Game Facts Date: Monday, Dec. 28, 2009 Time: 5:30 p.m. Site: Topeka, Kan. - Lee Arena (3,904) Radio: AM 580 WIBW Online Audio:  wusports.com Live Stats: wusports.com Live Video: wusports.com

Washburn Lady Blues (9-0, 3-0 MIAA) Polls 8th in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach: Ron McHenry Alma Mater: Washburn, 84 WU Record:    250-49, 10th season Career Record: 250-49, 10th season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Missouri Western Griffons (2-7, 0-3 MIAA) Polls Not ranked in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach:     Lynn Plett Alma Mater: Tabor, 75 MWSU Record: 20-43, third season Career Record: 296-277, 16th season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Lady Blues Resume MIAA Play
The 8th-ranked Washburn Lady Blues resume conference play against Missouri Western on Monday night, Dec. 28 at 5:30 p.m. inside Lee Arena.
Washburn is coming off a 2-0 trip to the Great Western Shootout in Las Vegas. The Lady Blues beat Western Washington 72-70 in overtime, then routed Central Washington 76-44 to close out the tournament.
Amanda Fessenden, Rose Hammond and Dayna Rodriguez were all named to the Great Western Shootout All-Tournament team.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game will be broadcast live on AM 580 WIBW with Mark Elliott providing the play-by-play and Bruce Steinbrock the color-commentary. The game 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 250-49 (.836)  overall record, including a 131-34 (.794) 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 6 of notes.)
Missouri Western head coach Lynn Plett, is in his third season leading the Griffons program. MWSU is 2-7 overall and 0-3 in the MIAA so far this season. Last season, Plett led MWSU to a 6-21 record, including 5-15 in conference play. His record at Missouri Western sits at 20-43, while his career mark is 296-277 in his 16th season as a head coach.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
Dec. 17, 2009 - LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- A 25-6 run midway through the second half propelled the eighth-ranked Lady Blues to a 76-44 win over Central Washington on Thursday afternoon at the Great Western Shootout. Washburn will be back in action on December 28 when the Lady Blues resume MIAA play against Missouri Western at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Arena.
Unlike Wednesday's game when Washburn started slow, the Lady Blues (9-0) jumped out to an early 10-3 lead on the Wildcats and never looked back. A jumper by Dayna Rodriguez and a three from Stevi Schultz pushed the lead to 10 at 20-10 with 12:07 to play in the opening period. Central Washington (2-7) pulled to within five with just over 10 minutes to play, but a 20-11 spurt by Washburn pushed the lead to 40-26 at the break.
The lead was 12 in the opening minutes of the second half when the Lady Blues started their run. When the run ended 10 minutes later the lead had expanded to 67-36 with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. The lead grew to as many as 34 before the Lady Blues finished up with the 32-point victory.
Rodriguez led all scorers with 19 points. Hope Gregory was the only other Lady Blue in double figures with 11 to go along with seven rebounds. Alyssa Mullen added nine points and seven boards.
Sara Bergner and Sophie Russell led Central Washington with 16 points apiece.
The victory was the 250th career win for head coach Ron McHenry and was the sixth win against zero losses for the Lady Blues when playing in Las Vegas.
Amanda Fessenden, Rose Hammond and Rodriguez were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Notes from the Win over CWU . . .
• Washburn improved to 1-0 against Central Washington
• The Lady Blues improved to 9-0 for the second consecutive season and sixth time in 10 seasons under McHenry
• Washburn improved to 6-0 all-time playing in Las Vegas and 2-0 in the Great Western Shootout.

Washburn/Missouri Western Series Notes . . .
Washburn leads the overall series with Missouri Western 40-37. The Lady Blues have won six straight in the series and 16 of 25 meetings during the Ron McHenry era.

About MIssouri Western. . .
The Griffons enter the contest at 2-7 overall and 0-3 in MIAA play. They are coming off of a 55-52 loss at Rockhurst before the Holiday break. Jessica Koch leads Missouri Western in scoring at 13.8 points per game and is the only Griffon averaging in double figures. Tierra Ford leads the team in rebounding at 7.2 boards per contest, while Koch pulls down 5.3 rebounds per outing. MWSU is averaging 56 points per game, while giving up 65.2. The Griffons are shooting 37 percent from the field, while their opponents shoot 40 percent. They are also being outrebounded by their opponents 42.0-34.6. Missouri Western is 2-4 on the road.
The Griffons are 0-2 against common opponents that the Lady Blues have already beaten. MWSU fell 103-74 to Drury and 55-52 to Rockhurst.
10 different players have started for the Griffons and 12 players are averaging at least eight minutes per game.

A Win Would . . .
A win would make the Lady Blues 10-0 for the second straight year and the sixth time under McHenry ... give the Lady Blues a 4-0 MIAA record for the second straight season ... give McHenry a 251-49 overall record ... give Washburn seven straight wins over the Griffons and a 41-37 series lead ... give Washburn a 732-332 record in its 41st season of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
Make the Lady Blues 9-1 for the first time since the 2007-08 season ... give the Lady Blues a 3-1 MIAA record for the second time in three seasons ... give McHenry a 250-50 career record ... snap a six-game winning streak against Missouri Western ... give Washburn a 731-333 record in 41 years of playing collegiate basketball.

Lady Blues in The MIAA . . .
The Lady Blues are 131-34 (.794) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 255-87 (.746) all-time in conference play. Washburn has won seven straight MIAA home games dating back to last season.


Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 26th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 318-57 (.848) 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 45 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 127-12 (.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 119-7 (.944).

Lady Blues History . . .
Washburn is 731-332 (.688 in 1,063 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 Lady Blues moved up three spots to No. 8 in the latest USA Today/ESPN WBCA Coaches Poll. Emporia State is the only other MIAA team ranked, coming in at No. 9.
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 124 consecutive polls and has been in the top 25 in 108 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. • Tied career-high with six assists in win at Nebraska-Omaha
#5 • Laura Kinderknecht • G • 5-7 • Fr. • Scored career-high 11 points in win over Rockhurst
#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. • Had four blocked shots against Missouri-St. Louis
#23 • Jacki Tipping • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Scored four points in win over Missouri-St. Louis
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • So. • Scored career-high 18 points in win over Rockhurst, including five three-point field goals
#31 • Rose Hammond • G • 5-10 • Sr. • Scored career-high 23 points in overtime win against Western Washington
#32 • Amanda Fessenden • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Scored 14 points, including game-winning FTs with 1.3 seconds remaining to beat Western Washington
#33 • Hope Gregory • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Named MIAA Co-Player of the Week for her performance against UNO and NWMSU
#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 23 points in win over Rockhurst
#42 • Raychel Boling • F • 6-0 • Jr. • Scored 11 points in win over Missouri-St. Louis
#44 • Laura McMullin • F • 6-1 • Fr. • 2-of-3 from the field for four points in first collegiate game

Tip-Ins . . .
• The Lady Blues are 4-1 all-time on Dec. 28, including 1-0 at Lee Arena, but have never played on this date under McHenry.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues hit the road for three key conference games. WU will take on Fort Hays State on Wednesday, Central Missouri on Saturday (Jan. 2) and Southwest Baptist on Tuesday (Jan. 5). The Lady Blues return home on January 9 to host Missouri Southern.