Lady Blues sweep ESU; clinch 2nd place in MIAA

Feb. 20, 2002

The Washburn Lady Blues secured second place and a No. 2 seed in the MIAA Tournament with a 79-70 victory over Emporia State at White Auditorium Wednesday night.

The victory, which gave Washburn its first seven-game MIAA winning streak since 1994, gave Washburn a 20-win season for the first time since the 1994-95 season.

After scoring the first six points of the game, Washburn surrendered a 16-11 lead with 13:30 to play in the opening half. After the Lady Hornets made it 33-22, Washuburn pulled within 33-28 at the half when Lora Westling capped a 6-0 run with a layup to help Washburn pull within 35-30 at the half.

The Lady Hornets led by as many as six in the second half before Washburn took a lead on Bethany McGraw's two free throws, making it 47-46 with 14:16 to play.

Washburn pulled away and led by as many as 10 down the stretch to secure the victory, behind Crystal Walker's 13-point effort in the second half. She finished with 21 in the game, while Kristy Chapman had 11 points and six assists.

Washburn is back in action 5:30 p.m. at Pittsburg (Kan.) in its regular season finale against Pittsburg State.