Game 26 Matchup: Washburn (22-3, 15-3 MIAA) at Pittsburg State (17-7, 12-5 MIAA) Date: Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 Time: 5:30 p.m. CST Site: Pittsburg, Kan. -- John Lance Arena (6,500) Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 236-47 (.832) in his ninth season. He is 16-2 against PSU. PSU head coach Lane Lord is 27-24 in his second season. He is 0-3 against Washburn. Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 9 in the WBCA Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the Feb. 11 NCAA South Central Regional Rankings. PSU is unranked in each poll. Series Record: WU leads the all-time series 44-24 Streaks: WU has won the last 16 in the series Last Meeting: WU 74-55 on Jan. 14, 2009 in Topeka Last WU win: same Last PSU win: 69-57 on Feb. 10, 2001 in Topeka Worth noting: Washburn has won eight straight in Topeka and the last seven games in Pittsburg.

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

No. 9 Lady Blues face Gorillas in PSU's Pink Zone Event . . .  
The No. 9 ranked Lady Blues (22-3, 15-3 MIAA) will hit the road for the final time in the regular season as they will face Pittsburg State (17-7, 12-5 MIAA). The Gorillas will be wearing their pink uniforms as they take part in the WBCA's Pink Zone event. The WBCA's “Pink Zone” initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA's nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.  The benefactor of this initiative is the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, named for the recently passed legendary North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow, who lost her own fight with breast cancer. Washburn has won their last eight games topping Missouri Southern 75-48 on Thursday while wearing their pink jerseys in Lee Arena.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
Washburn's game with Pittsburg State 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 236-47 (.835) record overall and 127-33 (.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 along with eight-straight 20-wins seasons. 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.)
Pittsburg State head coach Lane Lord is in his second season on the Gorillas bench, where he has compiled a record of 27-24 record. While at Barton County, he compiled a 77-21 (.786) overall record, posting 22 or more victories each year. He compiled a 141-62 (.695) record in nine seasons at Wichita Heights High School, including an 89-8 (.918) record and a pair of Kansas Class 6A state titles during his final four years at the post.

Last time out for the Lady Blues. . .
(Feb. 19, 2009) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 9 ranked Washburn Lady Blues jumped out to a 15-0 lead holding Missouri Southern without a field goal for the first 9:56 of the game en route to a 75-48 win over the Lions. Washburn improves to 22-3 and 15-3 in the MIAA and will travel to face Pittsburg State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Blues became the Pink Ladies for the game as they wore pink jersey's as part of the WBCA's Pink Zone promotion used as a fund-raiser for breast cancer awareness.
Washburn's Janice Bright scored six points in the initial game-opening run leading to 19 points, tying for game-high honors with Missouri Southern's Myosha Barnes. The Lady Blues held the Lions to 5 of 18 shooting from the field in the first half while taking a 39-19 lead into the locker room. Washburn on the other hand was 14 of 31 from the field and 5 of 11 from 3-point range.
In the second half, Washburn stretched the lead to as many as 30 points with 4:03 to go and limited the Lions to 9 of 28 shooting from the field in the second half.
Joining Bright in double figure scoring was Kalee Silovsky who scored 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting while hitting both 3-point attempts. Her 16 points was a career-high following the 13 points she scored against Southwest Baptist last time out. Stanecia Graham scored 13 points off the bench and Dayna Rodriguez scored 11. Jessica Mainz had a career high 10 rebounds to take game high honors while dishing out six assists with five steals and four points and a block.
The Lady Blues were 28 of 61 from the field (46 percent) while holding the Lions to 14 of 46 (30 percent). The 14 field goals made by the Lions was a season-low for a Washburn opponent this season. Washburn also turned 21 Lions turnovers into 29 points while outscoring the Lions 39 to 18 in the paint, 21 to 10 in second-chance points and 25 to 8 in bench points.

Washburn/Pittsburg State series notes . . .
Saturday's meeting is the 69th in the series. Washburn is 44-24 all-time against the Gorillas. Washburn has won the last 16 meetings in the series and the last eight in Topeka. The Lady Blues have also won the last seven in Pittsburg. The Lady Blues own a neutral court win over the Gorillas in the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City in the quarterfinals of the 2004 tourney winning 71-58. The last Gorillas win in the series came in Topeka on Feb. 10, 2001 in Lee Arena by a score of 69-57. Pitt State is 11-24 all-time in Topeka and 6-19 all-time in Lee Arena.

About Pittsburg State . . .
Pittsburg State will be donning pink jersey's on Saturday as part of their fund-raising efforts for the WBCA's breast cancer awareness initiative. The Gorillas are 17-7 and 12-5 in conference play after falling on Wednesday night at No. 8 Emporia State 85-70. PSU is 9-2 at home this season and 6-2 in home MIAA games.  Their two home losses were to then ranked No. 10 Emporia State 78-76 on Jan. 10 and Missouri Southern 58-5 on Feb. 11 in their last home game.
The Gorillas are second in scoring offense in the MIAA at 76.5 points per game. The Gorillas are third in the conference in field goal percentage hitting .433 of their shots and they lead the league in turnover margin with a +3.22 per game margin. Nicole McCombs is third in the league in scoring with a 16.5 ppg average and she is fifth in rebounding with a 7.4 rpg average.

Last meeting between Washburn and Pittsburg State . . .
(Jan. 14, 2009) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 7 Washburn Lady Blues used a 24-3 run over the final 8:14 of the game to improve to 14-2 and 7-2 in the MIAA in a 74-55 win over Pittsburg State in Lee Arena.
After the Gorillas' Nicole McCombs hit a jumper in the paint giving the Gorillas their lone lead of the game at 52-50 with 8:44 to go, Washburn held Pitt State without a field goal for the remainder of the game forcing the Gorillas into seven turnovers during the stretch.  Washburn's Janice Bright started the run with a jumper to knot the score at 52 then she scored another bucket on the Lady Blues' next possession. Bright finished with a total of nine points during the closing run en route to a career-high 29 points after she scored 20 in the first half.
Washburn took a 39-27 lead into the halftime break after leading by as many as 17 in the first half after hitting 60 percent from the field going 15 of 25. Both teams combined for 28 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Bright's 29 points led three Lady Blues in double figures as she was joined by Dayna Rodriguez's career-high tying 15 points and Jessica Mainz's 13 points. Rodriguez also had a game-high seven rebounds sitting a career high as well. Bright finished the game 12 of 17 from the field including 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
McCombs led the Gorillas with 19 points. She was joined in double-digit scoring by Brianna Buchanan with 14 points.
Washburn shot 53 percent for the game hitting 27 of 51 shots and held the Gorillas to 43 percent going 20 of 47 overall. Washburn held a 32 to 24 advantage on the glass.
The Lady Blues committed only six turnovers in the second half and forced the Gorillas into 25 leading to 31 points off turnovers for the Lady Blues.

Last time out for Pittsburg State . . .
(Feb. 18, 2009)  EMPORIA, Kan. -- Eighth-ranked Emporia State University broke open a seven-point game with a decisive 15-2 second-half run to streak to a 85-70 victory over Pittsburg State University Wednesday (Feb. 18) at W.L. White Auditorium.
Pitt State (17-7, 12-5 MIAA) trailed 48-41 with 16:34 to play in the game, but Emporia (22-3, 16-2 MIAA) scored the game's next nine points en route to the double-digit run which effectively put the game out of reach with a 62-43 margin with 13:07 to play.
The Gorillas never got any closer than 14 points of the Hornets down the stretch.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, before the Hornets wrestled away control of the game. The Gorillas led by as many as six points, at 16-10, and the lead changed hands 13 times in the period. The Hornets eventually outscored the Gorillas, 14-5, over the final 5:54 of the half to break open a 30-29 game and take a 44-34 edge to the locker room.
Sophia Lenard paced four Emporia players in double figures with 17 points, while Ida Edwards added 16 -- 10 in the first half. Cassondra Boston and Andrea Leiker chipped in with 14 and 13.
Candice Gilbert led all scorers with 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Gorillas. Caitlin Demarest and DePrice Taylor added nine apiece for Pitt State.

A Blue Streak . . .
During the Lady Blues eight-game winning streak dating back to Jan. 24, Washburn is …
• outscoring their opponents 74.8 to 61.0 ppg.
• Janice Bright is scoring 19.5 ppg.
• Stanecia Grahama is scoring 10.0 ppg (all off the bench)
• Jessica Mainz is the team's leading rebounder averaging 5.4 per game … Mainz is also scoring 8.5 ppg with 6.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game. She leads the team in assists and steals during the streak and tied for the team lead in blocks with five.
• Dayna Rodriguez is scoring 8.1 per game in a starting role.
• Washburn is outreboundeing opponents 35.9 to 27.0 per game.
• Washburn is 213 of 467 from the field (.456).
• Washburn is shooting 37 percent from the 3-point range (62 of 170).
• Five of the eight wins have been on the road.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 25th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 314-57 (.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 123-12 (.910) 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 115-7 (.942).

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 717-330 (.683 in 1,046 games) in its 40th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(Feb. 10, 2009) The Washburn Lady Blues basketball team climbed from No. 10 to No. 9 in the WBCA USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 coaches poll which was released today. The Lady Blues have been ranked in 105 consecutive top 25 polls and have received votes in the last 120 top 25 coaches polls.

WU and the NCAA Regional Rankings. . .
(Feb. 18, 2009) Updated NCAA Regional rankings.
                                             Overall Record  Division II              In-Region Record
1.     West Tex. A&M     20-3-0     20-3-0     
2.     St. Mary's (Tex.)     19-3-0     17-3-0     
3.     Central Okla.     17-4-0     17-4-0     
4.     Emporia St.     17-3-0     17-3-0     
5.     Southeastern Okla.     14-6-0     14-5-0     
6.     Washburn     19-3-0     16-3-0     
7.     Mo. Southern St.     14-6-0     14-6-0     
8.     Angelo St.     14-9-0     14-9-0     
9.     Abilene Christian     15-8-0     14-8-0     
10.     Tex. A&M-Commerce     15-7-0     15-7-0     

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 8-6 in the program's history on Feb. 19. The Lady Blues and the Gorillas have not played on Feb. 21.
• Washburn has kept opponents under 100 in 309 consecutive games.
• The Lady Blues are 86 of 168 (.512) from the field in the last five minutes of games this season compared to their opponents who are shooting 77 of 195 (.395).
• Washburn is shooting 292 of 742 (.394) from the field in the first half of games this season and 332 of 687 (.483) in the second half of games this season.
• Washburn is scoring 6.8 more points per game in the second half compared to the first half of games this season (39.0 to 32.2).
• In the Lady Blues' 22 wins this season, Washburn has six 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 17.4 in the 22 wins. She is the only Lady Blue to average double figures in the three losses. She is also the only Lady Blue to average double figures in home games this season (16.8 ppg).
• The Lady Blues are shooting 43 percent from the field in road games this season (269 of 633). They are hitting 72 of 217 3-pointers (.332) and 163 of 211 free throws (.773). Washburn is averaging 70.3 ppg in road games and allowing 62.2.
• Washburn's starters are outscoring opponents starters this season by a 44.4 to 43.7 ppg average or 1109 to 1092 … Washburn's bench is outscoring their opponents bench 27.9 to 14.6 ppg or 697 to 364 on the season.

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 PSU game with a 236-47 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 204-13 when leading at the half.
• Washburn is 71-0 when scoring at least 81 points.
• When opponents are held to 70 points or below, Washburn is 178-32 … when opponents are held to 60 points or less, the Lady Blues are 164-15.
• Washburn is 225-9 when leading with five minutes to go in the game.
• Washburn is 198-10 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 • G • 5-9 • Jr. • Nine assists and two assists in the last four games
#4 • Stanecia Graham • F • 6-1 • Sr. • Five straight games of double figures scoring (avg. 12.0 ppg)
#5 • Erica Brown • G • 5-9 • Jr. • 16 minutes against MSSU one shy of career high
#10 • Lauren Henry • G • 5-4 • Fr. • Has played in six games this season
#11 • Renata Germano • C • 6-2 • Sr. • 28 career blocks is 25th all-time at Washburn
#13 • Jessica Mainz • G • 5-9 • Sr. • 10 rebounds against MSSU was a season-high
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • So. • 21 of 50 rebounds on offensive side
#20 • Hadleigh Meek • G • 5-8 • So. • 4 of 9 from the field this season
#21 • Cassie Lombardino • C • 6-3 • Fr. • Two offensive rebounds in last two games played
#23 • Jacki Tipping • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Redshirting after having preseason ankle surgery
#24 • Karla Tailele • G • 5-6 • Sr. • At least 1 3-pointer in each of last four games
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • Fr. • Scored 5 points in 3 minutes against UCM hitting a 3-pointer
#30 • Kalee Silovsky • F • 6-0 • Sr. • 16 points against MSSU was 2nd straight game setting a career high total
#32 • Janice Bright • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Had 29 points on 12 of 17 shooting from the field in the 1st meeting against PSU
#33 • Hope Gregory • F • 5-10 • So. • At least 1 3-pointer in the last eight games
#40 • Dayna Rodriguez • F • 6-2 • Jr. • 11 of 24 from the field in the last three games (averaging 8.3 ppg)
#42 • Raychel Boling • F • 6-0 • Jr. • Redshirting after transferring from Fort Hays State
#44 • Emily Gibson • F • 6-1 • So. • Has played in 11 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 . . .
After the game with the Gorillas, the Lady Blues will wrap up the regular season on Feb. 25 against Emporia State on senior night as six Lady Blues' seniors will play their final game in Lee Arena. 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.