Game 30 Lady Blues vs Missouri Western
2011-12 MIAA Basketball Championships • First Round
Kansas City, Mo. • Municipal Auditorium
Game Notes
Tournament Home Page
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No. 12 Washburn Lady Blues (25-4)
vs Missouri Western Griffons (7-19)
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2012
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Location: Kansas City, Mo.
Arena: Municipal Auditorium (8,500)
Radio: 580 WIBW AM with Mark Elliott (play-by-play) & Jake Lebahn (color)
Series Record: WU leads 46-38
Last Meeting: WU 60-55 on 01/28/12 (A)
Washburn Coach Ron McHenry: 315-64 (.831) in his 12th year at WU and overall
MWSU Coach Lynn Plett: 46-88 (.343) in 5th year at MWSU and 322-322 (.500) in 16th year overall
Micro-Blogging the Blues
(Around) 140-character or less tweets highlighting the season
Washburn has won eight MIAA tournament titles and is going for its ninth. The Lady Blues clinched their eighth regular season title last week #8GoingOn9
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 last Wednesday and she moved to 19th in career scoring at Washburn, 14 points away from 18th #1,000PointClub
Cassie Lombardino blocked her 102nd career shot to move to 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 2nd in the nation shooting .396 from 3-point range and
Ebonie Williams leads the nation shooting .500 from 3-point range #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
The Lady Blues are 21-3 in the MIAA tournament since it moved to Kansas City and 6-0 in title games since then #KCMasters
Lady Blues open search for ninth MIAA tourney title Thursday against MWSU
The 12th-ranked Lady Blues begin their quest for their ninth MIAA tournament title when they play Missouri Western Thursday at noon in the first round of the MIAA Centennial Basketball Championships. The game, played in Kansas City, Mo., at Municipal Auditorium, will be carried live on WIBW 580 AM and links to live stats and audio can be found at wusports.com.
Washburn (25-4) clinched its eighth MIAA regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament with two wins last week.
Ebonie Williams, the MIAA player of the year, hit a jumper in the closing seconds at Emporia State to give Washburn a 53-52 win Wednesday. Minutes later the Lady Blues learned that Pittsburg State had lost its game, clearing the way for Washburn to clinch the title outright in the regular season finale. Washburn did just that with a 72-47 win over Lincoln Saturday in Lee Arena.
Missouri Western (7-19) cleared a three-team jam with an 86-69 win over Southwest Baptist Saturday to clinch the eighth and final spot in the tournament.
The Lady Blues swept MWSU this year, winning by 25 points in Topeka and then by just five in St. Joseph. Washburn is 46-38 all-time against the Griffons and 6-5 against them in the MIAA tournament. The two met last year in the first round in a 58-55 Washburn win.
The winner will play Saturday at noon in a semifinal against the winner of the No. 4 Central Missouri/No. 5 Fort Hays State first round game. The championship will be Sunday at 1 p.m.
Last Time Out: Washburn 72, Lincoln 47
TOPEKA, Kan. - The Lady Blues sent their four seniors off to the postseason in style with a 72-47 win over Lincoln Saturday during Senior Day to clinch the MIAA regular season title outright.
Three Lady Blues seniors scored in double figures.
Ebonie Williams hit three 3-pointers and led Washburn with 15 points. She also had four assists and three steals.
Stevi Schultz had 12 points off three 3-pointers and had five rebounds.
Cassie Lombardino had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Megan Lassley had two assists and three points.
Tiara George came off the bench and scored nine points off a 4 of 7 performance and
Laura Kinderknecht had six assists.
Washburn shot 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range. The Blue Tigers (14-12, 8-12 MIAA) shot 31 percent and 30 percent from long range.
Washburn collected 47 rebounds while Lincoln had 35. The Lady Blues had 13 turnovers while LU had 15.
A 3-pointer from Lassley at the 11:05 mark gave Washburn its first double-digit lead and the Lady Blues went into the locker room up 13, 39-26.
The Lady Blues pushed the lead to 20 points 10 minutes into the second half and kept it at least that high the rest of the game. A jumper from Williams at 4:25 gave Washburn a game-high 29-point lead.
Vivian Essuon was Lincoln's only double-figure scorer, getting 12 off a 5 of 11 permanence.
Final Notes on the Lincoln Game
Washburn won its eighth MIAA regular season title and first since 2009-10...the Lady Blues improved to 21-0 all-time against Lincoln...
Stevi Schultz became the second Lady Blue to hit 200 3-pointers, getting there in the first half...Washburn's 18 MIAA wins is a school record...the Lady Blues had won 17 in each of the last two years.
Washburn looking for ninth MIAA tournament title
The Lady Blues have won eight MIAA tournament titles and they are 6-0 in title games since the MIAA Basketball Championships moved to Kansas City and Municipal Auditorium. Washburn last won the crown in 2009-10, capping a string of five titles in the last six years. Washburn is 33-13 all-time in the tournament and 21-3 since it moved to Kansas City.
Lady Blues clinch eighth MIAA regular season title
The Lady Blues clinched the MIAA regular season title outright February 27 against Lincoln. Washburn finished 18-2 while PSU was 17-3 to finish second.
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 earn school-record 18th conference win
Washburn finished 18-2 in the MIAA to give the Lady Blues a school record for conference wins.
The Lady Blues had 17 wins in each of the last two years. Washburn's winning percentage moved to .900 with the win in the finale, 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 took over the No. 1 spot in the NCAA South Central Region ranking released February 22.
Washburn was 20-4 in the region as of the last ranking and had 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 two weeks ago, the Lady Blues jumped form 15th to 12th in last week's USA Today Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll. A new poll is expected this Tuesday
Washburn improved to 23-4 overall with two wins. Emporia State fell from 20th to 22nd. 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.
Lady Blues prove MIAA coaches and media right
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 named MIAA player of the year; joins Schultz and Lombardino on all-MIAA team
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Washburn senior guard
Ebonie Williams was named the MIAA player of the year as the all-MiAA team was announced Monday by the conference office. Williams joined fellow seniors
Stevi Schultz and
Cassie Lombardino as members of the all-conference squad.
Williams was also a unanimous selection on the all-MIAA first team. She's fourth in the league averaging 15.3 points a game and she's first shooting .500 from 3-point range and third shooting .521 from the field. Williams, in her first year at Washburn, was an all-Big East second team honoree in 2008-09 while playing at Seton Hall. She is Washburn's first MIAA MVP since Jennifer Harris earned the award in 2005-06.
Stevi Schultz was named to the all-MIAA second team after averaging 11.1 points a game and 2.3 made 3-pointers a game, second best in the league. Schultz earned all-MIAA first team honor last year, as well as a spot on the Daktronics all-South Central Region second team.
Lombardino earned a spot on the all-MIAA third team after averaging 10.0 points and 6.2 rebounds a game. She's seventh in the MIAA with 1.4 blocks per game. Lombardino was named to the all-MIAA second team last year.
Williams is Washburn's sixth MIAA MVP and 21st player to earn first team all-MIAA. Head coach
Ron McHenry has now coached 31 all-MIAA selections.
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 1,015 and sits 19th in school history, 14 points away from Carolyn Wempe (1985-89). Corkey Stiger was the last to reach the 1,000 point milestone, scoring 1,047 in two seasons from 2006-08.
Schultz also made her 200th career 3-pointer February 27 against Lincoln. She has 202 right now and is second in school history. Brooke Ubelaker is the only other player to go over 200 3-pointers with 236 in her career.
Schultz also recorded her for her 50th double-figure scoring game against Lincoln. She's scored 10 or more in 50 of her 110 games played in her four years.
Williams 1st in the nation in 3-point shooting
Ebonie Williams leads the nation in 3-point shooting percentage with a .500 mark in the February 26 report. Williams has hit a 3-pointer in each of the last 12 games with a season-best seven makes on February 8 against Central Missouri.
Schultz takes over 2nd in career 3-pointers at Washburn
Senior guard
Stevi Schultz is second in school history, now with 202 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. Schultz and Ubelaker are the only two players 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 102nd career shot February 25 against Lincoln to move alone into fourth in Washburn blocking history. Lombardino's 42 blocks this year is the eighth 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).
Lombardino needs to reach 116 blocks 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 315-64 (.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 1,567 in her four-year college career. She has 444 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' .521 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 .338 shooting overall and .330 shooting in every game but the UCM contests. Washburn is allowing MIAA opponents to shoot .352 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 MWSU
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -
Ebonie Williams and
Stevi Schultz had big games scoring and rebounding as the 14th-ranked Lady Blues won 60-55 at Missouri Western January 28.
Williams scored 19 points, coming one point shy of reaching 20 for the fourth straight game. Schultz added 16 as both players hit three 3-pointers. Schultz missed her second double-double of the year with a team-high nine rebounds. Williams grabbed seven.
Laura Kinderknecht and
Sierra Moeller added eight points and
Cassie Lombardino, rounding out Washburn's starting five, had three. The bench combined for just six points.
Washburn led by four at halftime and kept the lead for all but one instance in the second half. The Griffons completed an 8-0 run when Jessica Koch made a lay-up at the 10:53 mark that tied the score at 37-37.
Williams answered with four straight points that ended a 4:35 scoreless drought for Washburn. Her 3-pointer at the 3:25 mark pushed the lead to eight before the Griffons got within three twice, the last with 25 seconds remaining. Schultz made two free throws down the stretch to keep it a two-possession game.
Those free throws were Schultz' only two second half points as she went 3 of 4 from long range in the first half for 14 points. Williams came alive in the second half, getting 14 of her points then.
There were five ties and three lead changes in the first half but the Griffons never led by more than three. Jessica Koch, who scored 21 points for Missouri Western, hit a 3-pointer at the 13:05 mark to give the Griffons their final lead. After neither team scored for two minutes, Schultz hit a 3 that tied it. The Lady Blues pushed their first half lead as high as seven after that and led 28-24 at the break.
The Lady Blues shot .397, their lowest percentage since November 18, and they were only 35 percent from the free throw line (6 of 17). The Griffons were 38 percent from the field and 68 percent from the line.
Koch went 8 of 21 from the field, leading three total Griffons in double figures. She also led with nine rebounds. .
Up next for the Lady Blues
The NCAA South Central Region tournament will be March 9-12. The Elite Eight is March 20-23 in San Antonio, Texas.
