Game 29 Lady Blues vs Lincoln
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No. 12 Washburn Lady Blues (24-4, 17-2 MIAA)
vs Lincoln Blue Tigers (14-11, 8-11 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, February 25, 2012
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Location: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: Lee Arena (3,904)
Radio: 106.9 KTPK FM with Mark Elliott (play-by-play) & Jake Lebahn (color)
Video: America One (fee)
Series Record: WU leads 20-0
Last Meeting: WU 73-64 on 01/18/12 (A)
Washburn Coach Ron McHenry: 314-64 (.831) in his 12th year at WU and overall
LU Coach Katie Vaughn: 28-50 (.359) in 3rd year at LU and overall
Micro-Blogging the Blues
(Around) 140-character or less tweets highlighting the season
Washburn clinched at least a share of the MIAA title and a win over Lincoln will give Washburn the outright title #8thMIAATitle
Washburn is going for a school-record 18 MIAA wins after winning 17 each of the last two years #SchoolRecord
The Lady Blues clinched the No. 1 seed in the MIAA tournament and will play either NWMSU, SBU or MWSU Thursday at noon #Bracketology
Washburn is No. 1 in the latest NCAA South Central Region ranking and will be looking to make its 11th straight trip to the tournament #GoingDancing
Stevi Schultz scored her 1,000th career point Wednesday and she's 1 3-pointer away from 200 and has 49 career double-figure scoring games #1,000PointClub
Cassie Lombardino blocked her 101st career shot to move into a tie for 4th in WU career history #CassieFromTheBlock
UCM is the only team to shoot 40% against Washburn & the Jennies have done so twice. All other teams are shooting 33% against WU #Denied
Washburn earned its 11th straight 20-win season and 22nd in school history with a win February 4 against FHSU #20WinsSeasons
The Lady Blues are second in the nation shooting .397 from 3-point range in the latest report and they've shot 40 percent or better 16 times #LongRangeSuccess
Washburn has out-rebounded its opponents in every game this year but five, losses against UCM and Drury and wins at PSU, ESU and Lincoln #HotOffTheIron
McHenry became the 37th active coach to get to 300 wins on Dec. 17 and among those coaches, he leads them all with an .831 winning pct. #300wins
Lady Blues wrap up regular season Saturday with Senior Day and chance to win MIAA title outright
The 12th-ranked Lady Blues will host Lincoln Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Lee Arena with a chance to win the MIAA regular season title outright. The game, which will be Senior Day for Washburn's four seniors, will be carried on Country Legends 106.9 FM KTPK. Links to live video, audio and statistics can be found on wusports.com.
Washburn improved to 24-4 overall and 17-2 in the league with a 53-52 win Wednesday at Emporia State. That win, coupled with a Pittsburg State loss at Fort Hays State, gave Washburn at least a share of the conference crown. The Lady Blues clinched the No. 1 seed in the MIAA postseason tournament, having the tie-breaker over PSU should it come to that.
The Blue Tigers are 14-11 overall and 8-11 in the MIAA after falling 82-53 Wednesday at Truman. Lincoln, winner of just one MIAA game last year, has clinched the No. 7 seed in the MIAA tournament.
The Lady Blues will be looking for their school-record 18th conference win Saturday. Washburn is 20-0 all-time against Lincoln after a 73-64 win January 18 in Jefferson City, Mo.
Last Time Out: Washburn 53, Emporia State 52
EMPORIA, Kan. --
Ebonie Williams hit a jumper with 4.4 seconds remaining at Emporia State to give the Lady Blues a 53-52 win Wednesday and minutes after their game ended they learned that Pittsburg State lost and Washburn won at least a share of the MIAA regular season title.
To go with Washburn's title, senior
Stevi Schultz scored her 1,000th point. The No. 12 Lady Blues improved to 24-4 overall and 17-2 in the league. The No. 20 Lady Hornets fell to 18-7 and 13-6 in the league. Pittsburg State lost at Fort Hays State Wednesday to drop to 17-3 in the MIAA, wrapping up its conference season with only a chance to tie Washburn in the standings.
The Lady Blues had been held scoreless since the 6:07 mark of the second half as ESU went on an 11-0 run to take a 52-51 lead with 1:04 left. Williams missed a shot on Washburn's next possession and then the Lady Hornets missed a free throw with 16 seconds left and Washburn called its final timeout after
Laura Kinderknecht pulled in the rebound.
Williams brought the ball up and hit the winning shot with 4.4 seconds remaining on the clock. ESU called its final timeout and then Heather Robben missed a lay-up as time expired.
Williams led Washburn with 15 points as she went 6 of 15 from the field. She also led with five assists.
Tiara George came off the bench for 12 points off a 6 of 11 performance and
Cassie Lombardino made 5 of 10 shots for 10 points.
Sierra Moeller led Washburn with seven rebounds.
Washburn shot 54 percent in the opening half but was held to 30 percent shooting in the second half. George hit a lay-up at the 11:44 mark that gave Washburn a game-high 13-point lead but the Lady Blues missed 11 shots after that. The Lady Hornets cut the lead to six during that drought before George hit a shot at 7:15 and then again at 6:07 to give the Lady Blues a 10-point lead.
That turned out to be Washburn's last points until Williams' heroics. ESU scored 11 straight after Kelsey Balcom's free throws with 1:04 gave the Lady Blues the one-point lead.
Washburn ended the game shooting 41 percent while the Lady Hornets shot 33 percent. ESU edged the Lady Blues in rebounding 39-35 and went to the free throw line 17 times, making 11, while Washburn went 2 of 6 from the line. Washburn had nine turnovers while ESU had eight.
Schultz' 3-pointer at the 13:12 mark of the first half put her over 1,000 points. The senior became the 21st Lady Blue to reach 1,000 points and the first since Corkey Stiger did so in 2008.
There were three ties and five lead changes in the first half. Both team led by as much as five. An 8-0 run for the Lady Hornets gave them a 20-15 lead at the 7:29 mark. The Lady Blues built their five-point lead when Williams hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute. The first completed a 6-0 run that put Washburn up 29-24 and then after ESU answered with a 3-pointer of its own, Williams hit one with 25 seconds left to give her 11 points and put into double figures for the 24th time this year.
Washburn led 32-29 at halftime and held the lead until the 1:04 mark of the second half.
Merissa Quick led the Lady Hornets with 16 points and Robben and Jocelyn Cummings also reached double figures.
Final Notes on the ESU Game
Washburn improved to 42-43 all-time against Emporia State...this is the first time this series was decided by one point since 2003-04 in a 51-50 Washburn win in Emporia...Washburn shot a season-low six free throws with a season-low two makes...
Stevi Schultz scored five points to give her 1,003 in her four years...Washburn won its eighth MIAA regular season title and first since 2009-10...counting four Central States Intercollegiate Conference titles, this is Washburn's 12th regular season conference title.
Schultz joins 1,000 point club
Stevi Schultz' 3-pointer in the first half February 22 at Emporia State made her the 21st Lady Blue to reach the 1,000 point mark in her career. She now has 1,003 and sits in 20th in school history, four points away from Brenda Soldani (1980-84). Corkey Stiger was the last to reach the 1,000 point milestone, scoring 1,047 in two seasons from 2006-08.
Schultz also needs one 3-pointer to give her 200 in her career. She has 199 right now and is second in school history. Brooke Ubelaker is the only player to go over 200 3-pointers with 236 in her career.
Schultz will also be looking for her 50th double-figure scoring game. She's scored 10 or more in 49 of her 109 games played in her four years.
Lady Blues clinch eighth MIAA regular season title
The Lady Blues clinched at least a share of the MIAA title with their win Wednesday at Emporia State and Pittsburg State's loss at Fort Hays State. Washburn is 17-2 while PSU is 17-3. A win would give Washburn the title outright and a loss would give them the shared title.
The Lady Blues have now won eight MIAA regular season titles, the previous in 2009-10. They have 12 conference titles overall counting four Central States Intercollegiate Conference championships.
Lady Blues clinch No. 1 seed in MIAA tournament
Washburn will be the No. 1 seed in the MIAA tournament and play the No. 8 seed in the first round March 1 at noon. If the Lady Blues win, they'll play the No. 4 vs No. 5 winner Saturday at noon and then the championship game will be Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Lady Blues will play either Southwest Baptist, Missouri Western or Northwest Missouri State on Thursday. All three have four wins and can finish with five to grab the eighth and final spot. Washburn swept those three teams in the regular season.
Lady Blues looking for school-record 18th conference win
Washburn is 17-2 in the MIAA with one game to go and a win Saturday would give the Lady Blues a school-record 18th conference win.
The Lady Blues had 17 wins in each of the last two years. Washburn's winning percentage would move to .900 with a win Saturday, making it the fifth highest conference winning percentage in school history. The Lady Blues have had two perfect seasons in MIAA play (2005-06 and 1992-93).
Lady Blues jump to first in NCAA South Central Region ranking
The Lady Blues beat the top team in region last week to take over the No. 1 spot in the NCAA South Central Region ranking released Wednesday prior to Washburn's 5:30 p.m. game at Emporia State.
Washburn is 20-4 in the region and ranked No. 12 in the nation with a 23-4 overall record. Pittsburg State is No. 2 in the region with a 23-3 overall record but two losses to the Lady Blues. Northeastern State, an NCAA II independent and future MIAA opponent, is No. 3. The Lady Hornets are No. 5 and Central Missouri is sixth to round out MIAA teams in the ranking.
The South Central Region is made up of teams from the MIAA, Lone Star Conference, Heartland Conference and Great American Conference. The winners of the MIAA, LSC and Heartland get automatic bids to the eight-team NCAA South Central Region tournament and the remaining five seeds are filled by at-large bids based on the NCAA ranking. The newly-formed GAC does not have an automatic bid yet.
The South Central Region tournament runs March 9-12 at the site of the top seed that is eligible to host. The winners of all eight regionals will meet at the NCAA II Elite Eight, March 20-23 in San Antonio, Texas.
Lady Blues 12th in latest national poll
After a win over top-10 Pittsburg State last week, the Lady Blues jumped form 15th to 12th in this week's USA Today Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
Washburn improved to 23-4 overall with two wins. Wednesday opponent Emporia State fell from 20th to 22nd and is 18-6 coming into the 5:30 p.m. game in White Auditorium. PSU is the highest ranked MIAA team, falling from eighth to 11th in the poll.
The Lady Blues have been ranked in all 13 polls this year. They were left out of the final poll last year but have been ranked in 153 of the last 154 polls, dating back to week three of the 2002-03 season.
Washburn earns 11th straight 20-win season
Washburn's 75-55 win February 4 against FHSU was the 20th of the season, giving the Lady Blues their 11th straight 20-win season. The Lady Blues last failed to reach at least 20 wins in 2000-01, head coach
Ron McHenry's first year. During that streak, Washburn has had three 30-win seasons.
Overall, Washburn has had 22 seasons with 20 wins or more and five of them have yielded at least 30 wins. Washburn's record for wins in a year is 35 in 2004-05, the national title year.
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.
Williams 2nd in the nation in 3-point shooting
Ebonie Williams is now second in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage with a .530 mark in the February 19 report. She was No. 1 in the nation three days prior to that and unranked in previous reports because she hadn't been averaging the minimum 2.0 makes per game.
Schultz takes over 2nd in career 3-pointers at Washburn
Senior guard
Stevi Schultz is second in school history, now with 199 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. Two more makes would make her only the second person in school history to reach 200 3-pointers.
This year she's shooting a career-high 38 percent from 3-point range. Schultz' 82 3-pointers last year was the fourth-highest single-season total in school history.
Lombardino moves to fourth in career blocks
Senior
Cassie Lombardino blocked her 101st career shot February 15 at Missouri Southern to move into a tie with Laura Mueller (1988-92) for fourth in Washburn history. Lombardino's 41 blocks this year is the ninth highest single-season total at Washburn. Her 49 blocks last year tied for the third highest season total. Sixty blocks is the Washburn single-season record (Brenda Shaffer-Dahl in 1988-89).
Her next block will move her to fourth all alone and she needs to reach 116 to catch Jannica Beam (1989-93) for third in Washburn history.
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 314-64 (.831) 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.
Williams' two-school career closing with huge numbers
Senior guard
Ebonie Williams scored her 1,500th career point February 11 against SBU and now has 1,552 in her four-year college career. She has 429 points this year and she scored 1,123 points in her three previous years at Seton Hall. She is averaging 13.3 points a game in her four years.
Williams' .524 shooting percentage this year is a career high. She had never shot better than .419 at Seton Hall. Her 15.3 points a game is also a career high. Her sophomore year in 2008-09 she shot .419 and averaged 13.2 points a game to earn second team all-Big East honor.
Keeping them under 40
The Lady Blues kept their first 13 opponents to under 40 percent shooting and so far this year, Central Missouri has been the only team to top 40 percent shooting against Washburn. The Jennies shot .469 on December 31 and then shot .450 on February 8. Washburn is keeping opponents to .339 shooting overall and .331 shooting in every game but the UCM contests. Washburn is allowing MIAA opponents to shoot .354 overall.
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. The Jennies topped 40 percent again on February 8 and are still the only team to do so.
300th win for McHenry: Lady Blues coach
Ron McHenry got his 300th career win, all at Washburn, on December 17 against Missouri Western.
Last-second heroics: Ebonie Williams hit a jumper with 4.4 seconds left to give Washburn a 53-52 win at Emporia State on February 22.
Last-second heartbreakers: Sierra Moeller tied the game December 10 against Truman with 29 seconds left but Bulldog Megan Sharpe made a jumper as time expired to give TSU an upset over then-No. 15 Washburn in Lee Arena. On February 8
Ebonie Williams hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to give Washburn a one-point lead but Central Missouri hit a lay-up with 4.8 seconds left to win 69-68.
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 recorded 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 Lincoln
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lady Blues used a 13-0 run midway through the second half to lead to a 73-64 win January 18 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.
Then-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 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.
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.
Up next for the Lady Blues
The MIAA tournament will be March 1-4 in Kansas City, Mo., and then the NCAA South Central Region tournament will be March 9-12. The Elite Eight is March 20-23 in San Antonio, Texas.
