Media Information
Date: Monday, Feb. 14, 2011
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Rankings: Washburn (16th, WBCA; 4th, South Central); Truman State (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 for Truman
The 16th-ranked Lady Blues look to make it three straight wins as they return home to host Truman on Valentine's Day. The game was originally scheduled for February 2, but had to be  rescheduled due to inclement weather.
The last time out, Washburn rallied from a five point deficit and held Southwest Baptist scoreless over the final 3:06 to win 64-57 in Bolivar on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Blues are led by three players averaging in double figures. Lombardino leads the team at 16.3 points per game. Schultz is averaging 14.9, while Laura Kinderknecht chips in 10.8 points per outing.
Washburn will take on a Truman State squad that is coming off a 66-47 win over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday afternoon and has won three straight games by an average of 14.3 points per game.

Lady Blues on the air . . .
The Lady Blues game against Truman State 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 285-57 (.833) overall record and a 158-41 (.794) 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.)

Truman State head coach Michael Smith, is in his third season leading the Tigers. His record at TSU stands at 30-45, while his career record in his eighth season as a head coach stands at 1132-79. Last season, the Central Methodist graduate led the Bulldogs to an 11-16 overall record and a ninth place finish in the MIAA at 6-14.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
February 12, 2011 - BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The 16th-ranked Lady Blues rallied in the second half to beat Southwest Baptist 64-57 on Saturday afternoon at the Meyer Sports Center. Washburn ended the game on an 18-6 run after trailing by five with under nine minutes to play in the game.
The Bearcats (8-13, 5-12 MIAA) jumped out to a 6-0 lead on back-to-back threes from Whitney Malone. The Lady Blues (17-4, 13-4 MIAA) responded with an 8-0 run, including two threes from Laura Kinderknecht, to grab the lead 8-6 with 15:37 to play in the half. After Southwest Baptist tied the game at 8-8 Washburn went on a 19-7 run to grab a 27-15 lead with just under nine minutes remaining in the stanza.
Consecutive buckets from Cassie Lombardino and Dana Channel pushed the Lady Blues to their largest lead of the half at 31-17 with 6:39 to play. The Bearcats, however, ended the half on a 10-4 run and Washburn went into the intermission with a 35-27 lead.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball to start the second half. Stevi Schultz buried a three to start the period to push the WU lead to 38-27, but neither team would make a field goal for the next five plus minutes. SBU made four free throws during that stretch then got a trey from Courtney Heady to cut the Washburn lead to four at 38-34. That's when the Bearcats started to heat things up.
Heady's three ignited a 21-6 run to give the Bearcats a 48-44 lead with 10:05 to play in the game. Raychel Boling hit a pair from the charity stripe to cut the lead to two, only to see Heady bury another three to push the lead to 51-46 with 8:52 to play.
Washburn responded with a 10-0 run to grab a 56-51 lead with 6:17 to play in the game, but the Bearcats scored four quick points to pull back to within one at 56-55 at the 4:49 mark. Back-to-back buckets from Lombardino pushed the lead to five with 3:43 to play in the game.
SBU cut the lead to three with 3:06 left, but would not score the rest of the way. A layup from Megan Lassley pushed the lead to 62-57 with 36 seconds left and Kinderknecht hit a pair of free throws with nine ticks remaining to secure the victory.
Lombardino and Schultz led Washburn with 17 points apiece and Schultz added 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. Kinderknecht chipped in 11 points and Alyssa Mullen pulled down a game-high 11 boards.
Schultz made 5-of-12 three-point field goals to give her 115 for her career moving into seventh place on Washburn's career list.
The Lady Blues shot 44 percent (22-of-50) from the field and were 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from behind the three-point line. WU shot 11-of-14 from the free throw line for 78.6 percent and out-rebounded the Bearcats 40-30.
Ashleigh Gallio led Southwest Baptist with 13 points, while Heady and Malone chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Bearcats shot 33.3 percent (20-of-60) from the floor and 37 percent (10-of-27) from beyond the arc. SBU was 7-of-8 from the foul line for 87.5 percent and the Bearcats forced Washburn into 16 turnovers.
The Lady Blues have a quick turnaround as they host Truman on Monday night at 5:30 p.m. at Lee Arena. The game was originally scheduled to be played on February 2, but had to be postponed due to the winter storm that swept through the Midwest that week.

Notes from the win at Southwest Baptist . . .
• Extended Washburn's win streak to eight straight over SBU
• Improved the Lady Blues to 13-4 in MIAA play
• Stevi Schultz recorded her sixth double-double of the season
• Schultz moved into seventh place on Washburn's career three-point field goal list with 115 made threes

Washburn/Truman State series notes . . .
Washburn leads the series with Truman State 39-8 and the Lady Blues are 21-2 against the Bulldogs under Ron McHenry after a 57-51 win in Kirksville back in December. The Blues have won 17 straight games in the series.

About Truman State . . .
The Bulldogs enter the contest at 11-10 overall and 9-8 in MIAA play after their 66-47 win over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday afternoon. TSU has won three straight games after losing three straight.
The Bulldogs are averaging 62.4 points per game and giving up 61.3. TSU shoots 40.7 percent from the floor and 33.1 percent from three-point range, while opponents are shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Breanna Daniels leads the team averaging 13.5 points per game, she also pulls down 4.4 rebounds per game. Jennifer Conway leads the team on the boards with 6.0 per game, while chipping in 8.2 points per contest.
The Bulldogs also out-rebound their opponents by 3.4 rebounds per game, 37.5-34.1.

Last Time out for Truman . . .
TSU Sports Info. - February 12, 2011 - KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Jennifer Conway matched both career highs in points and rebounds and picked up her second straight double-double as the Bulldog women cruised to a 66-47 victory over the University of Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday afternoon in a pink filled Pershing Arena.
Conway (Waterloo, Ill., Waterloo) was 8-of-12 from the field for 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, five offensive in the Bulldogs largest victory of the season.
The visitors never led and after an early tie, Breanna Daniels knocked down a three and Truman raced out on a 14-3 run and an 11 point lead.
Truman would maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the game while holding the Mavericks to just 27% shooting and coming up empty on all nine three-point attempts.
Bianca Szafarowicz (Wheeling, Ill., Wheeling),Megan Sharpe (Edwardsville, Ill., Edwardsville) and Nicole Gloor (Overland Park, Kan., Blue Valley) shut down the MIAA's leading scorer Heather Pohl. The Maverick forward was just 1-11 from the field, 0-4 from beyond the arc and had to settle for eight points, with six coming from the foul line well below her 17 point per game average.
Conway was joined in double figures by Daniels and her 12 and Gloor's 11. For the week, Conway averaged 17 points and pulled down 13.5 rebounds while playing all by 14 out of 80 minutes.
The Bulldogs also grabbed 20 more rebounds than the Mavericks with 14 coming on the offensive glass.
With the win, Truman picked up their ninth conference win and swept the three-game home stand before embarking on a four-game road trip starting Monday at Washburn. The win kept Truman in at least a sixth place tie depending on what Missouri Western does on Saturday night against Northwest Missouri.
The Bulldogs and Lady Blues will play on Monday night at 5:30 p.m. followed with a trip to Northwest on Wednesday and Missouri Western on Saturday.

Last Meeting Between Washburn and Truman. . .
December 11, 2010 - KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- The fourth-ranked Lady Blues held off the Truman Bulldogs 57-51 on Saturday afternoon behind Cassie Lombardino's career-high 29 points. Washburn is back in action next Sunday at Missouri Western at 1:30 p.m.
The Lady Blues (8-0, 4-0 MIAA) raced out of the gates to an early 11-point advantage at 13-2 with 12:13 to play in the opening half. The Bulldogs (4-3, 3-1 MIAA) responded with a 19-8 run to tie the game at 21-21 with 2:52 to play in the half. Washburn briefly regained the lead on a jumper from Laura Kinderknecht, but Truman scored six of the final eight points of the half to take a 27-25 lead into the intermission.
The teams went back-and-forth to start the second half with Washburn grabbing a 36-35 lead with 13:30 to play on a pair of Lombardino free throws, Washburn's first free throw attempts of the game. The Bulldogs went back in front 38-36 on a three from Nicole Gloor.
The Lady Blues regained the lead for good at 39-38 on a Lombardino jumper with 10:55 to play in the game. A pair of free throws from Stevi Schultz pushed the lead to three at 41-38 with 9:18 to play in the game.
The Bulldogs got to within one at 41-40, but Lombardino scored six straight points for Washburn and the lead grew to eight at 49-41 with 4:04 to play. TSU got back to within four at 55-51 with 28 seconds left in the game, but Lombardino made 2-of-4 from the charity stripe to ice the game.
Lombardino led Washburn with a career-high 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting. She was 5-of-8 from the foul line and also added five rebounds. Schultz finished with nine points and Alyssa Mullen had eight points, seven rebounds and a career-high six assists for the Lady Blues.
Washburn shot 45 percent (22-of-49) from the floor, but were just 2-of-15 from beyond the arc for 13 percent. WU made 11-of-14 from the charity stripe for 79 percent, but were out-rebounded by the Bulldogs 39-27.
Breanna Daniels led Truman with 14 points, while Gloor added 13. Becka McHenry had eight points and a game-high 10 boards for the Bulldogs, who shot 31 percent from both the floor (16-of-52) and beyond the three point line (4-of-13). TSU was 15-of-23 from the free throw line for 65 percent.
Washburn dished out 16 assists compared to just six for the Bulldogs andd forced TSU into 16 turnovers, while committing 10 of their own.
The win was the 17th straight over Truman for the Lady Blues and their eighth straight in Kirksville.

A Win Would . . .
A win would give the Lady Blues a 18-4 record for the first time since the 2007-08 season ... give Washburn a sweep in the season series with Truman for the eighth straight year and make it 18 straight wins over the Bulldogs ... give WU an 14-4 MIAA record and pull the Lady Blues to within a game of first place ... give Washburn a 767-340 record in 42 years of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
A loss would give the Lady Blues an 17-5 record for the first time since the 2001-02 season ... drop the Lady Blues to 13-5 in the MIAA and two full games out of first ... snap Washburn's 17-game winning streak against Truman ... give Washburn five regular season losses for the first time since the 2007-08 season ... give Washburn a 766-341 record in 42 years of basketball.

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 158-41 (.794) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 282-94 (.750) all-time in conference play.  

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 27th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 336-59 (.851) overall at home, including 10-0 this season. 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 145-14 (.912) 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 137-9 (.938).

Lady Blues on the road . . .
The Lady Blues are 82-34 (.707) on the road under Ron McHenry, including 5-4 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 766-340 (.693 in 1,106 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.

Lady Blues in the Regional Rankings . . .
Washburn dropped one spot to No. 4 in the most recent NCAA-II South Central Regional Rankings. The rankings will be released every Wednesday through the remainder of the season with the top eight teams in the final rankings on Sunday, March 6 qualifying for the South Central Regional at a campus site to be determined. Washburn has qualified for nine straight NCAA Tournaments under head coach Ron McHenry.

Washburn in the National Poll . . .
Washburn dropped five spots to No. 16 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 147 consecutive polls and has been ranked in the top 25 in 131 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. • Is 10-of-29 from three-point range over her last four games
#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. • Has at least two blocked shots in eight of her last 10 games
#22 • Megan Lassley • G • 5-4 • Jr. • Averaging 4.9 assists/game over her last five games
#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 fifth double-double of the season with 26 points and career-high 14 rebounds in win over Missouri Western
#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 9-4 all-time on Valentine's Day and 3-1 on this date under Ron McHenry, including a 97-94 double OT win at Truman in the 2003-04 season.

Up Next . . .
The Lady Blues host the WBCA Pink Zone game Thursday, Feb. 17 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.
Washburn will head to Pittsburg, Kan. on Saturday to take on the Gorillas at 1:30 p.m.