Box Score | Season Stats | Photos

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The eighth-ranked Lady Blues cruised to an 89-73 win over Southwest Baptist on Wednesday night behind Cassie Lombardino's career-high 35 points. Washburn is back in action this Saturday at Missouri Southern at 1 p.m.

Washburn (10-1, 6-1 MIAA) jumped out to a 4-0 lead on buckets by Stevi Schultz and Lombardino. The Bearcats (4-7, 1-6 MIAA) nailed back-to-back threes to grab their only lead of the game at 6-4. A 10-4 run by the Lady Blues put them in front 16-8 with 13:29 to play in the half. Southwest Baptist rallied to tie the game at 22-all with 10:03 remaining in the stanza.

The teams traded buckets to tie the game at 24 when the Lady Blues went on a 15-0 run to grab control at 39-24 with just over three minutes to play in the half. SBU used a 9-2 run of their own to get back to within eight, but Lombardino closed the half with a conventional three-point play and Washburn led 44-33 at the break.

A 6-2 run out of the half got the Bearcats to within seven at 46-39. The lead was still seven when the Lady Blues went on a 14-5 run to open a 16-point advantage, 64-48 with 12:37 to play in the game. The Bearcats whittled the lead down to 10 several times, the final time with 4:57 to play, but Washburn closed the game on a 14-8 run for the 16-point win.

Lombardino led all scorers with her career-high 35 on 15-of-22 shooting. The 35 points is the fourth highest single-game total in school history. She also had eight rebounds

Schultz finished with 20 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Laura Kinderknecht and Alyssa Mullen chipped in 14 and 10 points, respectively. Kinderknecht set a new career-high and Mullen tied hers with six assists each.

Washburn shot 51.5 percent from the floor, 35-of-68, but were just 6-of-20 for 30 percent from behind the three-point line. The Lady Blues were 13-of-18 from the foul line for 72 percent.

Ashleigh Gallio led the Bearcats with 20 points, while Jacqui Zelenka had 17 and Whitney Malone chipped in 13. SBU shot 43 percent from the field, 26-of-61 and were 8-of-24 from three-point land for 33.3 percent. The Bearcats also made 13-of-18 from the charity stripe.

Washburn out-rebounded SBU 40-34 and had 23 assists compared to 13 for the Bearcats.

Head Coach Ron McHenry talks about the win



Junior Cassie Lombardino after her 35-point performance against SBU