The No. 3 Lady Blues to square off with No. 9 Lady Hornets in national tv game on College Sports Television . . .
The No. 3 ranked Washburn Lady Blues (22-2, 13-2 MIAA) will look to continue their five-game winning streak as they take on arch-rival Emporia State at 11 a.m., Saturday morning from Emporia’s White Auditorium. The Lady Blues topped Northwest Missouri 86-73 last time out while the No. 9 Lady Hornets (17-6, 10-4 MIAA) fell to Pittsburg State at home 65-62 for their first home loss of the season. Saturday’s game will also mark the 10th time in the last 11 meetings which both Washburn and Emporia State are ranked in the top 10 in the national poll.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
Lady Blues games will be broadcast on AM 580 WIBW with former Washburn quarterback Mark Elliott calling all the action with Bruce Steinbrock providing color commentary. The games will also be streamed live online at http://www.580wibw.com/audio/wibwam.asx.

Lady Blues on Television . . .
Saturday’s game with Emporia State will be broadcast on CSTV. The television talent for the game will be Ann Schatz. Schatz, a veteran television sports personality in the Portland area, is in her seventh season as a member of the Trail Blazers Broadcasting Team. She works the sidelines during home games, produces halftime features and does post-game center court interviews that accompany Trail Blazers television game broadcasts on KGW-TV (Channel 8) and Fox Sports Net. Ann joined the Trail Blazers organization after ten years as an sports anchor and reporter for KOIN-TV. In addition to being a member of the Trail Blazer broadcasting team, Ann also is a freelance play by play announcer, color commentator and sideline reporter. Ann’s other broadcasting credits include work for ESPN, College Sports Television (CSTV), and Fox Sports.
Tammy Blackburn is a color commentator for CSTV. She covered women’s basketball for the network in 1997 and in 1999 will also do sideline reporting for NFL broadcasts. She played basketball for San Diego State University and studied communications.
Upon graduation in 1994 she enrolled in the school’s graduate broadcasting program and provided color commentary for SDSU’s women’s basketball radio broadcasts.
In Topeka, CSTV is on channel 260 in the expanded Sports and Information Tier on Cox Cable. On Dish Network, CSTV is on channel 152 and it is broadcast on channel 610 on DirectTV. The CSTV agreement, which runs through 2009, provides an amplified platform to highlight Division II contests and student-athlete accomplishments, while also promoting the intercollegiate athletics philosophy for Division II member institutions. There are more than 74,800 student-athletes competing at 290 NCAA Division II colleges and universities nationwide.

The coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 181-35 (.838) record overall and 96-25 (.782) record in the MIAA with four consecutive MIAA regular season championships and the 2005 NCAA National Championship. He was named the Lady Blues head coach prior to the 2000-01 season. He is third among active women's NCAA Division II coaches in winning percentage and has the 10th most wins in MIAA history. 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 2 of notes.)
Lady Hornets head coach Brandon Schneider is 222-51 (.813) in his ninth year as head coach. He is the winningest coach in Lady Hornet history and is responsible for over one third of ESU’s all-time victories. He is the fourth winningest active coach by percentage in Division II and was the fastest women’s basketball coach in D-II history to win 100 games in his first job. He is the only coach in MIAA history with an .800 winning percentage and at least 200 wins. The Lady Hornets have gone to the NCAA Tournament in seven of his eight seasons as head coach.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
No. 4 Lady Blues top Bearcats behind strong 1st half, Ubelaker’s 22 points
MARYVILLE, Mo. – The No. 3 ranked Washburn Lady Blues scored 50 points in the first half and held off a Northwest Missouri comeback attempt in the second half in an 86-73 win over the Bearcats Wednesday night in Bearcat Arena. The Lady Blues will now return to action on Saturday morning in Emporia, Kan., against the No. 9 ranked Lady Hornets in game which will be nationally televised on CSTV starting at 11 a.m.
After putting up a first half season-high 50 points in the opening period, Washburn gave up 49 to the Bearcats who shot 57 percent in the second half hitting 21 of 37 attempts from the field. The Bearcats cut the lead from 26 at the break to as few as 13 with 5:05 remaining. However Northwest would get no closer as Megan Sullivan hit a jumper in the lane and Brooke Ubelaker hit back-to-back 3-pointers pushing the lead back to 18.
The Lady Blues jumped out to a 50-24 halftime lead as they started out the game 12 of 18 from the field pushing the early lead to 15 of 30. Washburn finished the half 20 of 36 from the field (56 percent) as Corkey Stiger and Ubelaker each scored 12 points in the opening period. The Lady Blues also held the Bearcats to 10 of 26 from the field and dominated on the boards holding Northwest to 11 rebounds overall, while the Lady Blues picked up 23. Washburn was also 7 of 15 from 3-point land compared to 2 of 10 from behind the 3-point arch for the Bearcats.
Ubelaker led the Lady Blues with 22 points in her school-record tying 125th start for Washburn. She also hit her 70th 3-pointer of the season, which is one shy of her school record 71 from last season.
Stiger finished with 18 off the bench. Jessica Aebi scored a career-high 16 points hitting 7 of 12 from the field. Megan Sullivan scored 12 points hitting 6 of 9 from the field. Cindy Keeley set a career-high with eight assists.
Notes from the Northwest Missouri game:
* The 50 points scored by the Lady Blues was a season-high for points scored in the first half.
* Washburn won their seventh in a row over the Bearcats and improved to 13-4 all-time in games in Maryville.
* Ron McHenry improved to 14-3 all-time against the Bearcats.
* The eight assists for Keeley tied a Lady Blues season high for the year with Corkey Stiger who had eight against Missouri Western.
* The Lady Blues improved to 221-79 all-time in MIAA play.
* Brooke Ubelaker hit double figures for the 96th time in her career and scored at least 20 points for the 16th time in 125 career games.
* Amanda Holmes moved into the top 10 all-time on the career block chart with her 59th.
* The 70 field goal attempts for the Lady Blues was a season high.
* Washburn improved to 37-7 all-time against the Bearcats.
* The Lady Blues improved to 8-4 on games played on Valentine’s Day.

Washburn/Emporia State series notes . . .
Saturday’s meeting is the 71st in the series. The Lady Hornets lead the all-time series 38-32. Washburn has won 12 of the last 16 games in the series. Both teams have been nationally ranked the last 12 times they have played and they have both been in the top ten during 10 of the last 11 meetings. Ten of the last 13 games between the two have been decided by less than ten points with four games decided by two points or less. The Lady Hornets won 61-59 in overtime of the 2006 NCAA South Central Regional Finals ending the Lady Blues NCAA Division II record 51-game winning streak. In the last meeting played in Emporia, the No. 1 Lady Blues rallied from a 14-point deficit with 10:17 remaining in the game in a come-from-behind 72-70 win over No. 3 ranked Emporia State winning their 34th consecutive game, snapping the MIAA record they shared with Emporia State, who won 33 straight games during the 1997-98 season.

Last Meeting with the Hornets . . .
(Jan. 6, 2007) TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 3 Washburn Lady Blues led from start to finish improving to 11-1 and 2-1 in the MIAA with a 69-62 win over No. 4 ranked Emporia State in a battle of top-five teams Wednesday night in Lee Arena.
Washburn never trailed in the game as they raced out to a 40-29 halftime lead on 45 percent shooting hitting 14 of 31 from the field. The Lady Hornets trailed by four at the 4:22 mark of the first half at 28-24, but Washburn went on a 12-5 run the remainder of the period to take the 11-point lead into the break.
In the second half, the Lady Blues were held without a field goal for the first 6:56 of the period as senior All-American Brooke Ubelaker ended the scoring drought with a 3-pointer. Up until that point, Washburn was 0-of-7 from the field. Emporia State had cut the lead to three at 42-39 on a 3-pointer by Michelle Stueve with 14:29 left in the game.
Washburn pushed their lead back to eight at 51-42 on a pair of free throws by senior Nikki Holmes, but a mini run by the Lady Hornets over the next 2:42 trimmed the Washburn lead back to three at 51-48.
Following a pair of senior Cindy Keeley free throws and a lay-up by Amanda Holmes, the lead was increased to 55-48. The teams traded baskets and following a three-point play by Amanda Holmes, Washburn was up by eight at 60-52 with 3:15 left. Amanda Holmes pushed the lead to nine after two more free throws as Emporia State would get no closer than six the rest of the way as Washburn hit 5-of-6 charity tosses to end the game.
Amanda Holmes led the Lady Blues with career-tying-highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds. It was her fifth double-double of the season for the Lady Blues. Ubelaker scored 12 points and senior Jessica Aebi scored 10.
Freshman Cassondra Boston scored 19 points as the only Lady Hornet in double figures. She scored 14 in the first half on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.
Washburn finished shooting 33 percent from the field hitting 20-of-59 attempts. The Lady Blues were 6-of-28 in the second half.

About the Emporia State Lady Hornets . . .
The Lady Hornets are 17-6 overall and 10-4 in the MIAA after falling at home to Pittsburg State 65-62. All-American Michelle Stueve leads the team scoring 17.7 points per game while adding 10 boards per contest. Also averaging in double figures is freshman guard Cassondra Boston with 10.0 ppg. Casey Henningsen rounds out the double figure scorers for ESU at 11.0 ppg.
ESU has lost their last two games falling to Central Missouri on Feb. 10 in Warrensburg.

Last time out for Emporia State . . .
(Feb. 14) The Pittsburg State Gorillas upset the #9 Lady Hornets 65-62 in White Auditorium on February 14.
The Lady Hornets came back from as many as 12 down, but were unable to complete the comeback as a last second 3-pointer by Tegan Stuart fell short at the buzzer. All-American Michelle Stueve had a double-double for the Hornets scoring 20 points and pulling down 10 rebounds and was joined in double figures by Casey Henningsen with 17 and Cassondra Boston with 11 points.
Pitt State led by 10 when the Lady Hornets went on a 10-0 run capped by a 3-point play by Stueve to tie the game at 52-52 with 7:54 remaining.
Anna Nimz led the Gorillas with 20 points while Candice Gilbert added 16 and Nikki Pierce 12 in ESU’s first loss to a team with a losing record in White Auditorium in the Brandon Schneider era.

Lady Blues notes . . .
#3 – Cindy Keeley – Had a career high 8 assists against Northwest Missouri
#4 – Amanda Holmes – Averaging 8.3 ppg in 31 MIAA games in her career at WU
#10 – Jessica Aebi – Career highs vs NWMSU (16 pts, 7 FGs, 12 FGAs, 5 rbs)
#11 – Renata Germano – 12 of 17 from free throw line in the last 5 minutes of games this season
#13 – Jessica Mainz – 26 minutes played against NWMSU last time out a new career high
#15 – Nikki Holmes – Hit 6 of last 9 field goals in last two games
#20 – Holly Henrichs – Played in her 73rd game of career vs Truman
#21 – Corkey Stiger – Averaging 20.8 points in last five games (43 of 74 from the field - 58%)
#23 – Stephanie Wittman – 5 of 13 rebounds this season have been offensive
#24 – Karla Tailele – Will redshirt this season with continuing knee problems
#25 – Megan Sullivan – Moved into top 20 on all-time rebounding chart (450 career)
#32 – Brooke Ubelaker – Averaging 12.0 ppg in 10 career games vs ESU
#33 – Hope Gregory – Will redshirt this season straining previous injury

Lady Blues tip-ins. . .
• Senior Brooke Ubelaker has started all 125 games of her Washburn career and she has scored in double figures in 96 games. Her start against Emporia State will break the school record for starts with her 126 snapping Brenda Shaffer-Dahl’s record of 125. The MIAA record is 129 set by ESU’s Emily Bloss (1997-2001).
• Senior Cindy Keeley has played in 125 games at Washburn career and is 12th on the all-time 3-pointers made chart with 63 for her career.
• The Lady Blues bench has outscored their opponents bench this season 687-353.
• The Lady Blues have not allowed an opponent to shoot above 50 percent in a game in a streak of 63 contests - Angelo State was the last time to hit 50 percent of their shots in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Springfield when they connected on 26 of 52 shots on March 12, 2005.
• The Lady Blues have not allowed an opponent to score 100 points in 242 straight games. The last foe to reach the century mark was on Jan. 27, 1999 when ESU scored 106 points in a 40-point win.
• The Lady Blues are 221-79 (.731) all-time in MIAA play.
• Washburn is 95-10 in games in Lee Arena under head coach Ron McHenry.
• Cindy Keeley moved into a tie for 19th in career blocks with 37. She also moved into 14th on the all-time steals chart with 131.
• The Lady Blues have six seniors who will be honored on Feb. 24 after the Central Missouri game. Four of them, including Holly Henrichs, Cindy Keeley, Megan Sullivan and Brooke Ubelaker have been with the program for four years and have accumulated a 115-10 overall record.
• Brooke Ubelaker’s 70 3-pointers made this season is the second most in school history behind the 71 she hit last season.
• Cindy Keeley’s 32 3-pointers made is 22nd on the single-season 3-pointer chart and her 50 steals are tied for 27th.
• Corkey Stiger’s 34 3-pointers made is 17th on the single-season 3-pointer chart and her 56 steals is 21st.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 23rd season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 287-55 (.836) overall at home. The longest winning streak was 44 games from Dec. 1, 1990 to March 20, 1993.
The Lady Blues were 15-0 in Lee Arena in the 2004-05 season, out scoring opponents by a 78.2-49.9 average. The Lady Blues were 13-1 in Lee Arena in 2003-04, 16-1 in 2002-03 and 15-1 in 2001-02. The Lady Blues have won 30 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 95-10 (.901) in home games under Ron McHenry.

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 662-318 (.678 in 980 games) in its 38th season of intercollegiate action. Entering this season, the Lady Blues were 24th in Division II winning percentage and 18th in Division II wins.

Lady Blues in the national poll . . .
(Feb. 13, 2007): The Washburn Lady Blues jumped from No. 4 in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll to No. 3 that was released today. The Lady Blues have been ranked in 73 straight weeks of the national poll dating back to the 2002-03 season. The Lady Blues have been ranked in the top 25 after being ranked in each poll the last four seasons, plus the last 15 of the 2002-03 season entering the poll on Dec. 11, 2002. Washburn spent the entire 2005-06 season as the No. 1 ranked team in the land before falling in the NCAA South Central Regional finals to Emporia State.

up next . . .
The Lady Blues will wrap up their longest road trip of the season as they will take on Fort Hays State on Feb. 21 in Hays, America. The Lady Blues will wrap up the regular season on Feb. 24 in Topeka against Central Missouri and celebrate senior day for six Washburn players: Brooke Ubelaker, Cindy Keeley, Megan Sullivan, Jessica Aebi and Nikki Holmes.