Media Information
Date: Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: Lee Arena (3,904)
Television: None
Radio: AM 580 WIBW with Mark Elliott (pxp) and Bruce Steinbrock (color)
Live Stats: www.wusports.com
Audio Web Stream: Through wusports.com
Video Web Stream: Through wusports.com
Complete Game Notes

Lady Blues continue MIAA Home stand
The Washburn Lady Blues (5-0, 1-0 MIAA) continue their three-game MIAA home stand hosting Northwest Missouri State (4-1, 0-1 MIAA) on Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Arena.
The Lady Blues have three players averaging in double figures, led by junior center Cassie Lombardino at 14.4 points per game. Laura Kinderknecht is scoring 13.4 per outing and Megan Lassley chips in 10.0 per contest. Washburn's starters are accounting for 79 percent of the teams scoring.
Washburn opened conference play on Wednesday night with a 69-64 win over Nebraska-Omaha at home. The Lady Blues led by as many as nine in the first half then had to rally late in the game after UNO took the lead with under three minutes to play in the game. Washburn has now won 11 straight MIAA games dating back to last season.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game with Northwest Missouri State will be broadcast on AM 580 WIBW. Mark Elliott will be calling play-by-play action with Bruce Steinbrock providing the color-commentary. The games 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 game will also be webcast through America One Networks. You can access the webcast by clicking on the B2/MIAA advertisement on the lower right side of the Washburn athletics web site main page at www.wuports.com

The Coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 273-53 (.837) record overall and 146-37 (.798) record in the MIAA with six MIAA regular season championships and the 2005 NCAA National Championship. McHenry has also led the Lady Blues to six MIAA Postseason Tournament titles including six of the eight played in Kansas City. McHenry has the highest winning percentage (.836) 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 2004, 2005 and 2010 and the Division II Bulletin National Coach of the Year in 2005. (complete bio on page 6 of notes.)
NW Missouri State head coach Gene Steinmeyer, is in his 11th season leading the Bearcats. He has NWMSU off to a 4-1 start this season bringing his record at Northwest to 158-161. His career record in his 24th season as a head coach stands at 518-302. Last season, the Nebraska-Kearney graduate led the Bearcats to a 14-15 overall record and a 5th place finish in the MIAA at 9-11.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
December 1, 2010 - 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.

Notes from the win over UNO . . .
• Washburn improved to 8-3 in conference openers under Ron McHenry.
• Alyssa Mullen and Laura Kinderknecht set new career scoring highs for the second straight game.
• The Lady Blues improved to 6-1 all-time against the Mavericks and 5-0 since UNO joined the MIAA.

Washburn/NW Missouri STate series notes . . .
Washburn leads the series with Northwest Missouri State 43-9 and are 20-5 against the Bearcats under Ron McHenry. Washburn has won five straight in the series and swept all three games a season ago. The last loss to NWMSU was a 59-56 setback at the 2008 MIAA postseason tournament. Washburn has won five straight regular season games against the Bearcats.

About Northwest Missouri State . . .
The Bearcats are coming of a 77-67 setback at Emporia State to open the conference season on Wednesday, it was the first loss of the season for NWMSU. The Bearcats have the highest scoring offense in the MIAA and have four players averaging in double figures.
Kyla Roehrig, who previously played volleyball at the University of Minnesota and was a graduate assistant coach with the Northwest volleyball team in the fall, leads the team in scoring and rebounding averaging a double-double with 17.6 points and 10.0 boards per game. Abby Henry is second on the team at 16.4 points per contest, while Gabby Curtis chips in 15.4 per outing and Shelly Martin adds 11.2 per game.
The Bearcats shoot 41 percent from the floor, while they're opponents shoot 41 percent as well. NWMSU is forcing 25 turnovers per game, while only committing 14.8 per contest.

Last Time out for NW Missouri State . . .
December 1, 2010 - EMPORIA, Kan.- The first MIAA assignment was a tough one for the Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team.
The Bearcats had to go on the road Wednesday evening at historic White Auditorium and face No. 10 Emporia State, the NCAA Division II national champions.
Despite trailing the entire second half, Northwest forced Emporia State to play a full 40 minutes.
But the Bearcats never could quite overcome an 11-point, halftime deficit. Northwest lost for the first time this season, falling 77-67 to Emporia.
Northwest dropped to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in the MIAA. Emporia improved to 4-1 and 1-0.
Throughout the second half, Northwest showed plenty of signs that it can compete with the elite in the MIAA.
The Bearcats never wavered even though they were behind. They fought back from a 54-43 deficit in the second half and closed to 54-50 midway through the second half.
Northwest, though, always seemed to be one stop or one made basket away from putting a real scare into the Hornets.
Every time the Bearcats got within striking distance, Emporia had a brief spurt to extend its lead, such as a 5-1 run for a 59-51 lead.
Northwest closed to 61-57 on two free throws by Alexis Boeh with 5 minutes left, and that's when Rachel Hanf hurt the Bearcats with a three-pointer.
Hanf also hurt Northwest in the first half with some timely outside shots. She finished with 17 points.
Still, the Bearcats kept clawing and were within five at 70-65 with about 90 seconds left.
Northwest got solid contributions from Henry, Roach and Kyla Roehrig. Henry finished with a game-high 19 points and Roehrig finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Roach nearly had a double-double, pulling down 10 rebounds, a career-high and scoring nine points.
Northwest jumped to a 9-4 lead and then watched Emporia score the next seven points for an 11-9 advantage.
The Bearcats never saw the lead again. They went into halftime down 43-32.
Next up for Northwest is the second of four straight road games to begin conference play. The Bearcats face another perennial power in the MIAA when they go to Lee Arena and take on Washburn on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

Last Meeting Between Washburn and NW Missouri state . . .
March 6, 2010 - KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The 10th-ranked Washburn Lady Blues advanced into the MIAA tournament Championship game with an 80-66 win over Northwest Missouri State on Saturday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium. Washburn will take on the winner of the Emporia State/Central Missouri game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Washburn (25-3) never trailed en route to its 12th consecutive win.
The game started off slowly with both teams coming out cold. Brette Ulsaker put Washburn on the board with a pair of free throws at the 17:16 mark. The Lady Blues scored the first six points of the game before the Bearcats (14-15) scored four quick points to pull within a pair with 15:22 to go in the half.
The lead was three when Washburn went on a 16-6 run to open a 13-point advantage at 25-12 with 10:02 to play in in the opening stanza. The lead never dipped below 10 the rest of the way and Washburn led 41-26 at the break.
The lead was 14 in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Lady Blues blew the game open with a 16-8 run that put them up by 22 with 9:42 to play in the game. Every time Northwest Missouri would try to make a run the Lady Blues had an answer as they cruised to the 14-point win and clinched a spot in the MIAA tournament championship game for the second straight year and the sixth time in the eight years the tournament has been played in Kansas City.
Hope Gregory led Washburn with 17 points and also pulled down nine rebounds. Ulsaker was the only other Lady Blue in double figures with 14. Amanda Fessenden and Laura Kinderknecht had nine points apiece, while Dayna Rodriguez and Rose Hammond had eight each for the balanced Washburn attack. Alyssa Mullen pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Washburn shot 38 percent for the game, 27-of-71 and were 12-of-31 from beyond the arc for 39 percent. The Lady Blues out-rebounded the Bearcats 54-40 and had 21 assists to five for NWMSU.
Abby Henry led Northwest Missouri with 25 points and Gabby Curtis chipped in 11 for the Bearcats who shot 28 percent, 18-of-65, for the game. NWMSU was 4-of-19 from three-point range for 21 percent, but were 26-of-35 from the charity stripe for 74 percent.

A Win Would . . .
A win would make the Lady Blues 6-0 for the fourth straight season ... give Washburn a 44-9 lead in the series with NWMSU ... give WU a 2-0 MIAA start for the fourth straight season ... give the Lady Blues six straight wins over the Bearcats ... give Washburn a 755-336 record in 42 years of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
A loss would give the Lady Blues a 5-1 record for the first time since the 2006-07 season ... snap Washburn's five-game winning streak against NWMSU ... drop the Lady Blues to 1-1 in the MIAA for the first time since the 2006-07 season ... give Washburn a 754-337 record in 42 years of basketball.

Against Ranked Opponents . . .
The Lady Blues are 38-23 when facing a ranked opponent under Ron McHenry. Washburn was 2-1 against ranked competition last year. The Lady Blues are 11-5 against ranked teams over the past three seasons.

Lady Blues in The MIAA . . .
The Lady Blues are 146-37 (.798) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 270-90 (.750) all-time in conference play.  

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 27th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 329-59 (.848) 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 47 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 138-14 (.908) in home games under Ron McHenry. Five of the 14 losses came in his first year on the Lady Blues bench. In the last nine plus seasons, Washburn is 130-9 (.935).

Lady Blues on the road . . .
The Lady Blues are 77-30 (.720) on the road under Ron McHenry. Washburn's best road record under McHenry was 8-0 during the 2005-06 season. The Lady Blues were 10-1 on the road last season, including 9-1 during MIAA play.

Lady Blues History . . .
Washburn is 754-336 (.692 in 1,090 games) in its 42nd season of intercollegiate action. The Lady Blues have won seven MIAA regular season titles and eight MIAA postseason tournament championships since becoming eligible for conference championships in 1990-91.

Washburn in the National Poll . . .
Washburn is No. 4 in the WBCA USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, while the Lady Blues were 19th in the NCAA Division II Bulletin Preseason Poll.
The Lady Blues were No. 10 in the final USA Today/ESPN Top 25 WBCA Coaches Poll of the 2009-10 season. Overall, Washburn has received votes in the last 139 consecutive polls and has been in the top 25 in 123 consecutive polls, the longest active streak in NCAA-II.

Blues Clues . . .
#1 • Naudia Campbell • C • 6-2 • Jr. • Scored 16 points with eight rebounds in her Washburn debut
#4 • Lindy Arndt • G • 5-11 • Fr. • Hit two 3-Pt field goals in win over CSU Dominguez Hills
#5 • Laura Kinderknecht • G • 5-7 • So. • Has scored in double figures in every game so far this season
#10 • Dana Channel • G •5-10 • Fr. • Scored two points with two rebounds in her first college game
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • Sr. • Scored career-high 15 points in the win over Nebraska-Omaha
#15 • Sami McHenry • G • 5-8 • Fr. • Saw her first action of the season against CSU Dominguez Hills
#20 • Dana Elliott • F • 5-11 • So. • Tied career-high with five points in just four minutes of action against Drury
#21 • Cassie Lombardino • C • 6-3 • Jr. • Had career-highs of 20 points and nine rebounds in win over Southwestern
#22 • Megan Lassley • G • 5-4 • Jr. • Scored 15 points in first game as a Lady Blue
#24 • Ebonie Williams • G • 5-8 • Sr. • Will sit out the 2010-11 season after transferring from Seton Hall
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • Jr. • Dished out career-high six assists in the win over Lake Superior State
#32 • Sierra Moeller • F • 6-1 • Jr. • Suffered a season-ending injury in exhibition game at Kansas State
#33 • Amy Green • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Grabbed four boards in 13 minutes in first game for Washburn
#42 • Raychel Boling • F • 6-0 • Sr. • Grabbed career-high seven boards in season-opening win over Southwestern
#44 • Laura McMullin • F • 6-1 • So. • Scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in season-opening win over Southwestern

Tip-Ins . . .
• The Lady Blues are 10-1  in games played on December 4, including 3-0 under Ron McHenry.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues will host Fort Hays State on December 8 at 5:30 before traveling to Truman State on Dec. 11 and Missouri Western on Dec. 19.