Media Information
Date: Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Rankings: Washburn (9th, WBCA); Missouri Western (unranked)
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 looking to snap skid
The No. 9-ranked Lady Blues return home looking to snap their two-game losing streak as they host the Missouri Western Griffons. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday night in Lee Arena.
The last time out, Washburn made just one field goal over the final 5:44 after having tied the game at 61-61 and lost 71-63 to No. 23 Northwest Missouri on Wednesday night in Maryville. Stevi Schultz led WU with her fourth double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Cassie Lombardino was held to eight points, 10 below her season average.
The Lady Blues are led by three players averaging in double figures. Lombardino leads the team at 17.7 per game. Schultz is averaging 14.7, while Laura Kinderknecht chips in 10.5 points per outing.
Washburn will take on a Missouri Western squad that is coming off a 78-71 upset win over 14th-ranked Emporia State. The Griffons handed the Lady Blues their first loss of the season, 60-41, back on December 19 in St. Joseph.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game on Saturday night against Missouri Western 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 282-56 (.834) overall record and a 155-40 (.795) 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.)
Missouri Western head coach Lynn Plett, is in his fourth season leading the Griffons. His record at Missouri Western stands at 35-62, while his career record in his 17th season as a head coach stands at 311-296. Last season, the 1975 Tabor graduate led the Griffons to a 7-20 overall record and an 11th place finish in the MIAA at 5-15.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
January 26, 2011 - MARYVILLE, Mo. -- The ninth-ranked Lady Blues built a double digit lead in the first half, but went cold from the field down the stretch and fell 71-63 to 23rd-ranked Northwest Missouri on Wednesday night at Bearcat Arena. The loss drops Washburn to 14-3 overall and 10-3 in the MIAA and into second place in the conference standings.
The Bearcats (15-2, 11-2 MIAA) scored the first four points of the game and 10 of the first 14 to open a six-point lead with 16:34 left in the opening half. A layup by Stevi Schultz jump started the Lady Blues as they went on a 14-0 run capped off by another Schultz layup and WU led 20-10 with 10:42 to play in the half.
Washburn extended the lead to 11 a couple of times, the last being 30-19 with 5:07 to play, but Northwest Missouri closed the half on a 10-3 run and the Lady Blues led 33-29 at halftime.
NWMSU opened the second half on a 13-3 run and grabbed a 42-36 lead with 15:37 to play in the game. A quick 7-0 run put Washburn back in front 43-42 only to see the Bearcats regain the lead with a trey of their own. A jumper from Cassie Lombardino tied the game at 45-45 with 13:08 to play.
Northwest went back in front on a three point play from Abby Henry, but again Washburn responded with a quick 7-0 run to go back in front 52-48 with 10:06 to play. The game see-sawed back and forth with four more ties, the last being 61 apiece with 5:44 to play in the game.
Northwest took the lead for good with 5:02 to play on a pair of Henry free throws. NWMSU would go on a 10-0 run before a layup by Alyssa Mullen with just seven seconds remaining made it 71-63.
Schultz led all scorers and tied her career-high 26 points. She added a team-high 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Lombardino and Megan Lassley were the next highest scorers for the Lady Blues with eight points each.
Washburn struggled from the field shooting just 35 percent (24-of-69), while making 7-of-22 from behind the three-point line for 32 percent. WU was 8-of-10 from the charity stripe and out-rebounded the Bearcats 48-39, including 20 offensive rebounds.
Henry led three Bearcats in double figures with 20. Gabby Curtis had 15 and Gentry Dietz added 11. Kyla Roehrig had a game-high 12 rebounds. Northwest shot 42 percent (26-of-62) from the floor and were 7-of-18 for 39 percent from beyond the arc. NWMSU was 12-of-18 from the foul line and forced 17 Lady Blues turnovers.

Notes from the Loss at NWMSU . . .
• Snapped Washburn's six game winning streak against the Bearcats
• Dropped Washburn into second place in the MIAA with a 10-3 conference record
• Gave Washburn back-to-back losses for the first time this season
• Stevi Schultz recorded her fourth double-double of the season

Washburn/Missouri Western series notes . . .
Washburn leads the series with Missouri Western 42-38 and the Lady Blues are 18-10 against the Griffons under Ron McHenry. MWSU won the first meeting of the season 60-51 back on December 19 in St. Joseph. The Blues had won eight straight games in the series, including the last three in St. Joseph before that loss. The Griffons have not swept the season series since the 2006-07 season.

About Missouri Western . . .
The Griffons are 10-6 overall and 7-5 in the MIAA after their 78-71 win over No. 14 Emporia State on Wednesday night in St. Joseph. Missouri Western is 2-4 on the road this season during MIAA play.
Jessica Koch leads the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game. Two other players are averaging in double figures for MWSU. Rachel Luteyn scores 12.9 per game and Lauren Nolke chips in 10.1 per outing. Nolke led all Griffons with 14 points, including four treys in the first game against Washburn this season, while Luteyn scored a career-high 34 points in the win over Emporia State on Wednesday night.
Missouri Western is averaging 67.6 points per game as a team and giving up 62.2 to the opposition.
Brenna Saline leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 per game, but the Griffons are out-rebounded by their opponents 42.4-38.4.
MWSU shoots 42 percent from the field and 32 percent from behind the three-point line, while holding opponents to 35 percent shooting from the floor and 28 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffons dish out 15.3 assists per game, 3.1 assists more than their opponents. They also have 28 more steals than the opposition.

Last Time out for Missouri Western . . .
MWSU Sports Info. - January 26, 2011 - ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Rachel Luteyn scored a career high 34 points on 13-19 shooting from the field, helping the Griffons outscore the 14th ranked Lady Hornets 46-29 in the second half and to a 78-71 victory. Lynn Plett returned to the bench just minutes before the game to earn his first victory over Emporia State. The Griffons improve to 10-6 overall and 7-5 in MIAA action.
Western's Rachel Luteyn and ESU's Alli Volkens opened the game on fire as Luteyn scored the Griffons first eight points and Volkens scored six of the Lady Hornet first eight points. The teams played to an 8-8 tied with 15:38 to play in the frame.
The Griffons used back to back threes from Jessica Koch and Colleen Schneider to cap a 10-5 run taking their largest lead of the half at 18-13 with 12:46 to play. Western went cold the next eight minutes getting outscored 20-5 by ESU falling behind 33-23 after two Volkens free throws with 4:05 to play in the half. The two teams scored nine points apiece the rest of the half as the Lady Hornets took the 42-32 lead into the half.
Emporia State dominated the second chance points outscoring the Griffons 15-3 as they collected nine offensive rebounds. The Lady Hornets had 10 more rebounds than Western (25-15) and had 20 points in the paint to the Griffons 16.
Western made 13-31 field goals with eight assists. Luteyn scored 12 points on 6-10 shooting while Koch dumped in nine points and Alicia Bell dumped in five points and snared a team high six rebounds. The Hornets shot 16-35 from the field and made 6-8 free throws, all coming from Volkens. Volkens led the charge with 14 points and nine rebounds. She connected on 4-7 field goals.
The Lady Hornets looked to be on their way to an easy victory as they opened up the second half on a 12-4 run pushing their lead to 16 at 54-38 after a Rheanna Egli long range shot with 16:10 to play in the game.
From there the Griffons turned up the defense as they went on a 22-5 run to take a 60-57 lead with 7:23 to play.  Luteyn scored 10 points during that stretch including the go ahead bucked with 8:53 to play. That marked the first lead for Western since the 9:51 mark of the first half when they led 22-20.
Western never trailed the rest of the game building their lead to as many as nine twice getting big free throws down the stretch from Luteyn to pick up the victory. Western outscored the Lady Hornets 24-8 in the paint in the second frame while Luteyn dumped 22 points and swatted seven ESU shots.
Western finished the game making 46.8-percent (29-62) from the field and went 16-21 from the line. Western outscored the Lady Hornets 40-28 in the paint and 17-6 in bench points. The Griffons had 17 assists with Koch dishing out eight.
Bell finished with a double-double scoring 11 points and snared a career high 12 rebounds. Koch scored 21 points and had nine rebounds. Luteyns is the first player to score 30 or more points since Jill Johnson scored 39 against Truman on February 20, 2008. Luteyn also finished with a career high eight blocks.
The Lady Hornets fall to 12-5 overall and 9-4 in MIAA action. Volkens finished with a double-double scoring 24 points and snared 16 rebounds. Egli and Jocelyn Cummings finished with 12 and 11 respectively.
The Griffon women continue MIAA play on Saturday, January 29 when they travel to Topeka, Kan. to take on the #6 Washburn Lady Blues from Lee Arena. Tip time is set for 5:30 pm.

Last Meeting Between Washburn and Missouri Western . . .
December 19, 2010 - ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The fourth-ranked Lady Blues suffered their first loss of the season, a 60-41 setback at Missouri Western on Sunday afternoon. Washburn is back in action on December 31 at 1:30 p.m. at home against Central Missouri.
The 41 points is the lowest output during the Ron McHenry era and the 19-point loss is Washburn's worst since a loss by the same margin at Drury on December 8, 2007.
The Lady Blues (8-1, 4-1 MIAA) never led in the game and were scoreless until the 17:24 mark of the first half when Stevi Schultz nailed a jumper to tie the game at 2 apiece. Washburn went almost four minutes before scoring again and trailed 10-4 with 13:33 to play in the half. After another scoring drought of four plus minutes the Lady Blues found themselves down 18-5 with 8:47 remaining in the half. The Griffons (5-3, 3-2 MIAA) outscored the Lady Blues 15-11 the remainder of the half and led 33-16 at the break. WU shot just 25 percent in the first half, including 1-of-9 from three-point range and struggled from the foul line making just 3-of-8 attempts for 37.5 percent.
Missouri Western opened the second half on an 11-2 run to open a 44-18 lead with 13:42 to play in the game. Washburn's shooting struggles continued during the second half as MWSU's lead grew to as many as 28 midway through the second half. The Lady Blues were able to get back to within 16 on a couple of occasions, but would get no closer.
Schultz led Washburn with 14 points and Naudia Campbell chipped in 12. Alyssa Mullen led WU with a game-high 10 rebounds. The Lady Blues were 15-of-52 for 29 percent from the field and shot just 14 percent (3-of-22) from behind the arc. WU was 8-of-17 from the foul line for 47 percent. Washburn did out-rebound the Griffons 39-32.
Lauren Nolke led MWSU with 14 points and Jessica Koch had 10. The Griffons shot 45 percent (23-of-51) from the floor, including 44 percent (8-of-18) from three-point range. They were 6-of-10 from the charity stripe.

A Win Would . . .
A win would give the Lady Blues a 15-3 record for the third straight season ... give Washburn a season split with MWSU and wins in nine of the last 10 against the Griffons ... give WU an 11-3 MIAA record and keep the Blues in second place ... give Washburn a 764-339 record in 42 years of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
A loss would give the Lady Blues an 14-4 record for the first time since the 2007-08 season ... drop the Lady Blues to 10-4 in the MIAA and into a possible tie for second place ... give Missouri Western is first sweep of the season series since the 2006-07 season ... give Washburn a three-game losing streak for the second straight year ... give Washburn a 763-340 record in 42 years of basketball.

Lady Blues Following a Loss . . .
The Lady Blues are 37-13 following a loss during the Ron McHenry era and 1-1 following a loss this season. Washburn beat Central Missouri 86-68 after suffering the first loss of the season to Missouri Western, but fell 71-63 at Northwest Missouri after losing at UNO last week. The Lady Blues have now lost back-to-back games in consecutive seasons for the first time since Ron McHenry's first two years on the Washburn bench.

Against Ranked Opponents . . .
The Lady Blues are 39-24 when facing a ranked opponent under Ron McHenry, including 1-1 this season. Washburn beat then-No. 10 Emporia State 66-60 on Jan. 15 and lost at No. 23 Northwest Missouri 71-63 on Wednesday night. Washburn was 2-1 against ranked competition last year and the Lady Blues are 12-6 against ranked teams over the past four seasons.

Lady Blues in The MIAA . . .
The Lady Blues are 155-40 (.795) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 279-93 (.750) 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 80-33 (.708) on the road under Ron McHenry, including 3-3 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 763-339 (.692 in 1,102 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 17.7 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. • Recorded fourth double-double of the season with a career-best tying 26 points and 10 rebounds against Northwest Missouri
#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 7-6 all-time in games played on January 29, including 1-1 during the Ron McHenry era. Both of the games under McHenry were against Missouri Western. The Griffons won 60-56 on Jan. 29, 2003 in Topeka and the Lady Blues won 75-63 on Jan. 29, 2005 in St. Joseph.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues host Truman State next Wednesday, February 2 at 5:30 p.m. before hitting the road for three straight games. Washburn will travel to Fort Hays State (Feb. 5), Central Missouri (Feb. 9) and Southwest Baptist (Feb. 12). before returning home on Thursday, Feb. 17 for the WBCA Pink Zone game against Missouri Southern. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness. The first 500 fans will receive pink Lady Blues basketball t-shirts compliments of St. Francis Health Center and Washburn athletics.
In addition, there will be a silent auction and raffle items with all of the money going to the American Cancer Society.