Complete Game Notes (pdf)
Game 19: Lady Blues vs Missouri Western
No. 9 Washburn Lady Blues (15-3, 9-1 MIAA)
vs Missouri Western State Griffons (13-7, 6-6 MIAA)
Date: Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: Schendel Court at Lee Arena (3,904)
Radio: 106.9 FM with Jake Lebahn and Mark Elliott
Series Record: WU leads 47-38
Last Meeting: WU 80-63 on 03/01/12 (N, MIAA tournament 1st round)
Washburn Coach Ron McHenry: 334-68 (.831) in his 13th year at WU and overall
MWSU Coach Rob Edmisson: 13-7 (.650) in 1st year at MWSU and 413-127 (.765) in 17th year overall
Micro-Blogging the Blues
(Around) 140-character or less tweets highlighting the season
Washburn stayed put with a No. 9 spot in Tuesday's USA Today Sports national poll.
Washburn has kept 4 straight opponents and 6 of the last 7 to under 50 points. The Lady Blues are allowing just 45.7 points in their last 7 games and overall, they're 4th in the nation allowing 51.4 a game.
Washburn ranks fourth in the nation in rebound margin at +10.9. Only two teams have out-rebounded Washburn (UWP and FHSU) and WWU was even on the boards against WU.
The Lady Blues lead the MIAA with a 9-1 record with two two-loss teams, Central Missouri and Truman, right behind them. Washburn has eight MIAA games remaining.
Washburn is 47-38 all-time against MWSU and has won 10 straight at home against the Griffons.
Laura Kinderknecht moved to third in career 3-pointers at Washburn, now with 169.
Kinderknecht is fifth in the MIAA averaging 15.3 points a game and second with 2.9 3-pointers made per game.
She's scoring 16.6 points a game during MIAA contests and shooting 44 percent.
Tiara George is fifth in the NCAA and second in the MIAA shooting .601 from the field.
Lavonda McCall leads the MIAA shooting .607 from the field, giving Washburn the top two shooters in the MIAA. She does not have enough makes to qualify for the NCAA ranking.
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 334-68 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.
No. 9 Lady Blues welcome Missouri Western to Lee Arena Wednesday
The Lady Blues will play their third straight home game when they host Missouri Western Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Schendel Court at Lee Arena. Washburn, with the nation's fourth best defense, will be looking to keep its fifth straight opponent to under 50 points.
The game will be carried on Country Legends 106.9 FM with Jake Lebahn and Mark Elliott calling the action.
The ninth-ranked Lady Blues beat Pittsburg State, 58-44 Saturday to improve to 15-3 overall and remain first in the MIAA at 9-1. Missouri Western lost, 73-56 on Saturday to Northeastern State to fall to 13-7 and 6-6 in the MIAA to hold the eighth spot in the conference standings.
The Lady Blues lead the all-time series with Missouri Western, 47-38. They have won the last five meetings and 13 of the last 14. Washburn has won 10 straight against Missouri Western in Lee Arena.
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 334-68 in his 13 years and with his .831 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 five 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 remain ninth in latest national poll
The Lady Blues kept their No. 9 ranking in the USA Today Sports national poll as the ranking was released Tuesday afternoon. Washburn has now been in the top 10 five times this year.
The Lady Blues have been ranked in 167 of the last 168 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 120th time in the national top 10.
Ashland remained the top team in the country and got all 32 first place votes with a 22-0 record. Previous opponent Western Washington is fourth in the nation. The Lady Blues remain the top MIAA team in the country with Central Missouri right behind at No. 10. Truman is 19th while Pittsburg State and Fort Hays 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 have top two shooters in the MIAA
Tiara George and
Lavonda McCall have battled the last few weeks for the MIAA lead in field goal percentage. McCall currently leads the conference shooting .607 from the field and George is second shooting .601 from the field. George's field goal percentage is fifth in the nation while McCall has not shot enough to qualify for the NCAA national report.
George has shot 50 percent or better in all but three games and better than 70 percent five times. She's is second on the team and 21st in the MIAA scoring 11.3 points a game.
Lavonda McCall has shot 50 percent or better in all but four games and over 65 percent 12 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 fourth straight opponent to under 50 points, lead MIAA and are fourth in nation in scoring defense
The Lady Blues have kept their opponents to less than 50 points eight times this year and are undefeated when doing so. They've done so four straight times and in six of the last seven games. In the last even games, Washburn is allowing just 45.7 points a game and 32 percent shooting from the field.
Overall, the Lady Blues allow 51.4 points a game to lead the MIAA. That total is the fourth lowest in the nation and Washburn's field goal percentage defense of .334 was 10th lowest in the nation.
Only two of Washburn's opponents have shot better than 40 percent against the Lady Blues. Arkansas Tech shot .439 on November 24 and Northeastern State shot .435 on January 13.
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 next week's Capital One Academic All-America ballot.
Kinderknecht leads Washburn and is third in the MIAA with 15. 3 points a game. She's second in the conference with 2.9 made 3-pointers per game and 10th with 2.8 assists a game. She's scored in double figures in all but three games this year.
Nikki Olberding was Washburn's last academic all-district selection as she earned Capital One Academic All-America second team status in 1997-98.
Lady Blues finish road swing with 5-1 record
The Lady Blues just finished a stretch of six out of seven played away from Lee Arena and they went 5-1 during those six road games.
Washburn out-scored road opponents by 12 points a game and shot 42 percent while opponents shot just 33 percent. The Lady Blues blocked 6.17 shots a game in those seven.
Washburn is now finishing the season with seven of 10 at home.
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.
Coming Up Next
Washburn's four-game home stand will wrap up Saturday at 5 p.m. against Northwest Missouri State. Washburn has never lost in Lee Arena to NWMSU.
