Game Facts Date: Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010 Time: 5:30 p.m. Site: St. Joseph, Mo. - MWSU Fieldhouse (3,750) Radio: 106.9 KTPK Online Audio:  wusports.com Live Stats: gogriffons.com Live Video: wusports.com

Washburn Lady Blues (15-3, 9-3 MIAA) Polls 15th in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach: Ron McHenry Alma Mater: Washburn, 84 WU Record:    256-52, 10th season Career Record: 256-52, 10th season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Missouri Western Griffons (7-12, 5-7 MIAA) Polls Not ranked in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach:     Lynn Plett Alma Mater: Tabor, 75 MWSU Record: 25-48, third season Career Record: 301-282, 16th season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Lady Blues Travel to St. Joseph
The No. 15-ranked Washburn Lady Blues head out on the road for two straight. Washburn will take on Missouri Western on Saturday night in St. Joseph at 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Blues are coming off an 80-63 win over Northwest Missouri on Wednesday night, while the Griffons fell to Emporia State 110-68 in Emporia.

Lady Blues on the air . . .
The Lady Blues game will be broadcast live on Country Legends 106.9 KTPK 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 256-52 (.831) overall record, including a 137-37 (.787) 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 and the highest among all active head coaches in NCAA-II.
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 7-12 overall and 5-7 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 25-48, while his career mark is 301-282 in his 16th season as a head coach.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
Jan. 27, 2010 - TOPEKA, Kan. -- The 15th-ranked Lady Blues scored the first 12 points of the game and never looked back in an 80-63 win over Northwest Missouri on Wednesday night in Lee Arena. Washburn returns to the court on Saturday night at Missouri Western at 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Blues (15-3, 9-3 MIAA) led 16-1 four minutes into the game and extended their lead to as 22 in the first half, before leading by 20, 38-18, at the break. Washburn shot nearly 52 percent from the field in the first half and connected on 6-of-11 three-point attempts, while holding the Bearcats (10-9, 6-6 MIAA) to 17.6 percent shooting, 6-of-34, and 1-of-9 from behind the arc.
Northwest Missouri battled back in the second half going on a 20-7 run to cut the lead to single digits at 47-38. Hope Gregory sparked a quick 7-0 run, with four of her career-high 16, to push the lead back to 16, but the Bearcats came right back with a 9-0 run and the lead was seven at 54-47 with 8:49 remaining in the game. A 13-5 spurt by Washburn lengthened the lead yet again to 15. The lead grew to 20 with under a minute to play before the Lady Blues settled for the 17-point victory.
Brette Ulsaker led Washburn with a career-high 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including three treys. Gregory pulled down nine rebounds to go along with her 16 points, while Dayna Rodriguez and Stevi Schultz chipped in 15 and 13, respectively.
Shelly Martin led the Bearcats with 23 points and Abby Henry had 19. Gentry Dietz added 10 points and 10 boards as the Bearcats out-rebounded WU 45-37.
Washburn shot 44 percent, 23-of-52, for the game and 48 percent, 10-of-21, from behind the arc. The Lady Blues held NWMSU to 32 percent shooting, 20-of-63, from the floor and 44 percent, 8-of-18, from three-point range.
The win was Washburn's fourth straight in the series with Northwest Missouri and the 26th straight win for the Lady Blues over the Bearcats in Lee Arena.
Before the game, the NCAA released its first set of Regional Rankings. The Lady Blues were ranked fourth in the South Central Region. West Texas A&M is ranked first followed by Emporia State and Northeastern (Okla.) State. The only other MIAA team in the rankings was Fort Hays State at No. 7.

Notes from the win over NWMSU . . .
• The Lady Blues extended their streak of consecutive games with at least one 3FG to 189 games
• The Lady Blues have now won four straight over the Bearcats and 26 straight at Lee Arena.
• The Lady Blues were out-rebounded for just the fifth time this season, improving to 3-2 when that happens

Washburn/Missouri Western Series Notes . . .
Washburn leads the overall series with Missouri Western 41-37. The Lady Blues have won seven straight in the series and 17 of 26 meetings during the Ron McHenry era. Washburn is 6-1 in the last seven meetings with Missouri Western in St. Joseph.

About Missouri Western . . .
The Griffons are 7-12 overall and 5-7 in MIAA play after a 110-68 loss at Emporia State on Wednesday night. MWSU had won back-to-back games against SBU and PSU before Wednesday night.
Jessica Koch leads Missouri Western in scoring at 14.7 points per game, she also pulls down a team-high 6.7 rebounds per contest and dished out 3.1 assists per outing. She shoots nearly 48 percent from the field.
Lauren Nolke is second on the team in scoring with a 9.9 points per game average.
As a team, the Griffons are averaging 61.2 points per game and they allow 68.6 defensively. Missouri Western is also out-rebounded by a 39.9-35.3 margin.

Last Meeting with Missouri Western . . .
Dec. 28, 2009 - TOPEKA, Kan. -- A 16-6 run to close out the first half gave the eighth-ranked Lady Blues some breathing room as they pulled away for a 69-50 win over Missouri Western on Monday night at Lee Arena. Washburn will be back in action on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. at Fort Hays State.
Washburn (10-0, 4-0 MIAA) led 21-20 with just over six minutes remaining in the first half when a three-pointer from Stevi Schultz ignited the run that when it was over gave the Lady Blues a 37-26 lead at the intermission. Missouri Western (2-8, 0-4 MIAA) had jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and led 10-9 when the Lady Blues used an 8-1 spurt to gain a 17-11 advantage midway through the opening period.
The Griffons whittled the lead down to eight at 45-37 with 15:22 remaining in the game, but five quick points by the Lady Blues pushed the lead back to 13 with just over 12 to play. Back-to-back threes by Dayna Rodriguez and Brette Ulsaker widened the gap to 61-44 with 7:07 remaining. The lead reached as many as 22 before the Lady Blues closed out the 19-point win.
Rodriguez led Washburn with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Schultz chipped in 11. Chasity Workman added seven rebounds to go along with four points.
Jessica Koch led Missouri Western with 18 points.
The win was Washburn's seventh straight over the Griffons. The game was Ron McHenry's 300th career game as the Washburn head coach. His career record now stands at 251-49 (.837).

A Win Would . . .
A win would make the Lady Blues 16-3 for the second straight season ... give the Lady Blues a 10-3 MIAA record for the third straight year ... give McHenry a 257-52 overall record ... give Washburn eight straight wins over MWSU and a 42-37 series lead ... give Washburn a 738-335 record in its 41st season of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
Make the Lady Blues 14-4 for the second time in three seasons ... give the Lady Blues a 9-4 MIAA record for the first time since the 2001-02 season ... give McHenry a 256-53 career record ... snap Washburn's seven-game winning streak over the Griffons ... give Washburn a 737-336 record in 41 years of playing collegiate basketball.

Lady Blues in The MIAA . . .
The Lady Blues are 137-37 (.787) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 261-90 (.744) all-time in conference play. 

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 26th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 322-59 (.845) overall at home. Washburn won their 300th game against Emporia State on Feb. 23, 2008.
The Lady Blues have lost two games at home in the same season for the first time since McHenry's first season in 2000-01.
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 131-14 (.903) 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 123-9 (.932).

Lady Blues History . . .
Washburn is 737-335 (.688 in 1,072 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.

Celebrating 25 years . . .
The Lady Blues are in their 26th season in Lee Arena. Celebrating the first 25 years, Washburn will welcome back members of the 1984-85 basketball teams, the first to play in Lee Arena, for the February 6 game against Fort Hays State. Both teams will be honored at halftime of the men's game.

Washburn in the National Poll . . .
The Lady Blues remained at No. 15 in the latest USA Today/ESPN WBCA Coaches Pol. Emporia State is the only other MIAA team ranked. The Lady Hornets moved up one spot to No. 5.
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 128 consecutive polls and has been in the top 25 in 112 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. • Scored career high 19 points in win over Northwest Missouri
#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 College 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. • Had career-highs of eight points and five rebounds in win over Truman State
#22 • Ashley Jappa • F • 6-2 • Jr. • Had four blocked shots against Missouri-St. Louis
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • So. • Has made 9 of her last 34 3FG attempts
#31 • Rose Hammond • G • 5-10 • Sr. • Leads the MIAA with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio
#32 • Amanda Fessenden • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Has made 17 of her last 32 3FG attempts
#33 • Hope Gregory • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Has made 20 of her past 24 free throw attempts
#34 • Sierra Moeller • F • 6-1 • Jr. • Redshirting during the 2009-10 season after transferring from Boise State
#40 • Dayna Rodriguez • F • 6-2 • Sr. • Is 22-of-66 from the floor in the last four games
#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 game

Tip-Ins . . .
• The Lady Blues are 0-2 under Ron McHenry in games played on January 30, including 0-1 against Missouri Western. The Griffons beat WU 72-64 on January 30, 2002 in St. Joe.
• The Lady Blues are 7-4 all-time on January 30

Up Next . . .
Washburn travels to Truman State on Wedneday, February 3 before returning home for three straight games against Fort Hays State (Feb. 6), Central Missouri (Feb. 10) and the “Think Pink” Game against Southwest Baptist (Feb. 13).