Matchup: Washburn (26-4) vs Incarnate Word (21-8)
Date: Friday, March 13, 2009
Time: 3 p.m. CST
Site: Canyon, Texas -- First United Bank Center (4,700)
Coaches: Washburn head coach Ron McHenry is 240-48 (.832) in his ninth season. He is 0-0 against the Cardinals.
UIW head coach Angela Lawson is 129-124 in her ninth season on the Cardinals bench. She is 0-0 against the Lady Blues.
Rankings: Washburn is ranked No. 8 in the WBCA Coaches Poll. UIW is unranked.
Series Record: First meeting
Streaks: WU has won their last six NCAA regional first round games
Last Meeting: n/a
Last WU win: n/a
Last UIW win: n/a
Worth Noting: Washburn won the 2008 NCAA South Central Regional in Canyon after defeating Angelo State, Central Oklahoma and Emporia State en route to the Elite Eight in Kearney, Neb. Radio: KTPK 106.9 FM
Web Stream

Live Stats:
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Washburn
Game Notes - NCAA Tourney Notes
WBB Page
Roster
Statistics
Schedule

Incarnate Word
WBB Page
Roster
Statistics
Schedule

Lady Blues to open NCAA Regional play with Incarnate word in Canyon, Texas . . .
The No. 8 ranked Washburn Lady Blues (26-4, 16-4 MIAA) will begin the trek back to the Elite Eight when they open NCAA South Central Regional action in Canyon, Texas when they take on Incarnate Word at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 13. Both teams are coming off a win from their conference tournament championships as Washburn topped then-No. 10 Emporia State 78-69 for the MIAA Tournament title - their fifth in the last seven seasons - while the Cardinals defeated St. Mary’s 61-59. It will be the first meeting between the two teams as the Lady Blues are looking to win their seventh straight NCAA opening round game dating back to the 2003 season.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
Washburn’s game with Incarnate Word will be on KTPK 106.9 FM. The games will also be streamed live online by clicking the live audio button under Lady Blues Basketball on the WU web site at www.wusports.com by clicking the live audio link under Lady Blues Basketball. Pregame show starts 15 minutes before tip.

The coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 240-48 (.835) record overall and 128-34 (.791) record in the MIAA with five MIAA regular season championships and the 2005 NCAA National Championship. McHenry has also led the Lady Blues to five MIAA Postseason Tournament titles including five of the seven played in Kansas City along with eight-straight 20-wins seasons. The five tournament championships is the most by any coach in MIAA history. McHenry has the highest winning percentage (.835) in MIAA history of coaches who have at least 200 wins. McHenry is 33-13 when both teams are ranked in the top 25 and 35-21 overall against top 25 teams.
He was named the Lady Blues head coach prior to the 2000-01 season. He is second among active women’s NCAA Division II Coaches in winning percentage. McHenry was named the MIAA’s Coach of the Year in 2005 and in 2006 and the Division II Bulletin National Coach of the Year in 2005. (complete bio on page 9 of notes.)
Incarnate Word head coach Angela Lawson is 129-124 in her ninth year as the Cardinals head coach. She is a 1988 graduate of Louisiana Tech. She was a member of the 1988 NCAA Championship team at Tech and she also won on as a graduate assistant coach at Tennessee.

Last time out for the Lady Blues. . .
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- No. 11 Washburn had a 13-point second-half lead get away, but that didn’t keep the Lady Blues from capturing their fifth MIAA postseason title in seven seasons as they handed No. 10 Emporia State a 78-69 setback in the MIAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament final Sunday evening (March 8) at Municipal Auditorium.
With the win, WU head coach Ron McHenry has won more MIAA postseason championships than any coach in conference history (5) and Washburn tied Central Missouri for the most tournament games won (29).
Washburn and Northwest Missouri State (which won the tournament in 2004 and 2008) remain the only schools to win a tournament championship since the event moved to Kansas City in 2003.
The Lady Blues came out of the gate fast, scoring the game’s first 10 points as they built a 16-4 lead seven minutes into the contest. The Lady Hornets (25-5, 17-3 MIAA) bounced back from the slow start and scored 12 of the next 13 points to get the deficit to one, 17-16, at the 10:35 mark.
Junior G Cassondra Boston did most of the damage in the rally, scoring ESU’s first nine before junior G Sophia Lenard’s three-point bucket capped the run. Boston had 13 points in the half and 25 for the game.
Up three with 3:31 left in the first half, Washburn out-scored the Lady Hornets by a 13-5 margin to hold a 43-32 lead at the break. Eight of senior G Janice Bright’s 13 first-half points came in that final stretch to end the period -- she finished with 25 points as well.
Junior C Dayna Rodriguez opened the second half with a layup to make it a 13-point game before the Lady Hornets began to chip away. ESU worked the deficit down to six twice before putting together a 16-5 run to get its first lead of the game.
A jumper by Boston tied it at 59-59 with 6:59 to go, and a layup from senior F Ida Edwards put the Lady Hornets on top with 6:14 on the clock.
That advantage proved to be short-lived, as senior C Stanecia Graham hit four straight free throws to make it a 63-61 Lady Blues lead at the 4:56 mark. Edwards had a chance to knot the score again after being fouled on the following possession, but she only made 1-of-2 at the charity stripe.
Washburn then scored the next nine points -- going 7-of-9 at the foul line -- to get its lead back to double-digits with one minute left and salt away the championship.
Bright added 12 rebounds to her 25-point scoring effort, as she wrapped up tournament Most Valuable Player honors. She finished the event averaging 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in the three games.
Graham came off the bench to score 17 with five rebounds and joined Bright on the All-Tournament Team -- she averaged 16 points and 6.3 rebounds in the tourney.
Boston distributed six assists with her 25-point night and also earned All-Tournament honors. She averaged 17.3 points and five assists on the weekend. Edwards finished with 11 points and eight boards, earning All-Tournament as well by averaging 17.7 points and 9.7 rebounds. Sophomore C Alli Volkens scored 15 off the bench for ESU.
Pittsburg State senior F Candice Gilbert rounded out the All-Tournament Team. She averaged 15.5 points and 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals in the Gorillas’ run to the semifinals.
Washburn/Incarnate word series notes . . .
The two teams have never met as the Friday meeting will be the first between the two schools.

About Incarnate word . . .
The Cardinals are 21-8 this season and have won 10 of their last 11 games while winning the last four straight. They topped St. Mary’s in the Heartland Conference tournament finals 61-59. They are led in scoring by Nia Torru who is averaging 18.4 ppg. She is also averaging 6.8 rebounds per game. Also averaging in double figures is Cinnamon Kava with 13 points per game and Hayley Harvey with 11.9 ppg. Jasmine Smith leads the Cardinals on the glass with 7.9 rebounds per game.
Washburn and Incarnate Word share a common opponent from this season in Southwest Baptist. The Cardinals topped SBU 73-65 on Nov. 28 in the St. Mary’s Thanksgiving Holiday Classic.

Last time out for Incarnate Word . . .
(March 7, 2009) In the third women’s basketball matchup between St. Mary’s University and University of the Incarnate Word this season, the Cardinals had to avoid coming out timid and without energy in order to try and beat the Rattlers – who had defeated UIW twice already this season.
With an automatic bid on the line for the NCAA Division II Regional Basketball Tournament, the Cardinals out-rebounded the No. 16 team in the country and got 23 points off their bench to pull out a 61-59 victory against STMU at the Bill Greehey Arena at St. Mary’s and win the Heartland Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Incarnate Word (21-8) had only two players in double-digits – guard Edricka Thomas with 12 and forward Keisha Grrenwood with 13 – while usual leading scorer Nia Torru had seven points, five rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes of play.
Other usual candidates to score ten or more for the Cardinals – Cinnamon Kava and Hayley Harvey – chipped in five points and nine points, respectively, while junior Jasmine Smith had double-digit rebounds for the second consecutive game, pulling down 10 rebounds and scoring six points.
For St. Mary’s (24-5) Rachel Jones scored 20, Mallory Moeller had 17 and Ashton Benford scored 11. Natalie Gamez played 36 minutes and six points to go with her seven rebounds.
In a game that saw 11 tied scores and nine lead-changes, UIW was able to go into halftime with a 26-25 lead, but that one-point advantage wouldn’t last long as STMU pushed itself out to an eight-point lead, 40-32, with 13:48 on the clock.
It was the largest lead of the game for the Rattlers and for either squad.
On the flip side, Incarnate Word was able to get its largest lead of the game (four points) at the 9:22-mark when Torru hit a jumper for a 45-41 advantage.
The teams fought back and forth the next six minutes, with STMU taking a three-point lead at the 3:08-mark when Jones scored on a layup for the 57-54 lead…which would prove to be the last field goal scored by the Rattlers the rest of the way.
The Cardinals then went on a 7-to-2 run the rest of the way, allowing just two free throws to St. Mary’s who missed four shots from the floor in the remaining minutes – including a 3-pointer by Jones with 00:01 on the clock which would have one the game.
UIW’s Smith scored the go-ahead basket with six seconds left to play, 60-59, after grabbing an offensive rebound. Kava hit a free throw after being fouled following her second steal of the game for the 61-59 lead.
The win was the first against STMU on the year for the Cardinals, who had lost to the Rattlers at Bill Greehey Arena earlier in the season – 60-38 on January 24th – and also lost to STMU at the McDermott Center, 65-59, on February 21.
UIW’s Jasmine Smith was named the tournament MVP.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 25th season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 315-57 (.842) overall at home. Washburn won their 300th game against Emporia State on Feb. 23, 2008. The longest winning streak was 44 games from Dec. 1, 1990 to March 20, 1993.
The Lady Blues have won 40 straight regular season non-conference games in Lee Arena. The last defeat by a non-conference team in the regular season was to Missouri-St. Louis in a 59-51 setback on Dec. 30, 2000.
Washburn is 124-12 (.910) in home games under Ron McHenry. Five of the 12 losses came in his first year on the Lady Blues bench. In the last seven seasons, Washburn is 116-7 (.942).

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 721-331 (.683 in 1,042 games) in its 40th season of intercollegiate action.

WU in the national poll . . .
(March 10, 2009) The Washburn Lady Blues climbed from No. 11 to No. 8 in the latest WBCA Top 25 Coaches Poll which was released today. The Washburn Lady Blues have been ranked in 109 consecutive top 25 polls and have received votes in the last 124 top 25 coaches polls.

Following a Lady Blues loss . . .
• Following a loss, the Lady Blues are 35-10 under head coach Ron McHenry.
• In the 35 wins, the average margin of victory has been 11.6 points. In the last six-plus years (including the 2003-04 season), the Lady Blues are 19-0 following a loss with an average victory margin of 18.4 points per game.

Tip-Ins . . .
• Washburn is 4-1 in the program’s history on any Friday the 13th.
• Washburn is 2-2 in the program’s history on March 13.
• Washburn is 4-0 in the program’s history on March 14.
• Washburn has never played on March 16 in the program’s history.
• Washburn has kept opponents under 100 in 314 consecutive games.
• The Lady Blues are 104 of 215 (.484) from the field in the last five minutes of games this season compared to their opponents who are shooting 98 of 261 (.375).
• Washburn is shooting 358 of 891 (.402) from the field in the first half of games this season and 395 of 832 (.475) in the second half of games this season.
• Washburn is scoring 6.1 more points per game in the second half compared to the first half of games this season (39.0 to 33.1).
• In the Lady Blues’ 26 wins this season, Washburn has five players averaging at least six points per game - in the three losses, only four are averaging at least 6.0 ppg.
• Janice Bright has scored at a 24.5 ppg average in the four losses and 17.7 in the 26 wins. Bright and Stanecia Graham (13.3) are the only Lady Blues to average double figures in the four losses. She is also the only Lady Blue to average double figures in home games this season (16.8 ppg).
• The Lady Blues are shooting 42 percent from the field in road games this season (299 of 705). They are hitting 77 of 235 3-pointers (.328 and 185 of 240 free throws (.771). Washburn is averaging 71.7 ppg in road games and allowing 64.8.
• Washburn has only played three neutral court games this season - all in the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City.
• Washburn’s starters are being outscored by their opponents starters in scoring this season 1371 to 1355 (45.7 to 45.2 ppg) … Washburn’s bench is outscoring their opponents bench 28.6 to 14.4 ppg or 859 to 432 on the season.

Under head coach Ron McHenry . . .
• McHenry moved into seventh on the all-time win chart passing former SBU head coach Jim Middleton (1994-2008) who was 239-158 on the bench. McHenry enters the Incarnate Word game with a 240-48 record. Next on the win chart is former Northwest Missouri head coach Wayne Winstead (1982-99) who was 250-208 on the Bearcats bench who is in fifth place in all-time MIAA wins.
• Washburn is 208-13 when leading at the half.
• Washburn is 72-1 when scoring at least 81 points.
• When opponents are held to 70 points or below, Washburn is 181-32 … when opponents are held to 60 points or less, the Lady Blues are 165-15.
• Washburn is 229-9 when leading with five minutes to go in the game.
• Washburn is 201-11 when outshooting their opponent.
• Washburn is 36-21 against ranked teams and the Lady Blues’ record against ranked teams when both are ranked in the top 25 is 34-13.

Lady Blue Notes. . .
3 • Brette Ulsaker • G • 5-9 • Jr. • 5.0 • 2.5 • 2.3 • 14 points in MIAA Tourney final was two off of career high (16 vs MSSU)
#4 • Stanecia Graham • F • 6-1 • Sr. • 12.0 • 5.2 • 0.2 • Has averaged 14.1 ppg in 14 games coming off the bench this season
#5 • Erica Brown • G • 5-9 • Jr. • 4.8 • 2.1 • 0.9 • 16 minutes against MSSU one shy of career high
#10 • Lauren Henry • G • 5-4 • Fr. • 0.3 • 0.0 • 0.0 • Has played in six games this season
#11 • Renata Germano • C • 6-2 • Sr. • 2.6 • 1.3 • 0.7 • 28 career blocks is 25th all-time at Washburn
#13 • Jessica Mainz • G • 5-9 • Sr. • 6.7 • 4.1 • 4.9 • Has won 3 MIAA Basketball Tournament Championships at Washburn
#14 • Alyssa Mullen • F • 5-11 • So. • 1.3 • 1.8 • 0.6 • 21 of 50 rebounds on offensive side
#20 • Hadleigh Meek • G • 5-8 • So. • 0.7 • 0.3 • 0.4 • 4 of 9 from the field this season
#21 • Cassie Lombardino • C • 6-3 • Fr. • 0.9 • 0.6 • 0.0 • Two offensive rebounds in last two games played
#23 • Jacki Tipping • G • 5-10 • Jr. • - • - • - • Redshirting after having preseason ankle surgery
#24 • Karla Tailele • G • 5-6 • Sr. • 6.2 • 1.6 • 1.2 • Averaged 8.7 ppg in three MIAA tournament games last weekend
#25 • Stevi Schultz • G • 5-9 • Fr. • 1.7 • 0.8 • 0.3 • Six of 7 from free throw line this season
#30 • Kalee Silovsky • F • 6-0 • Sr. • 4.8 • 3.6 • 0.8 • Eight of 17 from field in last three games (7.1 ppg)
#32 • Janice Bright • G • 5-9 • Sr. • 18.6 • 4.9 • 1.6 • Needs 94 points to reach 1000 for WU career
#33 • Hope Gregory • F • 5-10 • So. • 5.3 • 3.5 • 0.9 • 6 of 10 in last three games from the field
#40 • Dayna Rodriguez • F • 6-2 • Jr. • 7.5 • 4.0 • 1.2 • 49 of 119 rebounds this season have been offensive
#42 • Raychel Boling • F • 6-0 • Jr. • - • - • - • Redshirting after transferring from Fort Hays State
#44 • Emily Gibson • F • 6-1 • So. • 0.5 • 1.1 • 0.2 • Five of six from the free throw line this season

Lady Blues in the NCAA tournament notes . . .
• Washburn is making their 13th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and their eight straight overall.
• The Lady Blues are 23-11 (.676) all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Washburn is 6-1 in their first round NCAA Tournament games under head coach Ron McHenry.
• Washburn is 5-1 in NCAA Tournament in second round under Ron McHenry.
• Washburn is 3-2 in the regional final under McHenry winning in 2003, 2005, 2008 and falling in 2006 and 2007.
• The Lady Blues are 10-3 against teams from the Lone Star Conference in the NCAA Tournament. They are 4-1 against West Texas A&M, 0-1 against Southeastern Oklahoma, 1-0 against Abilene Christian, 3-0 against Angelo State, 1-0 against Central Oklahoma, 1-0 against Midwestern State and 0-1 against Texas A&M-Commerce.
• Washburn is 1-0 against teams from the Heartland Conference topping St. Mary’s 92-58 on March 10, 2006 in Topeka.
• Washburn is 7-3 in the NCAA Tournament against teams from the MIAA going 2-0 against Central Missouri, 1-0 against Missouri Southern, 0-2 against Missouri Western, 1-0 against Northwest Missouri and 3-1 against Emporia State.
• Washburn is 3-0 in NCAA Tournament games played in Texas.
• Washburn has been in 12 NCAA Tournaments with eight straight counting this year’s tournament.
• Washburn has made five Elite Eight (1992, 1993, 2003, 2005, 2008)
• Washburn has reached two Final Fours (1993, 2005)
• Washburn won the 2005 NCAA Championships.
• All-time in the first round, Washburn is 10-3 winning their last six games.
• The last opening round loss was to Southeastern Oklahoma on March 7, 2002 in a 63-50 defeat in St. Joseph.
• Washburn is 1-4 in the national quarterfinals. Lady Blues head coach Ron McHenry is 1-2 in national quarterfinal games falling 65-53 to Northern Kentucky on March 26, 2003 in St. Joseph, Mo., and winning on March 23, 2005 in Hot Springs, Ark., winning 73-60. Washburn fell in double overtime to South Dakota on March 26 in Kearney, Neb. during the 2008 NCAA Elite Eight.

2009 Washburn Postseason Honors . . .
Janice Bright
• MIAA First Team All-MIAA
• MIAA Tournament Most Valuable Player
• WBCA All-American Regional Finalist
• Daktronics First Team All-Region

Jessica Mainz
• MIAA Second Team All-MIAA
• MIAA Most Valuable Defensive Player

Stanecia Graham
• MIAA Honorable Mention All-MIAA
• MIAA All-Tournament Team

NCAA Tournament Schedule . . .
Friday, March 13
Game #1 - No. 3 Central Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Southeastern Oklahoma - 1 p.m.
Game #2 - No. 2 Washburn vs. No. 7 Incarnate Word - 3 p.m.
Game #3 - No. 4 Emporia State vs. No. 5 St. Mary’s - 6 p.m.
Game #4 - No. 1 West Texas A&M vs. No. 8 Abilene Christian - 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 14
Game #5 - Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 - 6 p.m.
Game #6 - Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 8 p.m.
Monday, March 16
South Central Region Championship Game - Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 7 p.m.
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