Game Facts Date: Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010 Time: 5:30 p.m. Site: Bolivar, Mo. - Meyer Sports Center (2,925) Radio: AM 580 WIBW Online Audio:  wusports.com Live Stats: sbubearcats.com Live Video: wusports.com

Washburn Lady Blues (12-0, 6-0 MIAA) Polls 8th in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach: Ron McHenry Alma Mater: Washburn, 84 WU Record:    253-49, 10th season Career Record: 253-49, 10th season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Southwest Baptist Bearcats (3-9, 1-4 MIAA) Polls Not ranked in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach:     J.C. Carter Alma Mater: SBU, 2003 SBU Record: 11-29, second season Career Record: 11-29, second season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Lady Blues head to SBU
The 8th-ranked Washburn Lady Blues travel to Bolivar, Mo. to battle the Southwest Baptist Bearcats in the third of three straight road games for Washburn.
The Lady Blues are coming off a 76-66 win over Central Missouri on Saturday, while the Bearcats fell to Emporia State 76-57 on Saturday in Bolivar.

Lady Blues on the air . . .
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 253-49 (.838) overall record, including a 134-34 (.798) 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 (.838) 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.)
Southwest Baptist head coach J.C. Carter, is in his second season leading the Bearcats. SBU is off to a 3-9 start this season bringing Carter's career record to 11-29. The Bearcats were 8-20 a year ago, including 5-15 in the MIAA.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
Jan. 2, 2010 - WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Brette Ulsaker scored 14 of her career-high 17 points in the second half as the eighth-ranked Lady Blues held off Central Missouri 76-66 on Saturday afternoon at the UCM Multipurpose Building. Washburn will return to play on Tuesday at Southwest Baptist. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. in Bolivar.
The Lady Blues (12-0, 6-0 MIAA) jumped out to an early 10-4 lead keyed by an Amanda Fessenden three-pointer. UCM (6-6, 2-3 MIAA) responded with an 8-0 run to take a two-point lead, but Washburn scored seven quick points to regain the lead with just under eight minutes to play.
After UCM knotted the score at 17, Rose Hammond gave WU the lead for good with a short jumper. The basket ignited an 8-0 run and the Lady Blues led 32-26 at the break.
The lead was four in the early going of the second half when Ulsaker started a 23-11 run with a trey. When the run ended WU had a 61-45 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the game. The Jennies slowly chipped away at the lead, however, and brought the lead to within six on three occasions, but Ulsaker and Hammond responded with buckets at each turn and Hammond closed the game with a steal and layup to give the Lady Blues the 10-point win.
Ulsaker led Washburn with her career-high 17 points, including four threes. Hope Gregory recorded her second double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Dayna Rodriguez added 12 points, while Fessenden and Stevi Schultz each had 11.
Ana Migueres led UCM with a game-high 19 points, while Meghan Waggoner and Rebecca Roberts had 11 and 10, respectively.
Washburn shot 48 percent, 26-of-54, for the game, including 12-of-22 for 55 percent from behind the arc. Central Missouri shot 44 percent from the field (23-of-52), but made just 4-of-14 from the three-point line.

Notes from the win over Central Missouri . . .
• Washburn won for the 16th time in the past 18 meetings with Central Missouri
• The Lady Blues improved to 12-0 for the second consecutive season and the fifth time under Ron McHenry

About Southwest Baptist . . .
Southwest Baptist comes into the game at 3-9 overall and 1-4 in MIAA play. The Bearcats fell to No. 9-ranked Emporia State 76-57 on Saturday night in Bolivar. Their lone conference win to date was a 77-73 victory over Truman State in Kirksville.
Rachel Graves leads SBU in scoring with 13.3 points per game, she is joined in double figures by Courtney Heady at 10.4 per contest. Graves is averaging 14.4 per game during conference play.
Mia Gilreath leads the team in rebounding with 3.6 boards per outing, while Ashleigh Gallio leads the team and is third in the MIAA dishing out 4.0 assists per game.
SBU averages 64.5 points per game, while giving up 74.0 points per contest. The Bearcats have also been out-rebounded by their opponents 37.4-28.9.

Washburn/Southwest Baptist Series Notes . . .
Washburn leads the overall series with Southwest Baptist 27-11. The Lady Blues won both games last season and three straight overall. Washburn has won 18 of the past 19 meetings.

Last Meeting with Southwest Baptist . . .
Feb. 14, 2009 - BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The No. 9 ranked Washburn Lady Blues shot a blistering 58 percent from the field scoring a season-high 99 points in a 99-93 win over Southwest Baptist. Washburn (21-3, 14-3 MIAA) will be back in action on Thursday when they play host to Missouri Southern as part of the WBCA's Pink Zone night when the Lady Blues will put on pink uniforms beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Arena.
The Lady Blues used a 20-6 run to start the second half over the first eight-plus minutes and would stretch their lead to as many as 20 at the 10:34 mark of the second half. The Bearcats used back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers pulling with 11 at 6:20 left in the game. Two of the three long range shots were by Mia Gilreath for Southwest Baptist. After a pair of lay ups by Jessica Mainz, the Bearcats hit a 3-pointer cutting the lead back to 11 at 87-78. With Washburn holding an 89-78 lead, Janice Bright hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:30 to play giving Washburn a 92-78 lead.
The Lady Blues turned the ball over on their next possession and Courtney Heady hit her third 3-pointer of the game pulling SBU back to within 11 at 92-81 with 1:42 to play. Heady hit another 3-pointer pulling them to 92-84 with 43 seconds left. After back-to-back free throws by Rachel Graves, Washburn's Bright went to the line with 34.9 seconds remaining and hit both free throws stretching the lead back to eight. SBU missed their next field goal attempt and Bright went back to the line hitting both giving Washburn a 96-86 lead with 27.4 seconds in the game.
Washburn finished 5 of 6 from the free throw line to finish the game and SBU's Graves hit a jumper in the paint to cut the final margin to six to end the game and securing their seventh straight win.
Washburn jumped out to an 18-8 lead on a 3-pointer by Karla Tailele, but the Bearcats came back to take a 32-30 lead. The Lady Blues took the lead for good in the first half on a lay up by Stanceica Graham at 34-32 with 3:13 to play. Washburn stretched the lead to as many as seven before taking a 47-42 lead into the break after shooting 17 of 31 from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Washburn hit 5 of 11 3-point attempts. The Bearcats were 13 of 24 from the field (54 percent) and hit 13 of 14 free throws compared to 8 of 10 for the Lady Blues.
Bright led the Lady Blues with 27 points with 14 coming in the opening period. Bright was 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Graham scored 15 off the bench on 6 of 10 shooting. Kalee Silovsky recorded a career high 13 points. Jessica Mainz had 12 points with seven assists and five rebounds. Dayna Rodriguez had 10 points and six rebounds.
Gilreath led five Bearcats in double figures with 19 points. Graves had 18 and Heady and Creed each had 12.

A Win Would . . .
A win would make the Lady Blues 13-0 for the first time since 2005-06 ... give the Lady Blues a 7-0 MIAA record for the first time since the 2005-06 season ... give McHenry a 254-49 overall record ... give Washburn four straight wins over the Bearcats and a 27-11 series lead ... give Washburn a 735-332 record in its 41st season of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
Make the Lady Blues 12-1 for the second straight season ... give the Lady Blues a 6-1 MIAA record ... snap a three-game winning streak over Southwest Baptist ... give McHenry a 253-50 career record ... give Washburn a 734-333 record in 41 years of playing collegiate basketball.

Lady Blues in The MIAA . . .
The Lady Blues are 134-34 (.798) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 258-87 (.748) all-time in conference play. 

Lady Blues on the road . . .
The Lady Blues are 72-29 (.713) on the road under Ron McHenry, including 5-0 this season and 4-0 in MIAA play.. 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, including 7-3 during conference play.

Statistically Speaking . . .
Rose Hammond currently leads the MIAA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.9. Teammate Brette Ulsaker has an Asst/TO ratio of 2.36, but is three assists shy of averaging 3.0 assists per game, the minimum number to qualify.

Lady Blues History . . .
Washburn is 734-332 (.689 in 1,066 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. • Scored career high 17 points in win at Central 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 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
#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 7-2 all-time on Jan. 5, including 1-2 under McHenry.
• The Lady Blues are 7-2 under McHenry against Southwest Baptist in Bolivar.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues return home on January 9 to host Missouri Southern.