Media Information
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 5, 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 open 2011 hosting Southwest Baptist
The No. 4-ranked Lady Blues look to start a new winning streak as they tip-off the 2011 portion of their schedule against Southwest Baptist on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. inside Lee Arena.
Washburn rebounded from its first loss of the season with a resounding 86-68 win over Central Missouri on New Year's Eve. The Lady Blues led from start to finish as they extended their winning streak to six straight over UCM. WU will face a SBU squad that is coming off a 85-75 loss at Emporia State on New Year's Day. The Bearcats led by as many as seven in the second half, but couldn't close out the Lady Hornets.
The Lady Blues are led by three players averaging in double figures. Junior center Cassie Lombardino leads WU at 14.8 points per game. Stevi Schultz upped her scoring average to 13.8 per contest and Laura Kinderknecht is chipping in 10.2 per outing.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
The Lady Blues game on Wednesday night with Southwest Baptist will be broadcast on 106.9 KTPK Topeka. 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 277-54 (.837) overall record and a 150-38 (.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.)
Southwest Baptist head coach J.C. Carter, is in his third season leading the Bearcat program. Southwest Baptist is off to a 4-6 start this season, including 1-5 in MIAA play. Carter's record at SBU and in his career stands at 22-44. Last season, the Southwest Baptist graduate led the Bearcats to a 10-18 overall record and a tie for seventh place in the MIAA at 8-12. SBU was knocked out of the MIAA tournament by Washburn in the first round.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
December 31, 2010 - TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Lady Blues scored at will on Central Missouri, building a lead and never letting up on their way to a 86-68 victory Friday afternoon inside Lee Arena.Washburn is back in action on Wednesday at home against Southwest Baptist at 5:30 p.m.
Cassie Lombardino and Stevi Schultz started the game off with back to back lay ups to put Washburn (9-1, 5-1 MIAA) up 4-0 early.  Rebecca Roberts got the Jennies (6-6, 2-4 MIAA) on the board early scoring their first four points of the game, but Stevi Schultz and Laura Kinderknecht hit back to back three pointers igniting a 11-2 run to take control of the game with a 15-4 lead with 15:46 in the first half.
The Jennies cut in to the lead, 18-9, with a lay up by Kara Fleming and a three pointer by Saraethea Brown, but the Jennies weren't able to get closer then nine.  Late in the first half with the Lady Blues leading 37-19 the Jennies bench got called for a technical. The Lady Blues went in to half leading 44-23.
Jennies forward Nicole Caddell hit the first shot of the second half and Roberts followed it up with her own basket making the score 44-27.
The Lady Blues kept the Jennies at bay throughout the second half with a barrage of three pointers. Doing most of the damage from beyond the arc for the Lady Blues was Kinderknecht, she connected on five of her nine attempts.  Her five three pointers are a career high.
Stevi Schultz led all scorers with 22 while Kinderknecht helped out with 15.  Alyssa Mullen had another solid game for the Lady Blues with nine points, six rebounds, and five assists.
The Lady Blues shot 46% from the floor, 30-of-64 and were 13-of-29 from beyond the arc.   The 13 three pointers was a season high. The Jennies shot 41% from the floor, 23-of-55 while only shooting 27% from three point range, 6-of-22.
Caddell led the Jennies with 13 points and nine rebounds. Roberts had 12 points, while Fleming and Taylor Hanson each chipped in 11.

Notes from the win over Central Missouri . . .
• Washburn improved to 5-1 in MIAA play for the third time in four years
• Gave Washburn six straight wins over the Jennies
• Washburn improved to 37-12 following a loss under McHenry

Washburn/Southwest Baptist series notes . . .
Washburn leads the overall series with Southwest Baptist 30-11 and the Lady Blues are 21-3 against the Bearcats under Ron McHenry. Washburn has won six straight in the series and 21 of the past 22 meetings. WU was 3-0 against SBU last season, sweeping the regular season series and knocking the Bearcats out in the first round of the MIAA tournament.

About Southwest Baptist . . .
The Bearcats are 4-6 overall and 1-5 in MIAA play after an 85-75 setback at Emporia State on New Year's Day. Southwest Baptist led by as many as seven in the second half of that game, but couldn't close it out as they dropped their fourth straight game in conference play.
Kourtni Williams is leading the Bearcats in scoring at 10.0 points per game. She is the only player averaging in double figures for Southwest Baptist. Four other players are averaging at least 8.0 points per outing.
Whitney Malone leads the team in rebounding at 8.3 board per contest.
The Bearcats are averaging 64.1 points per game as a team, while they give up 62.3 per outing. SBU is being out-rebounded by almost seven boards per game (32.7-39.1) and the Bearcats allow opponents to shoot 42 percent from field, while only shooting 39 percent themselves.

Last Time out for Southwest Baptist . . .
SBU Sports Information - January 1, 2011 - EMPORIA, Kan. -- The SBU Bearcats mounted a furious rally, but fell short in the end, 85-75 to the #8 Lady Hornets. The Bearcats found themselves behind early, 13-0, but came back to lead by as many as 7 points in the 2nd half.
SBU's rally included an impressive run, during which they outscored the defending national champions 57-37 during a span that included large portions of both halves.
Kourtni Williams scored 15 to lead the Bearcats, who had 5 total players scoring in double figures. Whitney Malone was very active on the boards, pulling down 11 rebounds.
In a game that was much closer than the final score, Head Coach JC Carter was pleased with the way his team was able to withstand the initial run by the opposition. “I feel that our team is maturing,” said Carter. “Emporia is a very talented team, and we were able hang in there throughout the game. We didn't get rattled in the beginning, and it was nice to see how we came back and made plays.”
“We took the lead in the 2nd half,” continued Carter. “We've been waiting for our players to bounce back and have some confidence. We had some nice kick outs and gave some of our good shooters some good looks.”
Next up for the Bearcats is Washburn on January 5, with a 5:30 tip off.

Last Meeting Between Washburn and Southwest Baptist . . .
March 4, 2010 - KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The 10th-ranked Washburn Lady Blues rolled into the MIAA tournament semfinals with an 80-60 win over Southwest Baptist on Thursday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium. The Lady Blues will play Northwest Missouri on Saturday at noon.
Washburn (24-3) took an early 2-0 lead on a Cassie Lombardino lay-in. After the Bearcats (10-18) took a 3-2 lead the Lady Blues ran off 10 straight points and never looked back. Back-to-back lay-ins by Dayna Rodriguez and Rose Hammond started the run and a lay-in by Brette Ulsaker made it 12-3 with just over 13 minutes to play in the first half. Southwest Baptist cut the lead to four with a quick 4-0 run, but a 13-2 run by the Lady Blues opened up a 15-point advantage at 25-10 with 7:51 to play in the half.
The Bearcats cut the lead to nine with an 11-5 spurt, but a 10-2 run by Washburn to close the half gave WU a 40-23 advantage at the intermission.
The second half got off to a slow start with each team making one free throw in the first three and a half minutes of play. A 13-4 run by the Lady Blues gave them a 54-28 lead with 13:09 to play in the game. Washburn extended the lead to as many as 29 on two separate occasions before the Bearcats closed the game on a 15-6 run, but the outcome was never in doubt as the Lady Blues cruised into the semifinals with the 20-point win.
Lombardino led Washburn with a career-high 15 points making her first start of the season. Rodriguez added 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench. 12 different players scored for the Lady Blues, who shot 54 percent for the game, 29-of-54, including 8-of-19 for 42 percent from three-point range.
Washburn held SBU to 30 percent from the floor, 20-of-67, and 8-of-29 from behind the arc for 28 percent. Freddie Sims led three Bearcats in double figures with 14 points. Ashleigh Gallio and Rachel Graves chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Lady Blues out-rebounded Southwest Baptist 49-27 and dished out 23 assists to 10 for SBU. Washburn, however, committed 25 turnovers to just 13 for the Bearcats. WU was 14-of-17 from the free throw line compared to 12-of-20 for SBU.

A Win Would . . .
A win would make the Lady Blues 10-1 for the first time since the 2007-08 season ... give Washburn a 31-11 lead in the series with Southwest Baptist ... give WU a 6-1 MIAA start for the second time in three years ... give the Lady Blues seven straight wins over the Bearcats ... give Washburn a 759-337 record in 42 years of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
A loss would give the Lady Blues an 9-2 record for the first time under Ron McHenry ... snap Washburn's six-game winning streak against Southwest Baptist... drop the Lady Blues to 5-2 in the MIAA for the first time since the 2007-08 season ... give Washburn a 758-338 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 150-38 (.798) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 274-91 (.751) all-time in conference play.  

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 27th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 332-59 (.849) 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 141-14 (.910) 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 133-9 (.937).

Lady Blues on the road . . .
The Lady Blues are 78-31 (.716) 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 758-337 (.692 in 1,095 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 holding steady at No. 4 in the latest WBCA USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll released before the holiday break.
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 141 consecutive polls and has been ranked in the top 25 in 125 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. • Made career-high five 3FG's in win over Central Missouri
#10 • Dana Channel • G •5-10 • Fr. • Scored four points in the win over Fort Hays State
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • Sr. • Scored career-high 17 points in the win over Northwest Missouri State
#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. • Scored career-high 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting in the win at Truman State
#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. • Scored career-high 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds in the win over Fort Hays 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 8-2  in games played on January 5 and 2-2 under Ron McHenry, including 1-0 against Southwest Baptist ... Washburn beat SBU 88-67 in Bolivar on January 5 of last season.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues travel to Missouri Southern on Saturday, January 8 for a 1 p.m. game against the Lions before returning home to host Pittsburg State on January 12 at 5:30 p.m.