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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Washburn Lady Blues jumped out to 16-4 lead to start the game and held off a second half rally by Emporia State to win their fifth MIAA Tournament Title in the last seven years as they topped the Lady Hornets 78-69 in Municipal Auditorium. Washburn receives the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championships. The complete bracket will be announced tonight at ncaa.com at 8 p.m. CST.

The Lady Blues were led by Janice Bright who recorded her first career double double with 25 points and 12 rebounds. She earned tournament MVP honors. Bright was joined on the all-tournament team with 17 points off the bench. Brette Ulsaker scored 14 points hitting 3 of 4 3-point attempts.

Washburn shot 41 percent from the field hitting 23 of 56 shots. Washburn hit 17 of 21 free throws in the last 5:59 of the game and 25 of 31 for the full 40 minutes to lock down the win.

Recap from the MIAA

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- No. 11 Washburn had a 13-point second-half lead get away, but that didn't keep the Lady Blues from capturing their fifth MIAA postseason title in seven seasons as they handed No. 10 Emporia State a 78-69 setback in the MIAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament final Sunday evening (March 8) at Municipal Auditorium.

The second-seeded Lady Blues (26-4, 16-4 MIAA) earned the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament which beins Friday (March 13). The remainder of the field, as well as the location of the tournament, will be announced later on Sunday evening.

Washburn's Ron McHenry now has led five MIAA postseason championship teams -- most by one coach in conference history. Photo by Matthew S. Hicks/MSH Photography

With the win, WU head coach Ron McHenry has won more MIAA postseason championships than any coach in conference history (5) and Washburn tied Central Missouri for the most tournament games won (29).

Washburn and Northwest Missouri State (which won the tournament in 2004 and 2008) remain the only schools to win a tournament championship since the event moved to Kansas City in 2003.

The Lady Blues came out of the gate fast, scoring the game's first 10 points as they built a 16-4 lead seven minutes into the contest. The Lady Hornets (25-5, 17-3 MIAA) bounced back from the slow start and scored 12 of the next 13 points to get the deficit to one, 17-16, at the 10:35 mark.

Junior G Cassondra Boston did most of the damage in the rally, scoring ESU's first nine before junior G Sophia Lenard's three-point bucket capped the run. Boston had 13 points in the half and 25 for the game.

Up three with 3:31 left in the first half, Washburn out-scored the Lady Hornets by a 13-5 margin to hold a 43-32 lead at the break. Eight of senior G Janice Bright's 13 first-half points came in that final stretch to end the period -- she finished with 25 points as well.

WU's Jessica Mainz gets a piece of her third MIAA Tournament Championship net -- she was on the teams which won titles in 2006 and 2007. Photo by Jaymee Cummins/MSH Photography

Junior C Dayna Rodriguez opened the second half with a layup to make it a 13-point game before the Lady Hornets began to chip away. ESU worked the deficit down to six twice before putting together a 16-5 run to get its first lead of the game.

A jumper by Boston tied it at 59-59 with 6:59 to go, and a layup from senior F Ida Edwards put the Lady Hornets on top with 6:14 on the clock.

That advantage proved to be short-lived, as senior C Stanecia Graham hit four straight free throws to make it a 63-61 Lady Blues lead at the 4:56 mark. Edwards had a chance to knot the score again after being fouled on the following possession, but she only made 1-of-2 at the charity stripe.

Washburn then scored the next nine points -- going 7-of-9 at the foul line -- to get its lead back to double-digits with one minute left and salt away the championship.

Bright added 12 rebounds to her 25-point scoring effort, as she wrapped up tournament Most Valuable Player honors. She finished the event averaging 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in the three games.

Graham came off the bench to score 17 with five rebounds and joined Bright on the All-Tournament Team -- she averaged 16 points and 6.3 rebounds in the tourney.

Boston distributed six assists with her 25-point night and also earned All-Tournament honors. She averaged 17.3 points and five assists on the weekend. Edwards finished with 11 points and eight boards, earning All-Tournament as well by averaging 17.7 points and 9.7 rebounds. Sophomore C Alli Volkens scored 15 off the bench for ESU.

Pittsburg State senior F Candice Gilbert rounded out the All-Tournament Team. She averaged 15.5 points and 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals in the Gorillas' run to the semifinals.