Lady Blues alone in second in the MIAA

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 13 Washburn Lady Blues topped Missouri-Rolla 84-48 on Senior Day in Lee Arena Saturday afternoon.

Washburn, which improved to 22-3 and 13-3 in the MIAA, beat UMR for the eighth straight time. WU also moved into sole possession of second place in the MIAA after Northwest Missouri fell 60-59 at Missouri Southern.

The Lady Blues are a game back of Emporia State (21-2, 14-2 MIAA) heading into Wednesday's 5:30 game at White Auditorium in Emporia.

Washburn trailed by as many as six points early as UMR's Julie Hernandez scored eight points in the first four minutes. Andrea Durante's layup with 15:53 left in the half gave UMR a 10-4 advantage.

Washburn put the clamps on the Lady Miner offense and held UMR to just two more field goals the rest of the half. Montoya Whitfield, WU's lone senior, capped a 17-4 Washburn run with a layup with 2:40 left in the half. The Lady Blues led 36-25 at the break.

UMR didn't fare any better in the second half and finished with just 10 field goals in the game (five in each half). The Lady Miners were 10 of 41 (24.4 percent) from the field but hit 5 of 9 3-pointers and 23 of 26 free throws. Durante led UMR with 15 points, while Hernandez added 11.

Washburn, which won its fourth straight game, was led by Brooke Ubelaker's 17 points. Erin Menard added 11 points off the bench and hit 3 of 5 3-pointers. The Lady Blues outscored UMR 48-23 in the second half and had a 43-29 rebounding edge.