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TOPEKA, Kan. -- The fourth-ranked Lady Blues open defense of their MIAA championship with a 69-64 win over Nebraska-Omaha on Wednesday night at Lee Arena. Washburn is back in action on Saturday night hosting Northwest Missouri State at 5:30 p.m.

The Lady Blues (5-0, 1-0 MIAA) grabbed the early lead at 10-6, but an 11-4 run by the Mavericks (3-2, 0-1 MIAA) gave UNO a 17-14 advantage with 13:08 to play in the first half. A quick 6-0 run by Washburn gave WU a 20-17 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the opening half. The Blues extended their first half lead to as many as nine at 35-26 with 3:40 to play and led by five at the break, 37-32.

The Mavericks opened the second half on a 6-0 run to grab a 38-37 three minutes into the frame. The second half went back-and-forth with six ties and eight lead changes.  Washburn led 59-58 with 5:22 to play in the game, but UNO went back in front with a 4-0 run with just over three minutes to play in the game. A jumper from Laura Kinderknecht and three by Megan Lassley put WU back in front 64-62 with 2:21 to play. The Mavs tied the game once again on a field goal from Paige Frauendorfer with 2:05 to play. Alyssa Mullen's trey with 1:34 to play put the Lady Blues in front for good and a pair of free throws gave Washburn the 69-64 win.

Kinderknecht led Washburn with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Mullen set a new career-high with 15 points, while Lassley added 13 and Cassie Lombardino chipped in 11. Lombardino tied her career-high with nine boards.

Washburn shot 37 percent from the field, 23-of-63, and struggled to a 56 percent clip from the charity stripe, 14-of-25.

Frauendorfer led all scorers with 22. Jamie Nash added 18 and Heather Pohl 12 for the Mavs, who shot 41 percent for the game, 22-of-54. UNO was just 2-of-12 from beyond the arc and made 18-of-21 free throws for 86 percent.

Lady Blues head coach Ron McHenry



Lady Blues senior Alyssa Mullen



Lady Blues sophomore Laura Kinderknecht