut the lead to 19-17 with 5:41 to go in the half. The Lady Blues pulled back ahead by eight points entering halftime when Dayna Rodriguez hit a 3-pointer giving Washburn a 31-23 lead at the break.
The Lady Blues led 43-34 with 13:38 to go and then went on a 14-4 run over the next three minutes to pull away and the Lady Panthers would not get closer than 15 the rest of the way.
Rodriguez led the Lady Blues with 15 points off the bench. She was 5 of 6 from the field. Janice Bright scored 12 points and Stanecia Graham had 11 points. Drury was led by Katie Pritchard's 15 points.
Washburn finished 25 of 56 from the field hitting 13 of 27 from the field in the second half. The Lady Panthers were held to 37 percent shooting hitting 20 of 54 from the field.
Washburn outrebounded Drury 39-27. Kalee Silovsky led Washburn with six rebounds.
 
About Drury . . .
Drury is 3-0 entering the game on Tuesday night. The Lady Panthers are averaging 97.7 points per game and have already beaten one MIAA team. Drury beat Missouri Western 103-74 on November 21 in Springfield.
All five starters are averaging in double figures, led by Lindsay Ballweg's 20 points per game. Melanie Oliver is averaging a double double with 12.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per outing. The Lady Panthers are giving up 73.0 points per contest and are shooting 60 percent from the field.
Lady Blues in road openers . . .
Washburn is 8-1 in road openers during the Ron McHenry era. The last road-opener loss was a 73-67 setback at Missouri Southern in McHenry's first season.

lady blues on the road
The Lady Blues are 67-29 (.698) on the road under Ron McHenry. Washburn's best road record under McHenry was 8-0 during the 2005-06 season. The Lady Blues were 9-3 on the road last season.

A win would . . .
A win would make the Lady Blues 2-0 for the ninth straight year ... make Washburn 9-1 in road openers under Ron McHenry ... give McHenry a 243-49 overall record ... give Washburn a 724-332 record in its 41st season of basketball.

a loss would . . .
A loss would snap an eight-game road opener win streak ... make the Lady Blues 1-1 for the first time since 2000-01 ... give McHenry a 242-50 career record ... give Washburn a 723-333 record in 41 years of playing collegiate basketball.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 26th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 316-57 (.847) 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 43 straight regular season non-conference games in Lee Arena. The last home loss to a non-conference team in the regular season was to Missouri-St. Louis in a 59-51 setback on Dec. 30, 2000.
Washburn is 125-12 (.912) in home games under Ron McHenry. Five of the 12 losses came in his first year on the Lady Blues bench. In the last nine seasons, Washburn is 117-7 (.944).

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 723-332 (.685 in 1,055 games) in its 41st season of intercollegiate action. The Lady Blues have played in 13 NCAA Tournaments, made five Elite Eight appearances and won the 2005 National Championship.

Washburn in the national poll . . .
The 2009-10 USA Today/ESPN WBCA Coaches preseason top 25 poll has Washurn at No. 18, while the Lady Blues were receiving votes in the NCAA Division II Bulletin Preseason Poll.
The Lady Blues were No. 13 in the final USA Today/ESPN Top 25 WBCA Coaches Poll of the 2009 season. Overall, Washburn has received votes in the last 120 consecutive polls and has been in the top 25 in 104 consecutive polls, the longest current streak in NCAA-II.

Blues Clues . . .
#1 • Chasity Workman • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Scored eight points in Washburn debut
#3 • Brette Ulsaker • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Hit both free throw attempts against Southwestern (Kan.)
#5 • Laura Kinderknecht • G • 5-7 • Fr. • Scored five points with two assists in first collegiate game
#10 • Lauren Henry • G • 5-4 • So. • Scored five points in six minutes of action
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • Jr. • Hit all four field goal attempts against Southwestern and scored nine points
#20 • Dana Elliott • F • 5-11 • Fr. • Hit only field goal attempt for two points and had two assists in season opener
#21 • Cassie Lombardino • C • 6-3 • So. • Scored four points and pulled down three rebounds against Southwestern (Kan.)
#22 • Ashley Jappa • F • 6-2 • Jr. • Pulled down team-high five rebounds against Southwestern
#23 • Jacki Tipping • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Had three rebounds in seven minutes of play
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • So. • Scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in season-opener
#31 • Rose Hammond • G • 5-10 • Sr. • Scored six points and dished out four assists in first game as a Lady Blue
#32 • Amanda Fessenden • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Had eight points and three rebounds in win over Southwestern (Kan.)
#33 • Hope Gregory • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Scored 11 points and hit all four free throw attempts in season-opening win
#34 • Sierra Moeller • F • 6-1 • Jr. • Will redshirt 2009-10 season after transferring from Boise State
#40 • Dayna Rodriguez • F • 6-2 • Sr. • Scored career-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting in win over Southwestern (Kan.)
#42 • Raychel Boling • F • 6-0 • Jr. • Made 3-of-4 3FG attempts in first game after sitting out last season as a transfer
#44 • Laura McMullin • F • 6-1 • Fr. • 2-of-3 from the field for four points in first collegiate game

Tip-Ins . . .
• Under head coach Ron McHenry, the Lady Blues are 8-1 in road openers.
• The Lady Blues are 9-3 all-time on Nov. 24, including 4-0 under Ron McHenry.
• The Lady Blues have had just one season with a losing road record under McHenry. Washburn was 2-8 on the road during his first season at the helm.

up Next . . .
The Lady Blues return home to host the Lady Blues Holiday Classic on Nov. 27 and 28. Washburn will take on Missouri-St. Louis on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and will host Rockhurst on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.