Lady Blues move into tie for second

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 13 Washburn Lady Blues topped No. 17 Northwest Missouri State 66-57 in Lee Arena Wednesday night. The Lady Blues moved into a tie for second in the MIAA with Northwest at 12-3 in the MIAA and improved to 21-3 overall. Emporia State had a one game lead at 13-2 in the conference.

Northwest jumped out an early 6-0 lead, using strong play in the paint. Washburn battled back to take a two-point lead with 14:28 left in the first half on Brooke Ubelaker's basket. The two teams continued to battle throughout the first stanza, with neither team leading by more than four points. The 'Cats took a 26-25 lead into halftime.

Northwest came out strong in the second half, extending its lead to three on a bucket by Sarah Vollertsen. On three consecutive trips down the floor, the Lady Blues drained three-point buckets and tied the game on at 35 on Juwanna Rivers' second straight 3-pointer with 15:05 remaining in the game. The Lady Blues capped a 13-0 run on Erin Menard's 3-pointer with 12:44 left to make it 45-35. Northwest pulled within 54-50 with 5:45 left but never got closer.

Carla Sintra scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Lady Blues, while Lora Westling added 16 points. Erica Hatterman led Northwest with 16 points, while Sarah Vollersen added 16 points.

Washburn, which won its 19th straight over Northwest in Lee Arena, owned the boards with a 53-34 rebounding advantage.

The Lady Blues are back in action 1:30 p.m. Saturday for Senior Day. The Lady Blues will honor their lone senior Montoya Whitfield at the conclusion of the game.