Complete Game Notes (pdf)
Game 21: Lady Blues vs Missouri Western
No. 9 Washburn Lady Blues (17-3, 11-1 MIAA)
vs Missouri Western Griffons (13-8, 6-7 MIAA)
Date: Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: MWSU Fieldhouse (3,750)
Radio: 106.9 FM with Jake Lebahn and Mark Elliott
Series Record: WU leads 48-38
Last Meeting: WU 64-48 on 02/06/13 (H)
Washburn Coach Ron McHenry: 336-68 (.832) in his 13th year at WU and overall
MWSU Coach Rob Edmisson: 13-8 (.619) in 1st year at MWSU and 413-128 (.763) in 17th year overall
Micro-Blogging the Blues
(Around) 140-character or less tweets highlighting the season
Washburn jumped up three spots to No. 6 in Tuesday's USA Today Sports national poll.
WU had kept 5 straight opponents to under 50 points before NWMSU scored 53 on Sat. The Lady Blues are allowing just 46.8 points in their last 9 games & overall, they're 5th in the nation allowing 51.3 a game.
Washburn ranks fifth in the nation in rebound margin at +11.2. Only two teams have out-rebounded Washburn (UWP and FHSU).
The Lady Blues lead the MIAA with a 11-1 record with Central Missouri a game behind them in the loss column. Washburn was the first team to clinch a spot in the MIAA postseason tournament.
Washburn is 48-38 all-time against MWSU and has won 4 of the last 5 in St. Joseph.
Laura Kinderknecht moved to third in career 3-pointers at Washburn, now with 177.
Kinderknecht is fifth in the MIAA averaging 15.3 points a game and second with 3.0 3-pointers made per game. Her 3-point total is sixth in the nation.
Tiara George is fourth in the NCAA and first in the MIAA shooting .606 from the field.
The Lady Blues were picked first in the MIAA coaches and media polls after winning the regular season and conference championships last year.
Head coach
Ron McHenry earned his 300th win last year and is currently 336-68 in his 13th year at Washburn.
McHenry has 7 MIAA regular season titles and 7 MIAA tournament championships to go along with NCAA tournament appearances in all but his 1st season, including a 2004-05 national title.
Lady Blues return to the road to face Griffons for second time in a week
The sixth-ranked Lady Blues will take their six-game winning streak on the road as they travel to Missouri Western for a 5:30 p.m. game Wednesday at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Washburn just ended a four-game home stand and is playing its first road game since January 26.
The game will be carried on Country Legends 106.9 FM with Jake Lebahn and Mark Elliott calling the action.
The Lady Blues (17-3, 11-1 MIAA) and Griffons (13-8, 6-7 MIAA) just met last Wednesday in a 65-48 win for Washburn. MWSU has been off since then while the Lady Blues defeated Northwest Missouri, 64-53 on Saturday.
Washburn remains first in the MIAA with Central Missouri a game behind in the loss column. They Lady Blues were the first of now five teams who have clinched spots in the 12-team MIAA postseason tournament.
The Lady Blues lead the all-time series with Missouri Western, 48-38 and have won four of the last five on the road against the Griffons.
McHenry just coached 400th career game
Washburn head coach
Ron McHenry coached his 400th career game, all with the Lady Blues, January 24 at Lindenwood.
He's gone 336-68 in his 13 years and with his .832 winning percentage, McHenry entered the year with the highest winning percentage in NCAA II among active coaches with at least five years of experience. He's second all-time (active or not) among coaches with at least 10 years.
McHenry has 11 20-win seasons and he needs three more wins this year to give him 12 out of 13. His teams have gone to 11 straight NCAA appearances with eight MIAA titles.
Lady Blues jump three spots to No. 6 in national ranking
The Lady Blues tied a season-high with a No. 6 ranking in Tuesday's USA Today Sports national poll, putting them three spots higher than the No. 9 ranking they held the last two weeks. Washburn has now been in the top 10 six times this year and was also as high as No. 6 in the December 18 poll.
The Lady Blues have been ranked in 168 of the last 169 polls, dating back to week three of the 2002-03 season. The final poll of the 2010-11 season was the last time Washburn was not ranked. This is Washburn's 121st time in the national top 10.
Ashland remained the top team in the country and got all 31 first place votes with a 24-0 record. The Lady Blues remain the top MIAA team in the country with Central Missouri right behind at No. 7. Truman, Pittsburg State, Fort Hays State and Northeastern State are earning votes.
MIAA media and coaches pick Lady Blues to repeat as champions
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Lady Blues got more than half the MIAA coaches' top votes and won a close vote in the media poll as they were picked to finish first in both tallies during the preseason MIAA Virtual Media Day.
Washburn got eight of the 15 first-place votes from the coaches and eight of the 18 in the media poll. Pittsburg State was picked second in both polls with the Gorillas coming just three points short of the Lady Blues in the media poll.
Washburn won the MIAA last year with an 18-2 record. The Gorillas went 17-3. Pittsburg State took six first-place votes from the coaches and No. 3 Emporia State took the other. From the media, PSU tied Washburn with eight top votes and ESU, also third in that poll, took two.
MIAA newcomer Northeastern State was fourth in both polls followed by Fort Hays State and Central Missouri.
Lady Blues' top shooters fighting for team and MIAA lead
Tiara George and
Lavonda McCall have battled the last few weeks for the MIAA lead in field goal percentage.
George's .606 field goal percentage currently leads the MIAA and is fourth in the nation while McCall has not shot enough to qualify for the NCAA or MIAA national report. She's shooting .600 but is only averaging 2.9 made baskets a game.
George has shot 50 percent or better in all but three games and better than 70 percent five times. She's second on the team and 24th in the MIAA scoring 10.9 points a game.
Lavonda McCall has shot 50 percent or better in all but five games and over 65 percent 13 times.
George is Washburn's leading returning scorer from last year but scored just 7.2 points a game in her first season at Washburn after transferring from Angelina Community College.
Lady Blues hold fifth straight opponent to under 50 points, lead MIAA and are fifth in nation in scoring defense
The Lady Blues had kept their opponents to less than 50 points in five straight games before Northwest Missouri scored 53 on Saturday. In the last nine games, Washburn is allowing just 46.8 points a game and 33 percent shooting from the field. The Lady Blues have kept opponents to under 50 points in seven of those nine games. NWMSU's 53 was the highest allowed since Fort Hays State had 60 in January 10.
Overall, the Lady Blues are allowing 51.3 points a game to lead the MIAA. That total is the fifth lowest in the nation and Washburn's field goal percentage defense of .338 was 11th lowest in the nation and first in the MIAA.
Only three of Washburn's opponents have shot better than 40 percent. Northwest Missouri shot 50 percent on January 13, Arkansas Tech shot .439 on November 24 and Northeastern State shot .435 on January 13. Washburn won two of those three games.
Kinderknecht named Capital One Academic All-District
Senior guard
Laura Kinderknecht became Washburn's first academic all-district honoree since 1997-98 as she was named to the District 7 team by Capital One. She will move on to this week's Capital One Academic All-America ballot.
Nikki Olberding was Washburn's last academic all-district selection as she earned Capital One Academic All-America second team status in 1997-98.
Seven seniors return to lead Washburn
Seven seniors return to this year's team and among them are three four-year players:
Dana Elliott,
Laura Kinderknecht and
Laura McMullin. Two-year player
Sami McHenry will play this year as her final while
Stormye Everett,
Sierra Moeller and
Tiara George were all junior transfers last year.
Moeller is the leading returning rebounder with 6.7 a game last year but she will have to sit the first semester to save her final semester of eligibility. George is the leading returning scorer with 6.0 points a game. Kinderknecht scored 5.8 and Elliott scored 4.8 a game.
Lady Blues clinch spot in 12-team MIAA tournament
The Lady Blues clinched their 23rd straight trip to the MIAA tournament with their win February 6 against Missouri Western. They have now qualified for every MIAA tournament since becoming eligible in 1990-91.
With the conference expanding to 15 teams, the tournament is now a 12-team event with the top four teams in the conference earning a bye to the quarterfinal rounds at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., on March 8 with semifinals and the final in the two days following.
The Nos. 5 through 8 teams in the final MIAA standings will host Nos. 9 through 12 in on-campus play-in games on March 5.
Coming Up Next
The Lady Blues will play another recent opponent as they travel to Northwest Missouri Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. game. They will then return home for three of the final four regular season games.
