Media Information
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: Lee Arena (3,904)
Television: None
Radio: 106.9 KTPK Topeka 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 return home for Lincoln
The No. 6-ranked Lady Blues return home to host Lincoln on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. as they wrap up the first half of the MIAA schedule.
The last time out, Washburn battled back from a four-point halftime deficit to beat No. 10 Emporia State 66-60 in Emporia. Cassie Lombardino led all scorers with 20 points, while Laura Kinderknecht, Stevi Schultz and Megan Lassley all finished with double figure points as well.
The Lady Blues are led by three players averaging in double figures. Lombardino leads the team and the MIAA at 18.1 points per game. Stevi Schultz is averaging 14.0 per contest and Laura Kinderknecht is chipping in 11.1 per outing.
Washburn will face a Lincoln squad that has dropped 13 straight games and is win-less in the MIAA. LU fell to Truman State 59-51 in Kirksville on Saturday afternoon.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game on Wednesday evening against Lincoln will be broadcast on 106.9 FM KTPK Topeka. Mark Elliott will be calling the play-by-play action with Bruce Steinbrock providing 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 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 281-54 (.839) overall record and a 154-38 (.802) 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 (.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 2004, 2005 and 2010 and the Division II Bulletin National Coach of the Year in 2005. (complete bio on page 6 of notes.)
Lincoln head coach Katie Vaughn, is in her second season as the head coach of the Blue Tiger program. Lincoln is 1-13 on the year and 0-10 in the MIAA in its first season back in the league. Her career record is 13-28. Vaughn is a 2002 graduate of Central Missouri.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
January 15, 2011 - EMPORIA, Kan. -- The seventh-ranked Lady Blues came out on top of 10th-ranked Emporia State 66-60 on Saturday afternoon at White Auditorium in a game that certainly lived up to its top-10 billing. There were seven ties and eight lead changes in the game.
The Lady Blues (13-1, 9-1 MIAA) took an early lead on a bucket from Laura Kinderknecht, but six quick points by the Lady Hornets (11-3, 8-2 MIAA) gave ESU a 6-2 lead. The game was tied at 6-6 when Emporia State went on a 6-0 run during which, Cassie Lombardino picked up her second foul of the game and went to the bench for the remainder of the half.
Washburn used a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 19-16 with 8:52 to play in the half, but ESU used a 7-0 run of its own and grabbed the lead right back. The game went back-and-forth the remaining of the half with both teams holding slim leads. The Blues trimmed ESU's four-point lead to one right before the break, but a half-court shot by Haley Parker banked in at the buzzer to give the Lady Hornets a 36-32 lead at halftime.
A quick bucket out of the break pushed the Emporia State lead to six, but Washburn went on a 17-2 to grab a 49-40 lead with 11:28 to play in the game. The Lady Hornets responded with a 14-2 run of their own to regain the lead at 54-51 with 6:08 to play.
The game was tied three more times over the next 2:24, but Stevi Schultz scored four straight points to put the Lady Blues in front for good at 62-58. An ESU bucket with 36 seconds remaining cut the lead to two, but a Lombardino layup off a feed from Alyssa Mullen put WU in front by four with 10 seconds to play. Megan Lassley hit two free throws with :06 remaining to put the game on ice.
Lombardino scored a game-high 20 points, 18 in the second half, to lead Washburn. Kinderknecht had 14 points and tied her career-high with six assists. Schultz had 12 after playing just nine minutes in the first half due to foul trouble and Lassley had 10.
The Lady Blues shot 39 percent (24-of-62) from the floor and 46 percent (5-of-11) from beyond the arc. WU was 13-of-20 from the charity strip for 65 percent and turned the ball over just nine times, while forcing 16 turnovers by ESU.
Alli Volkens led the Lady Hornets with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Kelsey Balcom had 13 points and Jocelyn Cummings chipped in 11. ESU shot 35 percent (20-of-57) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-20) from three-point range. The Lady Hornets were 14-of-16 from the foul line and out-rebounded Washburn 41-38.
The Lady Blues are back in action next Wednesday when they host Lincoln at 5:30 p.m. to close out the first half of the MIAA schedule.

Notes from the win over Emporia State . . .
• Washburn improved to 9-1 in MIAA play and took over sole possession of first place in the league
• Gave Washburn two straight wins over the Lady Hornets and two straight wins in Emporia
• Extended Washburn's streak of games with at least one 3FG to 216 in-a-row

Washburn/Lincoln series notes . . .
Washburn leads the all-time series 17-0 with the Blue Tigers. The Lady Blues are 1-0 against Lincoln under Ron McHenry, an 81-29 win on December 16, 2006. WU had not played Lincoln since 1999 prior to that meeting in 2006.

About Lincoln . . .
The Blue Tigers are 1-13 overall and 0-10 in the MIAA in their first season rejoining the league. Lincoln fell 59-51 to Truman State on Saturday in Kirksville. LU won its season-opener 59-57 in OT against Rockhurst and has dropped 13 straight since then.
The Blue Tigers are led in scoring by Vivian Essuon at 16.2 points per game, she also leads the team in rebouding with 9.0 boards per contest. Cherakie Barrett and Bria Dillard are averaging 8.0 and 7.7 points per game, respectively.
Lincoln is shooting 36 percent from the field and 21 percent from three point range, while opponents shoot 42 percent from the floor. LU is averaging 56.4 points per game and giving up 70.0 per outing.

Last Time out for Lincoln . . .
Lincoln Sports Info. - January 15, 2011 - KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – A defensive struggle in the first half had the Lincoln University women's basketball team ahead by one at halftime, but Truman State University (TSU) made the plays in the final minutes of the second half to pull out the 59-51 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) victory inside Pershing Arena Saturday afternoon.
Lincoln (1-13, 0-10 MIAA) opened the game strong, posting the first four points of the game behind a pair of layups from junior center Vivian Essuon (Brampton, Ontario/Mineral Area) for the 4-0 lead at the 16:06 mark.
The Blue Tigers would continue to lead throughout the first half, pushing the lead as high as seven, 11-4, at the 9:47 mark on a three-pointer by freshman guard Jackeya Mitchell (Memphis, TN/Overton HS).
Lincoln ballooned the lead as large as 13, 19-6, at the 4:15 mark on a layup by Essuon. The Blue Tigers kept TSU (7-7, 5-5 MIAA) without a point for over four minutes during the stretch before the Bulldogs tallied a three-pointer with four minutes left to trim the lead back down to 10, 19-9.
TSU then used the momentum from the three-pointer to finish the half strong, outscoring Lincoln, 11-2, making it a slim one-point Blue Tiger lead at halftime, 21-20.
 The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game 30 seconds into the second half on a jumper by Jennifer Conway for the 22-21 advantage.
Lincoln countered with a quick 4-0 run to regain the lead behind an Essuon layup and a Mitchell jumper for the 25-22 lead.
The lead would see-saw for the next several minutes with TSU pushing their lead as high as three at the 15:33 mark, before Lincoln came back with a layup by freshman forward Bria Dillard (Memphis, TN/White Station HS), two layups from Essuon and a jumper by Mitchell to give the Blue Tigers back a five-point lead, 39-34, at the 11:41 mark.
Lincoln would hold the lead for the last time at the 5:39 mark after TSU connected on a three-pointer to take a 41-40 lead.
TSU would hold on the rest of the way despite three, three-pointers by junior guard Quenita Washington (Dallas, TX/Kimball HS) over the final minute and a half of the game.
Essuon led the way for Lincoln, tallying 19 points, eight rebounds in 37 minutes. Washington also tallied double-figures with 12 points, with all of her points coming on three-pointers.
Lincoln held TSU to just eight field goals in the first half (8-35), but the Bulldogs improved their shooting in the second half, going 12-for-26.
Turnovers were big for Lincoln, as they committed 13 more turnovers than TSU (21-8), while TSU turned the turnovers into 18 points, while Lincoln posted just seven points off turnovers.
Lincoln will remain on the road this coming Wednesday when they will play at Washburn with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. Washburn defeated Emporia State, 65-60, Saturday afternoon in Emporia.

Last Meeting Between Washburn and Lincoln . . .
December 16, 2006 - TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 5 Washburn Lady Blues set a school record with 15 3-pointers and the four-year senior class of Megan Sullivan, Brooke Ubelaker, Cindy Keeley and Holly Henrichs won game No. 100 in a Lady Blues uniform as they hammered the Lincoln Blue Tigers 81-29. Washburn will return to action on Dec. 19 when they take on Northwood at midnight CST and Dec. 20 against No. 6 Glenville State at 10 p.m. CST in the Hoop-N-Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Washburn (7-1) never trailed in the game as they opened a 14-4 lead as they pushed the lead to 16 taking a 32-16 advantage into the break.
In the second half, Washburn held the Blue Tigers (1-9) without a point for the first 6:09 of the second half and without a field goal for the first 6:45 of the half as the Lady Blues increased the lead to as many as the final margin of 52 in the game.
Ubelaker recorded her sixth double-double of her career at Washburn with game-highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Keeley scored 12 points hitting four 3-pointers and Amanda Holmes, Nikki Holmes and Corkey Stiger all scored 11. Stacey Smith scored 10 to lead the Blue Tigers.
Washburn shot 46 percent for the game hitting 29 of 62 attempts and 15 of 30 from 3-point range. The Blue Tigers were 10 of 46 for 22 percent and hit only four field goals in the second half connecting on 4 of 25 from the field.

A Win Would . . .
A win would give the Lady Blues a 14-1 record for the first time since the 2006-07 season ... give Washburn an 18-0 lead in the all-time series with Lincoln ... give WU a 10-1 MIAA record and keep the Blues in sole possession of first place ... give Washburn a 763-337 record in 42 years of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
A loss would give the Lady Blues an 13-2 record for the fourth straight year ... drop the Lady Blues to 9-2 in the MIAA and into a possible tie for first place ... snap Washburn's 14-game home court winning streak ... be Washburn's first ever against Lincoln ... snap the Lady Blues' 17-game winning streak against the Blue Tigers ... give Washburn a 762-338 record in 42 years of basketball.

Against Ranked Opponents . . .
The Lady Blues are 39-23 when facing a ranked opponent under Ron McHenry, including 1-0 this season after the 66-60 win at No. 10 Emporia State on Saturday. Washburn was 2-1 against ranked competition last year and the Lady Blues are 12-5 against ranked teams over the past four seasons.

Lady Blues in The MIAA . . .
The Lady Blues are 154-38 (.802) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 278-91 (.753) all-time in conference play.  

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 27th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 334-59 (.850) 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 143-14 (.911) in home games under Ron McHenry. Five of the 14 losses came in his first year on the Lady Blues bench. In the last 10 seasons, Washburn is 135-9 (.938).
Lady Blues on the road . . .
The Lady Blues are 80-31 (.721) on the road under Ron McHenry, including 3-1 this season. 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 762-337 (.693 in 1,099 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 moved up one spot to No. 6 in the latest WBCA USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll released on Tuesday afternoon.
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 144 consecutive polls and has been ranked in the top 25 in 128 consecutive polls, the longest active streak in NCAA-II.

Blues Clues . . .
#1 • Naudia Campbell • C • 6-2 • Jr. • Scored 12 points with five rebounds in loss at Missouri Western
#4 • Lindy Arndt • G • 5-11 • Fr. • Hit two 3FG's in win over CSU Dominguez Hills
#5 • Laura Kinderknecht • G • 5-7 • So. • Leads the MIAA in assist/turnover ratio and is sixth in assists
#10 • Dana Channel • G •5-10 • Fr. • Scored four points in the win over Fort Hays State
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • Sr. • Career-high 16 rebounds against Pittsburg State were the most by a Lady Blue since 2002
#15 • Sami McHenry • G • 5-8 • Fr. • Scored two points against Missouri Western
#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. • Currently leads the MIAA in scoring at 18.1 points per game
#22 • Megan Lassley • G • 5-4 • Jr. • Dished out career-high six assists in wins over CSU-Dominguez Hills and Northwest Missouri State
#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. • Scored career-high 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds in the win over Fort Hays 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 8-5 all-time in games played on January 19, including 2-1 during the Ron McHenry era.
• Washburn has won 14 straight home games, including 12 consecutive against MIAA competition.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues hit the road for two games as they begin the second half of the MIAA schedule. Washburn will travel to Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m tip then travel to Maryville for a showdown against Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.