Game 20 Lady Blues hosting Northwest Missouri

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No. 14 Washburn Lady Blues (16-3, 9-1 MIAA)
vs Northwest Missouri (4-14, 2-9 MIAA)
Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: Lee Arena (3,907)
Radio: 106.9 KTPK FM with Mark Elliott (play-by-play) & Jake Lebahn (color)
Video: America One (fee)
Series Record: WU leads 45-10
Last Meeting: WU 71-53 in Maryville on Dec. 3, 2011
Washburn Coach Ron McHenry: 306-63 (.829) in 12th year at WU and overall
NWMSU Coach Gene Steinmeyer: 187-176 (.521) in 13th year at NWMSU and 547-317 (.637) in 28th year overall

Micro-Blogging the Blues
(Around) 140-character or less tweets highlighting the season

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Laura Kinderknecht is averaging 10.2 points, and 3.0 assists since starting the last four games #StartingFive
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The Lady Blues have topped 50% seven times and are third in the nation shooting .479 from the field in latest NCAA report #NearlyBetterThanHalf
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Washburn's in the top 10 in the nation in five different statistical categories  #Top10InNation
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Tiara George is 31 of 42 from the field (.738) in her seven games and averaging 9.5 ppg #RoyalDebut
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Washburn has out-rebounded its opponents in every game this year but two, the loss at Drury and win at PSU #HotOffTheIron
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McHenry became the 37th active coach to get to 300 wins on Dec. 17 and among those coaches, he leads them all with an .829 winning pct. #300wins
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The Lady Blues are averaging 22.3 turnovers a game in their three losses and just 14.1 a game in their 16 wins #KeepTheBall!
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Washburn is shooting 47.7% overall and 49.5% in MIAA games. They've topped 50% 7 times this year. #SolidFromTheFloor
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Washburn has scored first every game but three and led at halftime in all but five games this year #QuickStart
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Stevi Schultz has moved into 2nd in career 3s at WU, now with 183 #WayDownTown

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Lady Blues open second half of MIAA schedule by hosting Bearcats on Wednesday in Lee Arena
The 14th-ranked Lady Blues will look for their seventh-straight win as they will open the second half of the MIAA slate by hosting Northwest Missouri on Wednesday in Lee Arena at 5:30 p.m.. The game will be carried live on 106.9 FM and links to live video, audio and statistics can be found on wusports.com.
Washburn topped Lincoln in its only game of the week topping the Blues Tigers 73-64 rallying from a one-point halftime deficit. The Lady Blues sit one game behind Pittsburg State in the conference standings who have played one more game going 10-1 in MIAA play. The Lady Blues are 9-1 in the conference race while Northwest Missouri sits 11th in the MIAA standings at 2-9 overall.
The Bearcats have lost their last two games falling last time out at Emporia State 63-50 on Jan. 22 and they lost at Missouri Southern in overtime. Wednesday's game will wrap up a three-game roadtrip for the Bearcats.
Washburn ranks in the top 12 nationally in seven categories and is led in scoring by senior guard Ebonie Williams with 13.8 points a game. She's 35th in the nation shooting .526 from the field.
Washburn leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage hitting .401 from downtown connecting on 133 of 332 attempts.
The Bearcats are led in scoring by Abby Henry at 13.4 ppg. She is the only Bearcat to average double figures. Maggie Marnin leads the team in rebounding at 6.8 per game. The Bearcats are averaging 62.2 ppg while allowing 70.4 ppg.

Last Time Out: Washburn 73, Lincoln 64
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lady Blues used a 13-0 run midway through the second half to lead to a 73-64 win Wednesday night at Lincoln in Jason Gym. The win propelled the Lady Blues into a first place tie with Pittsburg State in the MIAA standings midway through the conference season.
No. 16 Washburn improved to 16-3 overall and 9-1 in the MIAA while the Blue Tigers fell to 10-6 and 4-6 in the league. Washburn will be idle Saturday and then return to action Wednesday in Lee Arena at 5:30 p.m. against Northwest Missouri.
Reigning MIAA athlete of the week Ebonie Williams scored 21 points for the second straight game after going 7 of 15 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free throw line. She added a season-high six assists. Stevi Schultz also went 6 of 6 from the line and totaled 15 points.
Washburn trailed by a point at halftime, 29-28, and then was down by four with 16:05 left in the game. A minute later the Lady Blues regained the lead for good as they started a 13-0 run that ended with the score 50-39, Washburn, with 11:21 remaining. Nine of those 13 points came off the bench. Brittney Lynch's lay-up at 13:53 started the run and a three-point play from Alyssa Nikkel ended it.
The Blue Tigers got within five after that but two free throws from Schultz at 2:21 pushed it back to double figures. Washburn made 8 of 9 free throws in the final three minutes.
The Lady Blues shot 68 percent in the second half to raise their game average to 49 percent after shooting just 36 percent in the first half. The Blue Tigers shot under 40 percent in both halves and ended with a 38 percent effort. Washburn was 81 percent from the free throw line.
Laura Kinderknecht, Cassie Lombardino, Casyn Buchman and Tiara George each scored eight points. Buchman was 3 of 3 from the field to score a career-high eight points for the third time this year.
Lombardino grabbed nine rebounds to lead Washburn on boards, but the Lady Blues were out-rebounded 37-34. Washburn, fourth in the nation in rebound margin, was out-rebounded for just the third time this year.
Vivian Essuon, third in scoring in the MIAA, had 17 points to lead Lincoln. She took 23 shots and made eight of them. Dahlia Booker had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lady Blues led the first eight minutes of the game until a lay-up from Arriana Walker put Lincoln up 11-10. Washburn scored four straight after that to regain the lead but the Blue Tigers later followed with an 11-4 run that put them up by a game-high seven points at the 3:48 mark in the first half.
Williams scored five straight points during an 8-0 Washburn run after that to put the Lady Blues back up by a point but Booker scored the final basket of the half at the 1:05 mark to give Lincoln a 29-28 lead.
Washburn out-scored Lincoln 45-35 in the second half to pull away with the win and move to 20-0 all-time against Lincoln.
Lombardino blocked three shots for Washburn while Lincoln had one block. The Lady Blues committed 14 turnovers to Lincoln's 15.  

Final notes on the LU game
Washburn improved to 20-0 against Lincoln … Casyn Buchman tied a career-high with eight points against Lincoln …  Laura Kinderknect started her fourth straight game in place of Megan Lassley who has been out with an injury and she has scored 42 points in those four games averaging 10.5 ppg … after shooting only 35 percent in the first half the Lady Blues were 15 of 22 in the second half for a 68 percent clip aided by a stretch of hitting nine straight field goal attempts.

McHenry reaches milestone 300th win
Ron McHenry began his 12th season with the Lady Blues in 2011-12 and his 87-63 win on December 17 against Missouri Western gave him the 300th win in his career, all at WU. McHenry now has a 306-63 (.829) record.
McHenry entered the season second in NCAA Division II history with an .829 winning percentage (among coaches with at least 10 years) and second among active coaches in winning percentage (among coaches with at least five years). Thirty-six active DII coaches had reached the 300-win level and McHenry became the 37th. Among coaches who have at least 300 wins, only Lloyd Clark (Delta State 1984-2002) has a betting winning percentage (.834).
McHenry has had at least 23 wins in every year but his first. He's reached the 30-win mark three times. After a 13-14 record in his first season, 2000-01, McHenry has brought the Lady Blues to the NCAA tournament 10 straight times.
McHenry, a national champion in 2004-05, is the Washburn career leader in winning percentage among the five coaches since the program started in 1969-70. He is second in career wins at WU behind Patty Dick with 431 from 1977-00.

Lady Blues jump two spots to 14th in USA Today ESPN national poll
The Lady Blues continued their climb in the poll, this time jumping two spots to 14th in the latest USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll released Tuesday.
Washburn is one of three ranked MIAA teams. Pittsburg State is 16th and Emporia State is 17th.
The Lady Blues were 16th in the previous poll and they have been ranked in all nine polls this year. They were left out of the final poll last year but have been ranked in 149 of the last 150 polls, dating back to week three of the 2002-03 season.

MIAA coaches and media pick Lady Blues first
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Lady Blues were picked as the team to beat in the MIAA's coaches and media preseason polls released during the MIAA Virtual Media Day. Washburn was a unanimous pick in the coaches poll and earned 12 of 16 first place votes in the media poll.
The Lady Blues, second-place finishers last year with a 22-7 overall record and a 17-5 MIAA mark, were picked in front of Emporia State in both polls. Defending regular season and tournament champion Northwest Missouri was picked third in the media poll and tied for fifth in the coaches poll.
Lady Blues remain near top of several NCAA statistical categories
The Lady Blues are in the top 12 of seven different statistical categories in the January 12 NCAA report. Washburn ranks in the top five in the nation in rebound margin (+12.3), scoring margin (21.5), field goal percentage (.477) and 3-point field goal percentage (.401). The Lady Blues are in the top 12 in assists per game, assist to turnover ratio, field goal percentage defense and scoring defense.
Ebonie Williams ranks 35th in the nation shooting .526 from the field and Stevi Schultz is 32nd in 3-point field goal percentage (.409) and 3-pointers per game (2.5).
The Lady Blues rank highly in rebounds because they have only been out-rebounded twice this year. Their shooting percentages are helped by the fact that they've shot 50 percent or better from the field eight times and 45 percent or better from long range eight times. They have only allowed opponents to shoot 40 percent or better once this year.

Schultz takes over 2nd in career 3-pointers at Washburn
Senior guard Stevi Schultz is second in school history, now with 183 3-pointers in her career. Earlier this year she passed Lora Westling, who had 144 from 2001-05. Brooke Ubelaker (2003-07) is the career leader with 236 at WU.
This year she's shooting a career-high 41 percent from 3-point range. Schultz' 82 3-pointers last year was the fourth-highest single-season total in school history.
December 7 at FHSU she went without a 3-pointer for the first time since the end of the 2009-10 season. She made one in all 29 games last year and the first 10 this year.

Schultz nears 1,000 points
Stevi Schultz has 909 career points in her four years at Washburn and her 11.3 points a game this year has her on average to pass 1,000 points before the regular season ends. She would become the 21st Lady Blue to reach 1,000 career points. Corkey Stiger was the last to reach that milestone, scoring 1,047 in two seasons from 2006-08.

Season Flash Backs: Don't Forget...
Four in a row over 50: The Lady Blues topped the 50 percent mark in field goal shooting in four straight games, all MIAA contests, from December 10 to January 3. They averaged a .562 field goal percentage during that stretch.
Keeping 'em under 40: The Lady Blues kept their first 13 opponents to under 40 percent shooting. Central Missouri's .469 effort on December 31 was the first to top 40 percent. Prior to that game, teams were shooting just 32 percent against Washburn.
300th win for McHenry: Lady Blues coach Ron McHenry got his 300th career win, all at Washburn, on December 17 against Missouri Western.
400 straight under 100: The Lady Blues 67-60 win at Fort Hays State on December 7 marked the 400th straight game Washburn has kept opponents under 100 points. The last time was on January 27, 1999, at Emporia State.
School-record margin of victory: Washburn's 92-point win over Tabor on November 14 is the highest in school history. The previous largest was by 87 on November 25, 1983 to St. John's (Kan.), 113-26. This was Washburn's 11th 100-point game in school history and first since winning 102-43 to Southwestern on November 23, 2009.
Another 100-point game!: Washburn made it back-to-back 100-point games for the first time in school history with a 108-60 win over Southwestern on November 16. The Lady Blues had record triple-digit games twice in the same season in 2005-06 and 1983-84 but never in consecutive games.
Happiest Place on Earth: The Lady Blues went 3-0 in the season-opening Disney Tip-Off West Coast Classic to claim the trophy. Ebonie Williams earned MVP honor.
Near DI  Upset: A last-second lay-up spoiled Washburn's exhibition upset bid, 52-50, at Kansas State on November 8. Ebonie Williams led WU with 15 points.

Last time out against Northwest Missouri
MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Cassie Lombardino scored a season-high 18 points and the Lady Blues used an early 14-0 run as they opened their MIAA schedule with a 71-53 win at Northwest Missouri State Saturday. The 16th-ranked Lady Blues (8-2) will return to action Wednesday in a 5:30 p.m. game at Fort Hays State.
Lombardino was 8 of 11 from the field and she had eight rebounds. Stevi Schultz and Ebonie Williams each had a hat trick with three 3-pointers, giving Schultz 15 points and Williams 13. Sierra Moeller had her fifth double-figure rebounding game with a team-high 10.
The Lady Blues shot 44 percent from the field and 47 percent (6 of 11) from 3-point range. The Bearcats (2-6, 0-2 MIAA) shot 32 percent and were just 3 of 14 from 3-point range. Washburn won the rebounding battle 46-32 and both teams committed 21 turnovers.
The Bearcats took a 7-4 lead on a 3-pointer from Shelly Martin but Washburn went on a 14-0 run to take the lead for good. Washburn started the streak by hitting four straight 3-point attempts. Williams' 3-pointer at 15:46 tied the game and then a 3 from Lombardino gave Washburn the lead. Schultz and then Brittney Lynch followed with treys.
The Bearcats missed four shots and had three turnovers during Washburn's early run. They broke the streak with a jumper by Abby Henry and then they pulled as close as four down at the 4:28 mark of the opening half. Washburn closed the half on an 11-2 run after that to lead 36-23 at halftime.
Washburn scored the first seven points of the second half and built a game-high 20-point lead on a jumper from Laura McMullin at 13:52. A 6-0 run pulled Northwest Missouri within 14 at the 11:50 mark but Washburn pushed it back to 20 and fought off any serious Bearcat threat thereafter.
Megan Lassley led Washburn with four assists. Henry led the Bearcats with 18 points, going 9 of 11 from the free throw line. Annie Mathews had 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Up next for the Lady Blues
The Lady Blues will have two straight road trips beginning at Missouri Western on Jan. 28 followed by a bus ride to Truman on Feb. 1 prior to returning home to face Fort Hays State on Feb. 4 beginning a three-game stretch in Lee Arena. Starting with the Tigers, the Lady Blues will play five of their final seven games in the friendly confines of Lee Arena.

Blue Notes: Player-By-Player Tip-Ins

#1 Katie Moyer • 5-5 Jr. G • Olpe, Kan. • Independence CC
Had first WU career points with 6 against Tabor...played in first eight games this year and seven total..averaged 7.3 points as a sophomore at Independence CC last year.

#3 Casyn Buchman • 5-9 Fr. G • McPherson, Kan. • McPherson HS
Has played in all 19 games...had career-high four assists November 28 against Evangel...scored career-high eight points three times including last time out against Lincoln...scored five straight for Washburn during second-half 8-0 run in win over St. Martin's at Disney...scored 14.0 points a game her senior year at McPherson High School.

#4 Lindy Arndt • 5-11 So. G • Emporia, Kan. • Emporia HS
Has played in 11 games this year...had her first points of year with season-high four November 14 against Tabor...scored 21 points in 11 games last year.

#5 Laura Kinderknecht • 5-7 Jr. G • St. Mary's, Kan. • St. Mary's HS
Has played in all 19 games this year and has started the last four games...averaging 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds a game...averaging 1.9 assists a game...is averaging 10.2 points a game in last four, had season-high 14 points January 11 at PSU with 5 of 11 performance from the field...had a career-high eight rebounds January 7 against MSSU...had a career high eight free throws during 8 for 8 performance from the line on January 14 against ESU...averaged 10.7 points a game last year, starting all 29.

#10 Dana Channel • 5-10 So. G • Rossville, Kan. • Rossville HS
Had five points twice this year (Tabor and East Central) to tie career high...set a career high November 28 against Evangel with five rebounds...has played in 10 games with 13 points and 12 rebounds...played in 23 games last year scoring 33 points.

#11 Alyssa Nikkel • 5-8 Fr. G • Goddard, Kan. • Cheney HS
Has played in 12 games this year with nine points and three assists...scored five points against CSUDH with a 3-pointer...had her first points in MIAA action with a 3-pointer January 3 at Southwest Baptist...led Cheney High School in scoring, assists and steals as Cardinals went undefeated with a state title her senior year in 2010-11.

#15 Sami McHenry • 5-8 So. G • Topeka, Kan. • Shawnee Heights HS
Has played in four games this year with three rebounds and two points in 10 minutes...scored her first field goal of the year January 7 against MSSU...played as a libero/defensive specialist on the No. 5-ranked Washburn volleyball team that ended its season in the NCAA South Central Region final last weekend...scored two points in eight games last year...father is head coach Ron McHenry.

#20 Dana Elliott • 5-11 Jr. F • Wamego, Kan. • Rock Creek HS
Started the first eight games this year and has played in all 19...averaging 4.3 points, 1.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds...had a career-high 11 points and seven rebounds December 7 at Fort Hays State...had a career-high six assists November 14 against Tabor and matched that December 17 against MWSU...played 28 games off the bench last year and averaged 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds.

#21 Cassie Lombardino • 6-3 Sr. C • Bonner Springs, Kan. • Basehor-Linwood HS
Has started every game this year...has reached double figures in 11 games this year...third on the team averaging 10.4 points a game...second on team averaging 5.6 rebounds and leads team with 1.6 blocks a game...had season-high 18 points December 3 at NWMSU off 8 of 11 shooting...had career-high six blocks November 19 at Midwestern State...just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds November 6 against Hawaii Pacific...started every game last year and tied for team lead with 15.0 points a game...earned second team all-MIAA.

#22 Megan Lassley • 5-4 Sr. G • Wichita, Kan. • Seward County CC
Made her first start of season November 28 against Evangel and had started seven straight before missing the last four games with an injury...shot 5 of 6 November 14 against Tabor for 14 points, one off her career high...scoring 4.3 points with 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists this year...hit three 3-pointers against Hawaii Pacific for nine points...had three steals against St. Martin's to tie a career high...was an every-game starter last year, averaging 7.1 points and a team-high 3.5 assists a game.

#23 Stormye Everett • 5-9 Jr. G • Aurora, Colo. • Western Neb. CC
Has played in 12 games...averaging 3.6 points and 2.0 rebounds...had 11 points at Disney against Hawaii Pacific in just nine minutes...hit 5 of 7 shots in that game...averaged 13.7 points a game in 2009-10 as a sophomore at Western Nebraska CC.

#24 Ebonie Williams • 5-8 Sr. G • Hagerstown, Md. • Seton Hall
Has started all 19 games...shooting 53 percent this year, which was third best in the MIAA and 29th in the nation in most recent reports, and 48 percent from 3-point range...has scored in double figures in 15 of her 19 games this year...leads Washburn with 13.8 points a game...set a team season-high with 23 points January 3 at Southwest Baptist...had 21 points, 6 assists and no turnovers in a win over Lincoln on Jan. 18...scored team-high 21 points January 14 against No. 18 Emporia State with three 3-pointers...named Disney Classic tournament MVP...a DI transfer from Seton Hall where she scored over 1,000 points in her three years there, leading her team every year.

#25 Stevi Schultz • 5-9 Sr. G • Neodesha, Kan. • Neodesha HS
Second in career 3-pointers at Washburn with 183...had first double-double of the year with 12 points and 13 rebounds at FHSU on December 7...has reached double figures in 12 of 18 games...second on team with 11.3 points a game while averaging 3.0 assists and 4.6 rebounds...tied a career high with six assists against Hawaii Pacific and then set a career high with seven November 19 at Midwestern State...scored 15 points in exhibition at Kansas State...tied for team lead in scoring last year with 15.0 points a game and earned first team all-MIAA and second  team all-region.

#30 Brittney Lynch • 6-1 Fr. F • Omaha, Neb. • Elkhorn HS
Reached double figures for second time this year on December 17 against Missouri Western with 11 points...went 4 of 5 from the field that game...had breakout game with team-high 16 points and nine rebounds November 14 against Tabor...shot 6 of 10 from the field that game...has played off the bench in every game and is averaging 5.1 points and 2.7 rebounds...shooting 55 percent from the field...in high school she averaged 15.8 points and 7.9 rebounds her senior year.

#32 Sierra Moeller • 6-1 Jr. F • Pierre, S.D. • Boise State
Has started all 19 games in her Washburn debut after sitting out two straight years...leading the team with 7.4 rebounds a game getting double figures seven times...scored season-high 16 points November 28 against Evangel while going 5 of 8 from the field and 6 of 9 from free throw line...second on the team with 18 blocks...missed last year after a knee injury in an exhibition game and missed 2009-10 after transferring from Boise State the year before...scored in double figures for first time with 11 points November 14 against Tabor and then added 15 against Southwestern the next time...averaging 7.4 points a game this year...as a freshman at Boise State in 2008-09 she averaged 3.8 points and 3.7 rebounds a game.

#33 Tiara George • 6-1 Jr. F • Baton Rouge, La. • Angelina CC
Played her first game in over a year on December 17 against Missouri Western...went 8 of 9 from the field for game-high 17 points...her second game, December 31 at UCM, she went 5 for 5 for 10 points and has scored double figures in three of her six games this year...is 27 of 35 (.771) from the field this year...transferred to Washburn midway though last year after playing junior college from 2008-09 to 2009-10...averaged 10.1 points and 8.7 rebounds a game and shot 56 percent in 2009-10 at Angelina CC (Texas).

#42 Ashley Timm • 5-10 Fr. G • Pratt, Kan. • Skyline Hs
Had her first collegiate action November 14 against Tabor, playing four minutes without a point...has played in three games for eight total minutes with a rebound...she helped Skyline High School to a sub-state runner-up finish three straight years.

#44 Laura McMullin • 6-1 Jr. F • Sedalia, Mo. • Sacred Heart HS
Has played in 17 games and is averaging 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds...had a double-double November 18 against East Central with 10 points and 11 rebounds, the first double-double of the year for Washburn and second of her career...scored 11 points in opener against CSUDH off 5 of 7 shooting...also had six rebounds that game...shooting 48 percent from the field this year...averaged 2.7 points and 4.0 rebounds last year off the bench.