Media Information
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Rankings: Washburn (9th, WBCA); Northwest Missouri State (23rd, WBCA)
Location: Maryville, Mo.
Arena: Bearcat Arena (2,500)
Television: None
Radio: 106.9 KTPK Topeka with Mark Elliott (pxp) and Bruce Steinbrock (color)
Live Stats: www.nwmissouri.edu/sports
Audio Web Stream: Through wusports.com
Video Web Stream: Through wusports.com

Complete Game Notes

Lady Blues continue road trip at NWMSU
The No. 9-ranked Lady Blues continue their road trip with a key MIAA matchup at 23rd-ranked Northwest Missouri on Wednesday night. The teams come into the game tied for first in the MIAA with identical overall and conference records.
The last time out, Washburn faltered on the road at Nebraska-Omaha falling 87-83 to the Mavericks. Cassie Lombardino led the Lady Blues with 23 points, while Alyssa Mullen poured in a career-high 22. Laura Kinderknecht and Stevi Schultz also finished in double figures with 16 and 15, respectively.
The Lady Blues are led by three players averaging in double figures. Lombardino leads the team and the MIAA at 18.3 points per game. Stevi Schultz is averaging 14.0 per contest and Laura Kinderknecht is chipping in 11.1 per outing.
Washburn will take on a NWMSU team that is coming off an 86-67 win over then No. 11-ranked Emporia State on Saturday. The Bearcats have won 10 straight games since losing to the Lady Blues back on December 4 in Topeka and are in the top 25 rankings for the first time this season.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game on Wednesday night at Northwest Missouri 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 282-55 (.837) overall record and a 155-39 (.799) record in the MIAA with six MIAA regular season championships and the 2005 NCAA National Championship during his 11 seasons as head coach. 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.)

NW Missouri State head coach Gene Steinmeyer, is in his 11th season leading the Bearcats. He has NWMSU sitting at 14-2 overall and 10-2 in MIAA play. The Bearcats have won 10 straight games His record at Northwest sits at 168-162, while his career record in his 24th season as a head coach stands at 528-303. 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 . . .
January 22, 2011 - OMAHA, Neb. -- The sixth-ranked Lady Blues went on the road to open the second half of the MIAA schedule and were upset 87-83 by Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday night at Sapp Fieldhouse. The loss drops Washburn into a first place tie with Northwest Missouri State. WU will travel to Maryville on Wednesday night for a showdown with the Bearcats.
Washburn (14-2, 10-2 MIAA) shot 52 percent from the floor compared to 49 percent for the Mavericks (6-10, 3-9 MIAA) and out-rebounded UNO by 22, but the Lady Blues committed 20 turnovers, 14 in the second half and fell to the Mavs.
The Lady Blues jumped out to an early lead and led by as many as nine at 23-14 with 13:37 to play in the half. The Mavericks began to chip away at the lead and took their first lead of the game after a 17-6 run, 33-31. Washburn came right back with a 10-2 run to regain the lead by six with 3:54 left in the opening stanza. The game was tied again with just over a minute to play, but a 6-2 run to close the half gave WU a 49-45 lead at the intermission.
UNO came out in the second half and quickly tied the game at 53-53 with 17:50 to play. Washburn regained the lead on a pair of Cassie Lombardino free throws only to see the Mavs come right back to regain the advantage at 57-55 with 14:30 left in regulation.
The game was tied one last time at 58 apiece with 13:18 on the clock. The Mavericks took the lead for good with a 14-4 run and opened a 72-62 lead with just under eight minutes to play in the game. UNO was able to push the lead to as many as 12 before Washburn rallied late. The Blues got to within four at 79-75 with 2:20 to play and had the ball, but a turnover gave it right back to UNO and Jamie Nash hit a jumper to push the lead back to six with 1:13 left.
A Megan Lassley layup got WU to within three at 84-81 with 14 ticks left, but the Mavericks made 3-of-4 from the foul line to ice the game.
Washburn finished 29-of-56 from the floor and 8-of-20 for 40 percent from behind the arc. The Lady Blues were 17-of-21 from the charity stripe, but committed the 20 turnovers compared to just six for UNO.
Lombardino led four Lady Blues in double figures with 23 and had a game-high nine rebounds. Alyssa Mullen had a career-high 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go along with eight boards. Laura Kinderknecht had 16 and Stevi Schultz chipped in 15.
Heather Pohl led UNO with a game-high 29 points and Nash had 23 to go along with 11 assists. Jessica Zaruba had 16 points and Paige Frauendorfer added 12.
The Mavericks were 28-of-57 from the field and hit on 9-of-20 three point attempts for 45 percent. UNO was 22-of-29 from the foul line and had 12 steals.

Notes from the Loss at UNO . . .
• Snapped Washburn's six game winning streak against the Mavericks
• Washburn dropped just it's second game under Ron McHenry (56-2) when scoring between 81 and 90 points
• The Lady Blues dropped to 76-3 under McHenry when shooting 50 percent or better
• Dropped Washburn into a first place tie with Northwest Missouri State at 10-2 in league play

Washburn/NW Missouri State series notes . . .
Washburn leads the series with Northwest Missouri State 44-9 and are 21-5 against the Bearcats under Ron McHenry. Washburn has won six straight in the series after an 82-79 win over NWMSU back on December 4 in Topeka. Washburn swept all three games a season ago. The last loss to NWMSU was a 59-56 setback at the 2008 MIAA postseason tournament.

About Northwest Missouri State . . .
The Bearcats are 14-2 overall and 10-2 in MIAA play after their 86-67 win over Emporia State on Saturday afternoon. Northwest Missouri has won 10 straight games since falling in Topeka back on December 4.
All five starters are averaging in double figures for NWMSU. Gabby Curtis leads the team at 16.8 points per game. Abby Henry is averaging 16.4, Kyla Roehrig is averaging 14.2, while Gentry Dietz and Shelly Martin are chipping in 12.6 and 12.1 points per contest, respectively.
Roehrig leads the team and is second in the MIAA with 11.4 rebounds per game.
Northwest Missouri leads the MIAA in scoring at 80.2 points per game, while giving up 70.4. The Bearcats are shooting 42 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three-point range, while their opponents shoot 39 percent from the field and 32 percent from beyond the arc. NWMSU also out-rebounds opponents 43.5-40.1 boards per game.

Last Time out for NW Missouri State . . .
NWMSU Sports Info. - January 22, 2011 - MARYVILLE, Mo.-Northwest Missouri State extended its winning streak to 10 games on Saturday afternoon and took over sole possession of second-place in the MIAA with its 86-67 win over 11th-ranked Emporia State.
The win is Northwest's first over a ranked opponent since the conference opener last season against Emporia State. Abby Henry led all scorers with 26 points as all five Northwest starters scored in double figures. Henry went 16-of-17 from the free-throw line, tying the program record for free throws made in one game. Henry also had a game-high seven assists and three steals. The Bearcats' 30 made free-throws is a season-high.
Both teams battled back-and-forth throughout much of the first half with the Hornets taking the upper hand late in the half and held a 39-35 halftime lead. Northwest came out of the gates firing in the second half, going on a 27-8 run over the next 8 and a half minutes, and held a 67-52 lead, its biggest of the game.
From there on, Northwest controlled the game the rest of the way, with Emporia cutting the lead down to nine before Shelly Martin nailed one of her four second half three-pointers with just over six minutes left. Emporia State would cut it to nine again with 3:01 remaining, but Northwest would put the clamps down defensively from there on and outscored Emporia 10-0 to finish the final three minutes of the game.
Kyla Roehrig picked-up her sixth double-double in the last seven games with a 15-point, 16-rebound performance and played solid defense all game on Emporia's Alli Volkens who recorded 17 points, but went 5-of-14 from the field. Gabby Curtis added 15 points to go along with five steals for the Bearcats. Martin and Gentry Dietz each had 14, with Dietz adding seven boards.
Northwest (14-2, 10-2 MIAA) shot 41.7 percent from the floor and hit 6-of-11 three-point attempts in the win. The Bearcats shot just 28 percent and had two three's in the first meeting with the Hornets who fall to 12-4 overall and 9-3 in the MIAA. Emporia shot 35 percent for the game and were 7-of-25 from three-point range.
The Bearcats will host sixth-ranked and conference-leading Washburn on Wednesday evening. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. inside Bearcat Arena. Washburn defeated Northwest earlier this season, 82-79 in Topeka.

Last Meeting Between Washburn and NWMSU . . .
December 4, 2010 - TOPEKA, Kan. -- The fourth-ranked Lady Blues built a big second half lead then held on for an 82-79 win over Northwest Missouri State on Saturday night at Lee Arena. The Lady Blues are back in action on Wednesday night at home against Fort Hays State.
Back-to-back three pointers by Laura Kinderknecht and Alyssa Mullen got Washburn (6-0, 2-0 MIAA) off to a good start. The Lady Blues built the lead to eight before a 14-2 run by the Bearcats (4-2, 0-2 MIAA) gave NWMSU a 21-17 lead with 10:34 to play in the half.
Northwest Missouri led 32-28 with 4:32 to play in the period, but the Lady Blues used a 10-0 run to grab the lead and WU went into the half with a 41-39 lead.
An 8-2 run out of the break gave Washburn an eight-point lead with 18:50 to play in the game. After a Bearcat three-pointer cut the lead to five the Lady Blues went on a 17-3 run to open a 66-47 lead with 12:46 to play in the game.
Northwest Missouri responded with a 24-5 run to tie the game at 71 with 4:52 to play in the game. Washburn led by four 76-72 with 2:56 remaining before a 7-2 by the Bearcats put them back in front 79-78 with 54 ticks on the clock. Mullen scored on a lay-in to put WU back in front for good at :30 and Megan Lassley knocked down a pair of free throws with three seconds left to give Washburn the final margin.
Stevi Schultz led Washburn and tied her career high with 18 points, while Mullen set a new career-high for the third straight game with 17 points, she also had a team-high eight rebounds as did Schultz.
Cassie Lombardino had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Kinderknecht chipped in 13 and tied her career-high with five assists.
Washburn shot 43 percent from the floor, 29-of-67 and were 9-of-29 from behind the three point line. NWMSU shot 48 percent from the field, 29-of-61 and were 11-of-23 from three-point range.
The Lady Blues out-rebounded the Bearcats 40-34 and dished out 21 assists to 13 for NWMSU.

A Win Would . . .
A win would give the Lady Blues a 15-2 record for the first time since the 2003-04 season ... give Washburn seven straight wins over the Bearcats and a 45-9 lead in the overall series ... give WU an 11-2 MIAA record and sole possession of first place ... give Washburn a 764-338 record in 42 years of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
A loss would give the Lady Blues an 14-3 record for the fourth straight year ... drop the Lady Blues to 10-3 in the MIAA and into second place in the league standings ... snap Washburn's six game winning streak against NWMSU ... be Washburn's first regular season loss to the Bearcats since 2008 ... give Washburn a 763-339 record in 42 years of basketball.

Lady Blues Following a Loss . . .
The Lady Blues are 37-12 following a loss during the Ron McHenry era and 1-0 following a loss this season. Washburn beat Central Missouri 86-68 after suffering the first loss of the season to Missouri Western.

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 then-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 155-39 (.799) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 279-92 (.752) all-time in conference play.  

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 27th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 335-59 (.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 144-14 (.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 136-9 (.938).

Lady Blues on the road . . .
The Lady Blues are 80-32 (.714) on the road under Ron McHenry, including 3-2 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 763-338 (.693 in 1,101 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 dropped three spots to No. 9 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 145 consecutive polls and has been ranked in the top 25 in 129 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 seventh 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 18.3 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. • Notched third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Lincoln
#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 9-2 all-time in games played on January 26, including 3-0 during the Ron McHenry era. Washburn is 1-0 against NWMSU on this date, an 81-67 win in Topeka on January 26, 2000.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues return home on Saturday, January 29 to take on Missouri Western at 5:30 p.m. and then host Truman State on February 2 at 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Blues will then hit the road for three straight games. WU will travel to Fort Hays State (Feb. 5), Central Missouri (Feb. 9) and Southwest Baptist (Feb. 12).