Game Facts Date: Friday, March 12, 2010 Time: 2:30 p.m. Site: Canyon, Texas - First United Bank Center (4,800) Radio: 106.9 KTPK Online Audio:  wusports.com Live Stats: Through ncaa.com Live Video: none

Washburn Lady Blues (26-3, 17-3 MIAA) Polls 7th in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach: Ron McHenry Alma Mater: Washburn, 84 WU Record:    267-52, 10th season Career Record: 267-52, 10th season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Central Missouri Jennies (19-11, 13-7 MIAA) Polls Not ranked in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll Coaches Head Coach:     Dave Slifer Alma Mater: Mount Mercy, 82 UCM Record: 109-68, sixth season Career Record: 492-167, 20th season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Lady Blues open NCAA Tournament Play against Central Missouri on Friday afternoon . . .
The No. 7-ranked Washburn Lady Blues open NCAA-II South Central Regional play as the No. 2 seed on Friday at 2:30 p.m. against the No. 7 seed Central Missouri in a rematch of the MIAA tournament championship game.
Washburn beat UCM 68-56 on Sunday in Kansas City to capture its second straight MIAA tournament title and sixth in the past eight seasons.

Lady Blues on the air . . .
The Lady Blues game will be broadcast live on Country Legends 106.9 with Bruce Steinbrock providing the play-by-play. The game will also be streamed live online by clicking the live audio button under the Lady Blues Basketball tab at www.wusports.com.
If the Lady Blues beat UCM, Saturday's game will be on Country Legends 106.9 and a possible Championship game on Monday would be broadcast on AM  580 WIBW.
The game will be video streamed live by going to ncaa.com.

The Coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 267-52 (.837) overall record, including a 145-37 (.797) record in the MIAA. He captured his sixth MIAA regular season championship this season and won the 2005 NCAA National Championship. McHenry has also led the Lady Blues to six MIAA Postseason Tournament titles including two straight titles and six of the eight played in Kansas City. McHenry has the highest winning percentage (.837) 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.)
Central Missouri head coach Dave Slifer, is in his sixth season leading the Jennies program and has compiled a 109-68 record in Warrensburg. His overall mark stands at 492-167 in 20 seasons as a head coach. Earlier this year, Slifer became the MIAA's winningest coach when he recorded his 297th win as an MIAA head coach (UCM and Missouri Western) with a 76-59 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
March 7, 2010 - KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The 10th-ranked Washburn Lady Blues rallied to take their first lead of the game late in the first half and then never trailed again on their way to a 68-56 win over Central Missouri on Sunday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium. The win gave Washburn its sixth MIAA tournament title in the last eight years. 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.
Washburn was led by Tournament MVP Hope Gregory with 14 points. Fellow all-Tournament team members Dayna Rodriguez and Brette Ulsaker chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Central Missouri (19-11) jumped out to an early 10-3 lead and led most of the first half, but the Lady Blues (26-3) rallied to tie the game at 23 and led 33-31 at the intermission.
The Jennies closed to within a point at 35-34 in the opening minute of the second half, but the Lady Blues responded with a 15-6 run to open a 10-point cushion at 50-40. Washburn pushed the lead to as many as 13 and the lead never dipped below eight the rest of the way.
Washburn shot 46 percent from the field (25-of-55) and were 12-of-24 from behind the arc. The Lady Blues held UCM to 37 percent shooting from the floor, 19-of-52, including 6-of-18 from three-point range.

Notes from the win over Central Missouri . . .
• The win gave Washburn its second straight MIAA Tournament title and sixth in the last eight years under head coach Ron McHenry
• The Lady Blues extended their streak of consecutive games with at least one 3FG to 200 games
• Washburn set an MIAA Tournament record with 32 made 3FG and 74 3FG attempts in the tournament
• The Lady Blues improved to 20-2 in MIAA tournament games played in Kansas City
• Washburn extended its streak of holding opponents under 100 points to 342 straight games

Lady Blues claim eighth MIAA tourney title . . .
The Lady Blues claimed their eighth MIAA tournament title and sixth in the past eight seasons with the 68-56 win over Central Missouri on Sunday. Washburn is 32-12 overall in the MIAA tournament and 20-2 since the tournament moved to Kansas City.
With the 63-51 win over Emporia State in the regular season finale the Lady Blues captured their seventh MIAA regular season title and the sixth in the past eight years under 10th year head coach Ron McHenry. The 17 MIAA wins ties Emporia State (2009) for the most conference wins in league history.

Washburn/Central Missouri series notes . . .
Washburn leads the overall series with Central Missouri 32-13 after beating UCM 68-56 for the MIAA Tournament title on Sunday. Washburn has won all three meetings so far this season. The teams split last season's series and Washburn has won 18 of the past 20 meetings.

About Central Missouri . . .
The Jennies enter the South Central Regional at 19-11 overall after their runner-up finish at the MIAA Tournament last week. UCM has won seven of its last eight and and nine of its past 11. Both of Central Missouri's losses during that run were to Washburn.
All-MIAA center Rebecca Roberts leads the Jennies in scoring at 14.2 points per game. Deidra Dace is second on the squad at 11.1 points per outing. Danielle Shows leads the team in rebounding at 7.5 per game.
Central Missouri averages 69.1 points per contest and gives up 64.5 per game. The Jennies shoot 43 percent from the floor, while their opponents shoot 40 percent. UCM has dished out 135 more assists than its opponents this season.

A Win Would . . .
A win would make the Lady Blues 27-3, the second straight season with 27 wins ... advance the Lady Blues to the South Central Regional semifinals for the eighth straight year... give McHenry a 268-52 overall record ... give Washburn four wins over Central Missouri this season and five straight overall ... give Washburn a 749-335 record in its 41st season of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
Make the Lady Blues 26-4 and end their season ... be Washburn's first South Central Regional quarterfinal loss since 2002 ... give McHenry a 267-53 career record ... snap Washburn's four-game winning streak over UCM ... give Washburn a 748-336 record in 41 years of playing collegiate basketball.

Lady Blues in The MIAA . . .
The Lady Blues are 145-37 (.797) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 269-90 (.749) all-time in conference play.

Against Ranked Teams . . .
The Lady Blues are 38-23 under Ron McHenry against ranked opponents, including 2-1 this year. Washburn is 36-15 when both teams are ranked. The Lady Blues are 11-5 against ranked opponents the last three seasons.

Lady Blues on the road . . .
The Lady Blues are 77-30 (.720) on the road under Ron McHenry, including 10-1 this season and 9-1 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.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 26th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 326-59 (.847) 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 135-14 (.906) 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 127-9 (.934).

Lady Blues History . . .
Washburn is 748-335 (.691 in 1,083 games) in its 41st season of intercollegiate action. The Lady Blues are playing in their 14th NCAA Tournament. Washburn has 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. 7 in the latest USA Today/ESPN WBCA Coaches Poll. Emporia State is the only other MIAA team ranked. The Lady Hornets stayed at No. 15 in the rankings.
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 133 consecutive polls and has been in the top 25 in 117 consecutive polls, the longest current streak in NCAA-II.

2010 Washburn postseason honors . . .
Washburn's Dayna Rodriguez was named first team all-MIAA and Brette Ulsaker was named the Defensive Player of the Year, the fifth straight year a Lady Blue has won the award. Hope Gregory was named to the second team and Ron McHenry won his third Coach of the Year award on Tuesday.
Rodriguez was named first team all-MIAA after leading the team and finishing fifth in the league in scoring at 15.4 points per game ... she was second on the team and fifth in the league in rebounding at 7.2 rpg ... she also finished fourth in the MIAA in FG percentage (139/314/.443) and sixth in blocked shots (1.0/game). She had three double-doubles on the season and scored a career-high 32 points in a win over Southwest Baptist.
Ulsaker became the fifth straight Washburn player to earn Defensive MVP honors. She was second on the team with 1.2 steals per game and helped lead the Lady Blues No. 1 ranked scoring defense that allowed just 54.4 ppg. Washburn also had the conference's number one ranked FG percentage defense and number one 3FG percentage defense. She also averaged 7.0 points and 3.2 assists per game, the latter ranking ninth in the MIAA. She was second in the MIAA with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Gregory earned second team all-MIAA honors after averaging 10.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Her rebound total ranked second in the conference. She was also fifth in the MIAA in FT percentage (67/83/.807). She was named MIAA Player of the Week two times this season. She recorded four double-doubles, including a 17 point, 13 rebound performance in the MIAA title clinching win at Emporia State.
McHenry earned his third Coach of the Year award after leading Washburn to its seventh MIAA championship and sixth in the last eight years. He guided the Lady Blues to victories in their final 10 regular season games to claim the title. He previously won this award in 2004 and 2005.

Dayna Rodriguez
• First Team All-MIAA
• MIAA All-Tournament Team
• WBCA All-American Regional Finalist
Hope Gregory
• Second Team All-MIAA
• MIAA Tournament Most Valuable Player
Brette Ulsaker
• MIAA Most Valuable Defensive Player
• MIAA All-Tournament Team
Ron McHenry
• MIAA Coach of the Year

Blues Clues . . .
#1 • Chasity Workman • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Scored eight points in Washburn debut
#3 • Brette Ulsaker • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Named to MIAA All-Tournament Team and named MIAA regular season Defensive MVP
#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. • Scored career-high 15 points in MIAA quarterfinal win over Southwest Baptist
#22 • Ashley Jappa • F • 6-2 • Jr. • Had four blocked shots against Missouri-St. Louis
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • So. • Has scored in double figures in nine games this season
#31 • Rose Hammond • G • 5-10 • Sr. • Leads the MIAA with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio
#32 • Amanda Fessenden • G • 5-9 • Sr. • Made 3-of-4 3FG in win at ESU
#33 • Hope Gregory • G • 5-10 • Jr. • Named MIAA Tournament MVP after averaging 13.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game during the tournament
#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. • Named to MIAA All-Tournament Team
#42 • Raychel Boling • F • 6-0 • Jr. • Scored 11 points in win over Missouri-St. Louis
#44 • Laura McMullin • F • 6-1 • Fr. • Played season-high 11 minutes in win at Emporia State

Lady Blues in the NCAA tournament . . .
• Washburn is making their 14th NCAA Tournament appearance and their ninth straight overall.
• The Lady Blues are 24-12 (.667) all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Washburn is 7-1 in their first round NCAA Tournament games under head coach Ron McHenry.
• Washburn is 5-2 in the NCAA Tournament second round under Ron McHenry.
• Washburn is 3-2 in the regional final under McHenry winning in 2003, 2005, 2008 and falling in 2006 and 2007.
• The Lady Blues are 10-4 against teams from the Lone Star Conference in the NCAA Tournament. They are 4-1 against West Texas A&M, 0-1 against Southeastern Oklahoma, 1-0 against Abilene Christian, 3-0 against Angelo State, 1-1 against Central Oklahoma, 1-0 against Midwestern State and 0-1 against Texas A&M-Commerce.
• Washburn is 2-0 against teams from the Heartland Conference topping St. Mary's 92-58 on March 10, 2006 in Topeka and Incarnate Word 57-38 last season in Canyon, Texas.
• Washburn is 7-3 in the NCAA Tournament against teams from the MIAA going 2-0 against Central Missouri, 1-0 against Missouri Southern, 0-2 against Missouri Western, 1-0 against Northwest Missouri and 3-1 against Emporia State.
• Washburn is 4-1 in NCAA Tournament games played in Texas.
• Washburn has been in 13 NCAA Tournaments with nine straight counting this year's tournament.
• Washburn has made five Elite Eight appearances (1992, 1993, 2003, 2005, 2008)
• Washburn has reached two Final Fours (1993, 2005)
• Washburn won the 2005 NCAA National Championship.
• All-time in the first round, Washburn is 11-2 winning their last seven opening round games.
• The last opening round loss was to Southeastern Oklahoma on March 7, 2002 in a 63-50 defeat in St. Joseph.

NCAA Tournament Schedule . . .
Friday, March 12
Game #1 - No. 3 Northeastern State vs. No. 6 Central Oklahoma - 12 p.m.
Game #2 - No. 2 Washburn vs. No. 7 Central Missouri - 2:30 p.m.
Game #3 - No. 4 Emporia State vs. No. 5 Tarleton State - 6 p.m.
Game #4 - No. 1 West Texas A&M vs. No. 8 St. Mary's - 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 13
Game #5 - Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 - 5 p.m.
Game #6 - Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 7:30 p.m.
Monday, March 15
South Central Region Championship Game - Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 7 p.m.

Tip-Ins . . .
• Washburn is 3-2 in the program's history on March 12, 2-1 under Ron McHenry
• Washburn is 2-2 in the program's history on March 13, 1-2 under McHenry
• Washburn is 2-0 in the program's history on March 15, 2-0 under McHenry
• The Lady Blues are 1-0 in their only Friday game this season
• The Lady Blues are 11-2 in Saturday games this season
• The Lady Blues are 1-0 in their only Monday game of the season
• Washburn is shooting 43 percent (671-of-1546) from the field in its 23 wins and just 31 percent (56-of-181) in its three losses.
• In the Lady Blues' 26 wins this season, six players are averaging at least 7.6 points per game - in the three losses, only three players are averaging at least 7.3 ppg.
• Washburn is 5-0 this season in games played on neutral courts
• In their five neutral court games the Lady Blues are shooting 43 percent (131-of-302), while their opponents shoot 35 percent (98-of-278).
• Washburn's margin of victory is 16 points in its five neutral court wins.

Up Next . . .
If the Lady Blues win they will play the winner of No. 3 seed Northeastern State and sixth-seeded Central Oklahoma on Saturday at 5 p.m. in one semifinal. A win in that game would put Washburn in the 7 p.m. Regional Championship game on Monday night against the winner of the other semifinal.
The NCAA-II Elite Eight begins on Tuesday, March 23 in St. Joseph, Mo.