Media Information
Date: Friday, March 11, 2011
Time: 6 p.m.
Rankings: No. 4 seed Washburn (25th, WBCA); No. 5 seed Central Oklahoma (unranked)
Location: Tahlequah, Okla.
Arena: Jack Dobbins Fieldhouse
Television: None
Radio: 106.9 KTPK Topeka with Mark Elliott (pxp) and Bruce Steinbrock (color)
Live Stats: www.ncaa.com
Audio Web Stream: Through wusports.com

Complete Game Notes

Lady Blues open NCAA Tournament against Central Oklahoma
The 25th-ranked Lady Blues open NCAA Tournament play as the No. 4 seed on Friday at 6 p.m. against fifth-seeded Central Oklahoma.
Washburn was bounced in the semifinals of the MIAA tournament this past weekend, losing 61-52 to Emporia State. Laura McMullin led Washburn with her first career double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Lady Blues are led by three players averaging in double figures. Cassie Lombardino leads the team at 15.1 points per game. Stevi Schultz is averaging 14.9 points per outing while Laura Kinderknecht chips in 10.7 points per contest.
Washburn will play a Central Oklahoma squad that is coming off a 74-73 loss to Texas Woman's in the Lone Star Conference tournament finals.

Lady Blues on the air . . .
The Lady Blues game on Friday will be broadcast on Country Legends 106.9 KTPK. 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.
If the Lady Blues advance to Saturday's semifinals, the 7:30 p.m. game will be broadcast on Country Legends 106.9 KTPK Topeka and a possible championship game on Monday night at 7 p.m. would be broadcast on AM 580 WIBW.

The Coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 290-59 (.831) overall record and a 162-42 (.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 (.831) 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 8 of notes.)

Central Oklahoma head coach Guy Hardaker is in his fifth season leading the Bronchos program. His school and career record stands at 108-44 (.711) after leading UCO to a 20-9 record this season. Last season, he led Central Oklahoma to a 22-8 record and their third straight trip to the South Central Regional. Hardaker has led UCO to its first four NCAA tournament berths.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
March 5, 2011 - KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Washburn Lady Blues couldn't overcome a cold shooting night for the second consecutive game and fell 61-52 to Emporia State on Saturday night in the MIAA tournament semifinals at Municipal Auditorium. Washburn will now wait to hear where they will play in next week's South Central Regional. The regional pairings will be released on Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. CST.
Washburn (22-6) fell behind early 9-3 just as they did in the previous game against Missouri Western as they made just three of the first 16 shot attempts. The Lady Blues pulled to within a pair on two Megan Lassley free throws, but the Lady Hornets (20-8) used a 8-2 run to open a 17-9 lead midway through the first half.
The lead was still eight when Laura McMullin started to heat up scoring seven straight points to pull the Lady Blues to within a point at the 7:29 mark. A traditional three-point play by Alli Volkens pushed the ESU lead back to four at 22-18.
Another 7-0 run by Washburn gave the Lady Blues their first lead of the night at 25-22 with 3:16 to play in the opening stanza. The Lady Hornets cut the lead back to one, but a layup from Alyssa Mullen and three by Laura Kinderknecht gave Washburn a 32-26 lead at the intermission.
Cassie Lombardino opened the second half with a three-point play to give the Lady Blues their biggest lead of the night, 35-26, but Washburn would go on to hit just 6-of-32 field goals in the second half.
A 10-2 run by the Lady Hornets cut WU's lead to 37-36 with 16:23 to play in the game. McMullin made 1-of-2 free throws and Lassley nailed a trey to put Washburn back up by five. The lead was still five when Emporia State went on a 17-2 run to grab the lead for good. Washburn missed eight consecutive shots during the run and went nearly six minutes without a point.
The Lady Blues used a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 55-52 with 4:49 to play, but wouldn't score the rest of the way and missed their final eight shots.
Washburn shot just 30.2 percent (19-of-63) from the floor and 19 percent (4-of-21) from behind the three point line. WU was 10-of-16 for 62.5 percent from the charity stripe.
McMullin led Washburn with her first career double-double. She had career-highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Lassley finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Volkens led Emporia State with a double-double of 18 points and 10 boards, while Kelsey Balcom had 16 points. The Lady Hornets also out-rebounded Washburn 41-36.
ESU shot 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from the field and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from beyond the arc. They were 14-of-17 from the foul line for 82.4 percent.
The loss was Washburn's first to Emporia State in the MIAA tournament. WU was 4-0 against the Lady Hornets in the postseason tournament heading into the game. The loss also snapped the Lady Blues' seven game winning streak in the tournament.

Notes from the MIAA Tournament . . .
 • Washburn lost for just the third time in an MIAA tournament game played in Kansas City
• The loss to Emporia State snapped a four-game winning streak against the Lady Hornets in the MIAA tournament and was the first loss to ESU in five MIAA tournament meetings
• Laura McMullin recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Emporia State
• Lady Blues ran their streak of consecutive games with at least one 3FG to 230 straight games

Washburn/Central Oklahoma series notes . . .
Washburn leads the series with Central Oklahoma 4-1, including 3-1 under Ron McHenry. The teams are 1-1 against each other in the South Central Regional. Washburn beat UCO 73-66 in the second round in 2008 and fell to the Bronchos 72-63 in the same round the following season. Washburn won the first four meetings with the Bronchos winning the last meeting in 2009.

About Central Oklahoma . . .
The Bronchos are making their fourth straight and fourth overall appearance in the South Central Regional. UCO fell to Northeastern State 54-52 in the first round last season after a Sweet 16 appearance the season before when they won a school-record 27 games.
Senior forward Ashley Beckley leads the Bronchos in scoring at 19.8 points per game and pulls down a team-leading 8.5 rebounds per contest. She is joined in double figures by Alex Richardson (11.9 ppg) and Alyssa Fuxa (11.5 ppg). UCO is averaging 75.1 points per outing, while giving up 67.8 points per game to opponents.
Central Oklahoma shoots 42.3 percent from the floor, 33.9 percent from the three point line and 72.4 percent from the foul line. Opponents shoot 38.3 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from beyond the arc and 68.9 percent from the charity stripe.
UCO out-rebounds opponents 40.1-38.4 and has attempted 119 more free throws than the opposition. The Bronchos average almost four more assists per game and have turned the ball over 56 less times than their opponents.
The only common opponent between WU and UCO this year is Pittsburg State. The Bronchos defeated PSU 71-56 in Edmond back in November. The Lady Blues swept the season series with Pitt State.

Last Time out for Central Oklahoma . . .
UCO Sports Info. - March 5, 2011 - BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (March 5) – Central Oklahoma's final appearance in the Lone Star Conference Women's Basketball Championship came to an agonizing end here Saturday night when the Bronchos dropped a heart-breaking 74-73 finals decision to Texas Woman's.
UCO, which is leaving the LSC after this year, fell short when Alex Richardson's potential game-winning layup in the waning seconds failed to fall and bounced out of bounds as the final horn sounded.
It was a disappointing loss in a hotly-contested back-and-forth battle that saw 19 lead changes and 17 ties as the Bronchos fell in the LSC tournament finals for the third time in four years.
UCO, now 20-9 on the season, will find out Sunday if it will earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Division II national tournament. The Pioneers improved to 22-10 in winning their first-ever league title and qualifying for their first Division II national meet.
The Bronchos had a chance in the final seconds, with Ashley Beckley driving the lane as the clock wound down and then passing the ball to Richardson underneath the basket.
But Richardson's shot didn't go down and TWU had held on to end a 17-game losing streak to the Bronchos, who entered the game with a 33-4 series lead and had easily taken both regular-season meetings between the two.
Richardson finished with a career-high 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field while adding 11 rebounds and three assists. Beckley ended up with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists and Alyssa Fuxa chipped in 11 points and nine boards.
Beckley and Richardson were both named to the all-tournament team that was led by MVP Kayla Weaver of TWU, who had 29 points and 14 rebounds in leading the Pioneers.
UCO never led by more than four points, that coming at 6-2 in the opening minutes, and the Pioneers had a slim 37-36 halftime advantage.
TWU took a pair of six-point leads early in the second half and was up 61-56 with 11:10 left in the game, but Britney Morgan hit a 3-pointer from the wing and Beckley canned a driving layup in a 5-0 run that tied it at the 9:50 mark.
UCO went on to take a 65-63 lead on a short turnaround jumper by Richardson with 6:05 left before Weaver scored four straight points to give the Pioneers a 67-65 lead.
The Bronchos went ahead again 70-69 on two Beckley free throws at 2:06 and the senior star scored again on a drive layup with 1:36 remaining to put UCO on top 72-70.
TWU tied it when Cambria Smith banked in a 15-footer as the shot clock expired and Beckley broke the 72-all deadlock by hitting one of two foul shots at 0:51.
Weaver then gave the Pioneers their final lead with a leaning 10-footer at 0:22 and UCO's final shot failed to fall.

Last Meeting Between Washburn and UCO . . .
March 14, 2009 - CANYON, Texas -- The No. 8 Washburn Lady Blues season came to an end with a 72-63 loss to Central Oklahoma in the NCAA South Central Regional semifinals in Canyon, Texas. The Lady Blues season comes to an end with a 27-5 record.
Washburn led at the break 36-33 after shooting 50 percent from the field and 6 of 11 from 3-point range led by Karla Tailele's two 3-pointers and Jessica Mainz, Janice Bright, Dayna Rodriguez and Stevi Schultz all hitting one each. Washburn did combat foul trouble in the first half with four different Lady Blues recording two fouls including three starters - Brette Ulsaker, Bright and Rodriguez.
In the second half, the Lady Blues were limited to nine field goals in the second half as they wre held to 9 of 25 shooting from the field while the Bronchos hit 16 of 30 attempts, including 6 of 10 3-point attempts.
The Lady Blues were led by Bright who scored 16 points in the game and Mainz scored 11 before fouling out late in the game. Mainz hit all six of her free throw attempts as the Lady Blues were 8 of 8 from the charity stripe.
Lizzie Brenner led the Bronchos with 24 points pacing three UCO players in double figures with Rose Anderson with 15 and Ashley Beckley with 10.
Washburn finished 22 of 51 from the field and 11 of 25 from 3-point range. UCO was 28 of 47 for a 49 percent average and hit 9 of 18 3-point attempts.

A Win Would . . .
A win would give the Lady Blues a 23-6 overall record ... improve the Lady Blues to 9-1 in first round NCAA games under Ron McHenry ... give the Lady Blues a 26-13 record in NCAA tournament games ... advance Washburn to the regional semifinals for the ninth straight year ... give Washburn a 772-342 record in 42 years of basketball.

A Loss Would . . .
A loss would end the Lady Blues season at 22-7 ... eliminate Washburn in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002 ... give the Lady Blues an 8-2 record in first round games under Ron McHenry ... give WU a 25-14 record all-time in the NCAA tournament ... give Washburn a 771-343 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 Jan. 26. 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 162-42 (.794) under head coach Ron McHenry in MIAA games and 286-95 (.751) all-time in conference play.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 27th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 338-60 (.849) overall at home, including 12-1 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 147-15 (.907) 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 139-10 (.933).

Lady Blues on the road . . .
The Lady Blues are 84-34 (.712) on the road under Ron McHenry, including 7-4 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 771-342 (.693 in 1,113 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.

2011 Washburn Postseason Honors . . .
Junior Stevi Schultz was named first team all-MIAA and classmate Cassie Lombardino was named second team all-conference as the MIAA postseason awards were announced by the conference office last Tuesday.
Schultz was a first team selection after finishing second on the team and ninth in the MIAA in scoring at 15.4 points per game. She was also second on the team and sixth in the league in rebounding pulling down 7.6 boards per game. She led the league with 2.9 made three-pointers per game, was fourth in free throw percentage (82.1 percent) and fifth in three point field goal percentage (37.6 percent). Schultz finished with seven double-doubles and scored a career-high 26 points on three separate occasions. She was named MIAA Player of the Week one time.
Lombardino earned second-team all-MIAA after leading the Lady Blues and finishing seventh in the league in scoring at 15.9 points per game. She was third on the team and 13th in the league in rebounding at 6.0 boards per game. She finished fifth in the MIAA with 1.7 blocked shots per game and sixth in field goal percentage at 45.8 percent. She had one double-double this season and scored a career-high 35 points against Southwest Baptist, the fourth highest single-game total in school history. She was named MIAA Player of the Week one time.

Washburn in the National Poll . . .
Washburn dropped five spots for the second straight week, this time to No. 25 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 151 consecutive polls and has been ranked in the top 25 in 135 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 25-of-64 from three-point range over her last 10 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. • Recorded first career double-double with 13 points and 14 boards against Missouri Western
#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 scored in double figures in 22 of 28 games earning second team all-MIAA honors
#22 • Megan Lassley • G • 5-4 • Jr. • Is averaging 3.3 assists/game over her last 10 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. • Had seven double-doubles during the season and was named first team all-MIAA
#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. • Had career-highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds in MIAA tourney loss to ESU

Lady Blues in the NCAA tournament . . .
• The Lady Blues are making their 15th NCAA Tournament appearance overall and their 10th straight.
• The Lady Blues are 25-13 (.658) all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Washburn is 8-1 in their first round NCAA Tournament games under head coach Ron McHenry.
• Washburn is 5-3 in the NCAA Tournament second round under Ron McHenry.
• Washburn is 3-2 in the regional final under McHenry winning in 2003, 2005, 2008 and falling in 2006 and 2007.
• The Lady Blues are 10-5 against teams from the Lone Star Conference in the NCAA Tournament. They are 4-1 against West Texas A&M, 0-1 against Northeastern State, Southeastern Oklahoma and Texas A&M-Commerce, 1-0 against Abilene Christian and Midwestern State, 3-0 against Angelo State, 1-1 against Central Oklahoma.
• Washburn is 2-0 against teams from the Heartland Conference topping St. Mary's 92-58 on March 10, 2006 in Topeka and Incarnate Word 57-38 last season in Canyon, Texas.
• Washburn is 8-3 in the NCAA Tournament against teams from the MIAA going 3-0 against Central Missouri, 1-0 against Missouri Southern, 0-2 against Missouri Western, 1-0 against Northwest Missouri and 3-1 against Emporia State.
• Washburn has never played an NCAA Tournament game in Oklahoma
• Washburn has made five Elite Eight appearances (1992, 1993, 2003, 2005, 2008)
• Washburn has reached two Final Fours (1993, 2005)
• Washburn won the 2005 NCAA-II National Championship.
• Washburn is 12-2 all-time in first round games, winning their last eight opening round contests.
• The last opening round loss was to Southeastern Oklahoma on March 7, 2002, a 63-50 defeat in St. Joseph, Mo.

NCAA Tournament Schedule . . .
Friday, March 11
Game #1 - No. 3 Tarleton State vs. No. 6 SE Oklahoma State - 12 p.m.
Game #2 - No. 2 NW Missouri State vs. No. 7 Texas Woman's - 2:30 p.m.
Game #3 - No. 4 Washburn vs. No. 5 Central Oklahoma - 6 p.m.
Game #4 - No. 1 Northeastern State vs. No. 8 Texas-Permian Basin - 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 12
Game #5 - Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 - 5 p.m.
Game #6 - Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 7:30 p.m.
Monday, March 14
South Central Region Championship Game - Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 7 p.m.

Tip-Ins . . .
• The Lady Blues are 19-8 in the NCAA tournament under Ron McHenry
• Washburn is 1-1 all-time on March 11, 1-0 under McHenry
• Washburn is 4-2 all-time on March 12, 3-1 under McHenry
• Washburn is 4-1 all-time on March 14, 3-1 under McHenry
• The Lady Blues are 3-0 on Friday's this season
• The Lady Blues are 9-3 on Saturday's this year
• The Lady Blues are 2-0 in Monday games this season
• Washburn is 3-1 this season in games played on neutral courts
• The Lady Blues shot 41.8 percent from the field in their 22 wins, while only shooting 35.3 percent from the floor in the six losses
• In four neutral court games, the Lady Blues are shooting 38.3 percent (87-of-227), while opponents are shooting 35.7 percent (74-of-207).

Up Next . . .
If the Lady Blues win, they will play the winner of No. 1 seed Northeastern State and No. 8 seed Texas-Permian Basin on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the second semifinal.
A win on Saturday would put Washburn into the regional championship game at 7 p.m. on Monday night.
The winner of the South Central Regional will advance to the NCAA-II Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Mo. on March 22, 23 and 25.