Tournament Website
Washburn Game Notes
Lady Blues set to host South Central Regional in 11th straight NCAA appearance
The ninth-ranked Lady Blues will open their 11th straight trip to the NCAA tournament with a 6 p.m. game Friday against West Texas A&M in Lee Arena. Washburn (28-4) earned the top seed and the right to host the eight-team South Central Region tournament after winning the MIAA regular season and tournament championships. Eighth-seeded West Texas A&M (19-9) earned an at-large bid out of the Lone Star Conference.
The winner of Washburn's game will play Saturday at 7 p.m. against the winner of the No. 4 Tarleton State/No. 5 Emporia State game. The championship will be Monday at 7 p.m.
The other half of the bracket features first round games with No. 3 Pittsburg State against No. 6 Central Missouri at 12 p.m. Friday and No. 2 Northeastern State against No. 7 Newman at 2 p.m. Those two winners will play Saturday at 5 p.m.
Radio broadcast information
The Lady Blues first round game will be carried live on Country Legends 106.9 FM with Jake Lebahn and Mark Elliott calling the action. If Washburn advances, Lebahn will call the game Saturday on Country Legends and on Monday on WIBW 580 AM.
Live stats will also be available through www.wusports.com throughout the tournament.
Micro-Blogging the Blues
(Around) 140-character or less tweets highlighting the season
The Lady Blues are making their 11th straight trip to the NCAA tournament and 16th in school history. They are 12-3 in opening round games #HistoryOfDancing
Washburn has now won nine MIAA tournament titles and eight MIAA regular season titles and this is the 6th time WU has swept them both #8CleanSweep
In the last 7 games
Dana Elliott's shooting 65 percent (20-31) and averaging 7.4 points and 6.7 rebounds a game #HotDownTheStretch
Stevi Schultz scored her 1,000th career point at ESU on 02/22 and she has since moved to 16th in career scoring at Washburn. #1,000PointClub
Cassie Lombardino blocked her 103rd career shot to move to 4th in WU career history #CassieFromTheBlock
Washburn has only allowed opponents to shoot 40% or better 4 times. In all other games, 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 1st in the nation shooting .399 from 3-point range and
Ebonie Williams leads the nation shooting .493 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
Lady Blues making 16th trip to NCAA tournament
The Lady Blues will play their 40th NCAA tournament game in school history Friday against the very first team they played in the NCAA tournament. Overall, Washburn is 25-14 in tournament games and 12-3 in the opening round.
West Texas A&M defeated the Lady Blues 75-51 on March 8 in Cape Girardeau, Mo., in Washburn's first trip to the dance. The two teams have met four times since then with Washburn winning those. The last was in the 2006-07 regional semifinal.
The Lady Blues have won five regional championships and they won the 2004-05 national championship. They last advanced out of the region in 2007-08, winning three games in Canyon, Texas, before losing in the first round of the Elite 8.
Washburn hosting NCAA tournament for 5th time
This will be the fifth season that Washburn has hosted at least one NCAA tournament game. The Lady Blues last hosted the regional in 2005-06 and first hosted a game in Topeka in 1993. Washburn is 8-2 all-time in home games in the NCAA tournament.
Washburn claims ninth MIAA tournament title
The Lady Blues won their ninth MIAA tournament title and they improved to 7-0 in title games since the MIAA Basketball Championships moved to Kansas City and Municipal Auditorium. Prior to this year, Washburn last won the crown in 2009-10 and they have won sin in the last eight. Washburn is 36-13 all-time in the tournament and 24-3 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 in the league 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 ninth in the nation heading into NCAA tournament
The Lady Blues jumped from 10th to ninth in the USA Today ESPN Coaches' Poll released Tuesday, three days before Washburn will host the NCAA South Central Region tournament.
Washburn is the highest rated South Central Region team in the national poll. Pittsburg State fell from 12th to 14th while Northeastern State jumped from 13th to 11th. Emporia State moved from 24th to 23rd.
The Lady Blues have been ranked in all 15 polls this year. They were left out of the final poll last year but have been ranked in 155 of the last 156 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 to Daktronics all-region team
Senior guard
Ebonie Williams was named to the Daktronics all-South Central Region team as it was announced Wednesday afternoon. Williams was voted the MIAA player of the year earlier this year and is the only MIAA player on the Daktronics first team.
Williams leads the nation shooting .493 from 3-point range and she's second in the MIAA averaging 15.6 points a game. Williams shoot .500 from the field, fourth best in the MIAA. She was named MVP of the MIAA Basketball Championships as No. 9 Washburn (28-4) swept the regular season and postseason championships.
Williams named MIAA player of the year; joins Schultz and Lombardino on all-MIAA team
Washburn senior guard
Ebonie Williams was named the MIAA player of the year as the all-MiAA team was announced February 27 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 ended the regular season fourth in the league averaging 15.3 points a game and she was 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 was 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, moves to 16th in career scoring
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 1,051 and sits 16th in school history. She needs 16 points to catch Lori Roenbaugh (1980-83), who sits in 15th with 1,067 career points.
Schultz also made her 200th career 3-pointer February 27 against Lincoln. She has 210 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 50th double-figure scoring game against Lincoln. She's scored 10 or more in 53 of her 113 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 .493 mark in the March 4 report. Williams has hit a 3-pointer in each of the last 15 games with a season-best seven makes on February 8 against Central Missouri. She's hit three or more in six of the last nine games.
Schultz takes over 2nd in career 3-pointers at Washburn
Senior guard
Stevi Schultz is second in school history, now with 210 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 39 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 has 103 career blocks, putting her fourth in school history at Washburn. Lombardino's 43 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 318-64 (.832) 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 1,621 in her four-year college career. She has 498 points this year and she scored 1,123 points in her three previous years at Seton Hall. She is averaging 13.4 points a game in her four years.
Williams' .500 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 all but UCM and ESU (once) under 40
The Lady Blues kept their first 13 opponents to under 40 percent shooting and so far this year, Central Missouri and Emporia State have been the only teams to top 40 percent shooting against Washburn. The Jennies did so in all three meetings with Washburn, winning once, and ESU did so in the MIAA tournament championship game. Washburn is keeping opponents to .344 shooting overall and .332 shooting in every game but the four mentioned UCM and ESU contests.
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.
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.
Up next for the Lady Blues
The Elite Eight is March 20-23 in San Antonio, Texas. The winner of the South Central Region will play the winner of the Atlantic Region on March 20.
