The No. 5 Lady Blues make sixth straight NCAA appearance and will open with Angelo State on Friday . . .
The No. 5 ranked Washburn Lady Blues (27-3), fresh off claiming their third straight and fifth overall MIAA Postseason Tournament Championship will make their sixth straight NCAA Postseason appearance under seventh-year head coach Ron McHenry as they open with Angelo State on Friday at 1 p.m. in St. Joseph, Mo. Angelo State enters the game with a 17-11 record after falling in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament to eventual tourney champs Texas A&M-Commerce 65-59.

Lady Blues on radio . . .
Lady Blues games will be broadcast on KTPK 106.9 FM 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://images.radcity.net/5089/1635475.asx.

The coaches . . .
Washburn head coach Ron McHenry has posted a 186-36 (.838) record overall and 98-26 (.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.)
Angelo State head coach Sally Walling Brooks is in her seventh season as the head coach of the Belles and in that short time has taken a struggling program and turned it into a championship program.
Over her previous six seasons at the helm of the Belles, Brooks has led ASU to a 156-54 mark, four LSC South Division (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005) titles and three LSC Tournament championships (2002, 2004, 2005). Prior to her arrival at ASU, Brooks led the University of Incarnate Word to a 155-106 record over a nine-year span. Overall, she is 311-160 in her 16th season as a head coach.

Last time out for the Lady Blues . . .
Lady Blues win 3rd straight MIAA Tournament Title with 71-70 win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sophomore G Jessica Mainz’s free throw with 4.0 seconds left lifted the second-seeded Washburn Lady Blues to a 71-70 win over the top-seeded Missouri Western Griffons in the title game of the MIAA Women’s Basketball Championships Sunday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium. The Lady Blues (27-3) won the tournament for the fourth time in the five years it has been played in Kansas City, and third year in a row. They earned the MIAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
Washburn had a 21-point advantage at one point in the first half’s proceedings, but settled on an 18-point, 42-24 lead at the break. The Lady Blues shot 18-of-32 (56.3 percent) from the floor in the first half, with junior F Amanda Holmes (11) and junior G Corkey Stiger (10) accounting for half of the team’s offensive output.
The Griffons went nearly nine minutes without a field goal in the opening stanza -- junior G Ashleigh Curry’s three-pointer with 51 seconds left was Western’s first field goal since a bucket by senior C Inga Buzoka with 9:37 on the clock. MWSU was out-scored, 16-3, during the drought.
The second half brought a 180-degree turn to the game -- the Griffons warmed up and things went south for the Lady Blues. Washburn went without a made field goal for more than six minutes -- and saw a 15-point lead evaporate in that cold spell.
Western embarked on a 21-5 outburst, fueled by eight points from junior G/F Yanique Javois and six from Buzoka, and grabbed its first lead since the 16:54 mark of the first half -- 53-52 with 8:57 remaining.
There were seven lead changes and six ties in the last 8:39 of the game, as neither team could get more than one possession’s difference. The Griffons last lead came after a pair of free throws by junior G Chemia Woods at the 4:16 mark, making it 63-62.
Holmes answered with a jumper one minute later to give the Lady Blues the lead. The break for Washburn came on the next possession, as Curry went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe following a foul on the baseline charged to WU senior G Cindy Keeley to leave the score at 64-64 with 2:46 left.
Western would knot the score three more times in the final 2:16, the last on a Curry jumper with 20 seconds left. After WU planned their strategy in a timeout with 13.2 seconds left, Mainz was fouled by Javois on a drive to the bucket 9.2 seconds later.
Mainz, who led the Lady Blues soccer team to the MIAA title last fall as the conference’s MVP, stepped up to the foul line having made just two charities in her previous five tries -- and missed her first try. She regrouped and calmly sank the second attempt.
Western moved quickly to get a game-winning shot off, but Davis’ trey was wide of the mark, handing the Griffons their second loss in the last four games.
Holmes led Washburn with 19 points (on 8-of-24 shooting from the field) and nine rebounds, and earned All-Tournament honors. Stiger ended up with 15 points off the bench and picked up the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award. Senior F Brooke Ubelaker chipped in 10 points.
Javois was 5-of-9 from three-point range and led all scorers in the final with 21 points. Curry and Buzoka each registered 14 points -- Buzoka added seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Davis had 12 rebounds and six assists to go with six points.
Javois, Curry and Davis rounded out the All-Tournament Team.

Washburn/Angelo State series notes . . .
Friday’s meeting is the third in the all-time series. The Lady Blues have won both previous meetings including a 76-67 win on March 12, 2005 in the second round of the 2005 NCAA South Central Regional Tournament in Springfield, Mo. The Lady Blues also won a 69-68 win over the Rambelles on Dec. 2, 2000 in a game also played in Springfield in the Drury Classic.

Last meeting with the Rambelles. . .
Meeting 1 - No. 2 Washburn 88, SBU 56
(March 12, 2005) SPRINGFIELD, Mo. The No. 3 Washburn Lady Blues advanced to the finals of the South Central Region with a 76-67 win over No. 6 Angelo State Saturday night at Weiser Gymnasium. Washburn improved to 31-2 and tied a school record for wins.
Washburn started strong for the second straight game and took an 11-6 lead early on Jennifer Harris’ layup on a pass from April Roadhouse.
The Lady Blues continued to stretch the lead behind Brooke Ubelaker’s 11 points on 3 of 5 3-pointers in the first half. Washburn led by as many as 12 before finishing the half with a 39-30 advantage.
Angelo State opened the second half with a 4-0 run to pull within five points on Natalja Tsurbakova’s jumper just a minute in.
Washburn responded with an 11-0 run on seven points by Ubelaker and four more from Juwanna Rivers to make it 50-34 with 12:52 left.
The Lady Blues led by as many as 17 points before the Rambelles made a late run to pull within 72-67 with 1:36 left. Carla Sintra iced the game on a jumper just inside the 3-point line on a pass from Rivers. Ubelaker led Washburn with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Sintra added 21 (13 in the second half). Rivers added 15 points off the bench.
Washburn owned the glass with a 37-21 rebounding edge.
Tsurbakova led Angelo State with 19 points, while Courtney Knowlin added 15 points and Sharon Ballenger added 10.

About Angelo State . . .
Angelo State is making their sixth straight NCAA Postseason appearance under seventh season head coach Sally Walling Brooks. The ‘Belles finished the season 17-11 and reached the Lone Star Conference semifinals before bowing out to eventual champion Texas A&M-Commerce.
ASU is led in scoring by Kandra Lakey. The 5-10 junior forward is averaging 12.2 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. She has started 15 of 27 games. She is the only Rambelle averaging in double figures, but the ‘Belles do have six averaging at least six points per game.
ASU is scoring 62.9 points per game and holding opponents to 56.4 points. They are shooting 41 percent from the field hitting 646 of 1568 attempts.

Last time out for Angelo State . . .
(March 2, 2007) The Angelo State women’s basketball team (17-11) fell at Texas A&M University-Commerce, 65-59, in the Lone Star Conference semifinals Friday night.
The ‘Belles played from behind for most of the night until finally taking a lead, 49-48, with just over nine minutes left in the contest on a 15-foot jumper by freshman Lindsey Leatherman. ASU extended its lead to three points before the Lions would mount a nine-point run to take back control of the contest and seal their first-ever trip to the LSC championship game.
Senior Britinee Davis led the ‘Belles with 16 points hitting 3-of-9 shots from three-point range. Freshman Tiffany Hardwell recorded her first double-double of her young career with 12 points along with a game-best 12 rebounds while senior guard Asheia Haynes rounded out the ‘Belles in double figures with 10 points. ASU did not make a trip to the free-throw line in the first half, but hit 11-of-11 shots from charity stripe in the second period.
Texas A&M-Commerce (24-8) was led in scoring by Britney Jordan’s 23 points as she hit 9-of-18 shots from field and 3-of-7 attempts from behind the arc. Katedria Mosley added 13 points while Kanani Marshall pitched in 11 points. The Lions shot 43.1 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from three-point range. A&M-C will face West Texas A&M University in the LSC title game Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in Commerce.

Lady Blues notes . . .
#3 – Cindy Keeley – Has played in 11 NCAA Tournament games with a 3.3 ppg avg.
#4 – Amanda Holmes – Named to MIAA All-Tournament team after averaging 16.6 pts, 7.1 rbs
#10 – Jessica Aebi – Hit 5 of 8 3-point attempts at MIAA Tourney - avg. 7.6 ppg.
#11 – Renata Germano – Has hit 18 of 23 FT’s in the last five minutes of games this season (.765)
#13 – Jessica Mainz – Hit go ahead FT with 4.0 seconds left in MIAA title game over MWSU
#15 – Nikki Holmes – Scored 10 points in MIAA quarterfinals against SBU
#20 – Holly Henrichs – Has played in 76 games at Washburn
#21 – Corkey Stiger – Named MIAA’s MVP of the Tournament after scoring 55 pts in 3 games
#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 – Scored an NCAA Tourney high against West Texas A&M on 3/11/05
#32 – Brooke Ubelaker – Needs 21 points to move from 4th to 3rd on all-time scoring chart (1,791)
#33 – Hope Gregory – Will redshirt this season straining previous injury

Lady Blues tip-ins. . .
‰Senior Brooke Ubelaker has started all 131 games of her Washburn career and she has scored in double figures in 100 games. Her start against Emporia State broke the school record for starts with her 126 snapping Brenda Shaffer-Dahl’s record of 125. She broke the MIAA record of 129 set by ESU’s Emily Bloss (1997-2001) in the conference tournament semifinals.
‰Senior Cindy Keeley has played in 131 games at Washburn career and is 12th on the all-time 3-pointers made chart with 74 for her career.
‰The Lady Blues bench has outscored their opponents bench this season 820-430.
‰The Lady Blues have not allowed an opponent to shoot above 50 percent in a game in a streak of 69 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 248 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 224-80 (.731) all-time in MIAA play.
‰Washburn is 96-10 in games in Lee Arena under head coach Ron McHenry.
‰Cindy Keeley moved into a tie for 18th in career blocks with 41. She also moved into a 12th on the all-time steals chart with 143.
‰Four of the six Lady Blues seniors, including Holly Henrichs, Cindy Keeley, Megan Sullivan and Brooke Ubelaker have been with the program for four years and have accumulated a 120-11 overall record becoming the second straight Washburn senior class to average at least 30 wins a season.
‰Brooke Ubelaker’s 81 3-pointers made this season broke her record of 71 set last season.

Lady Blues in Lee Arena . . .
In their 23rd season in Lee Arena, the Lady Blues are 288-55 (.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 96-10 (.901) in home games under Ron McHenry.

Lady Blues history . . .
Washburn is 667-319 (.678 in 986 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 . . .
(March 6, 2007): The Washburn Lady Blues went from No. 6 to No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll that was released today. The Lady Blues have been ranked in 76 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.

2007 Washburn postseason honors . . .
MIAA All-Conference Team
Brooke Ubelaker - Unanimous First Team All-MIAA
Cindy Keeley - MIAA All-Defensive Team and Defensive Most Valuable Player
Amanda Holmes - Second Team All-MIAA
Corkey Stiger - Second Team All-MIAA
MIAA All-Tournament Team
Corkey Stiger - Tournament Most Valuable Player
Amanda Holmes - All-Tournament Team

Lady Blues in the MIAA Postseason Tournament wrap up . . .
• The Lady Blues have won nine straight MIAA Tournament games with their last defeat coming on March 6, 2004 in the MIAA semifinals to Northwest Missouri in a 76-68 loss.
• The Lady Blues won their sixth MIAA Tournament Championship. This season was the 16th trip to the tournament for the Lady Blues and they are 25-11 (.694) all-time.
• The Lady Blues won the postseason tournament four of the five seasons that it has been played in Kansas City (2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007).
• The Lady Blues have two second place finishes in the postseason tournament.
• Central Missouri has the most postseason championships with seven. Washburn has six and Emporia State has four.
• In Kansas City, the Lady Blues are a combined 13-1 with the only loss coming to Northwest Missouri. They have four wins over Missouri Western, two wins over Truman, Southwest Baptist and Emporia State and single wins over Pittsburg State, Truman and Northwest Missouri.
• Overall, here’s how the Lady Blues have fared against MIAA opponents in the conference tournament.
Team Quarters Semis Finals In KC Overall
CMSU 0-1 1-0 1-0 1-0 2-1
ESU — 2-0 1-0 2-0 3-0
FHSU — — — — 0-0
MSSU — 2-1 1-0 — 3-1
MWSU 0-3 2-0 2-2 4-0 4-5
NWMSU 1-0 1-1 — 1-1 2-1
PSU 1-1 — 1-0 1-0 2-1
SBU 5-1 — — 2-0 5-1
TSU 2-0 — — 2-0 2-0
--- vs former members
UMR 1-0 — — — 1-0
UMSL 1-0 — — — 1-0
SEMO — 0-1 — — 0-1
Totals 11-6 8-3 6-2 13-1 25-11

Lady Blues tip ins in the NCAA Tournament . . .
‰The Lady Blues are 18-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
‰The Lady Blues are 1-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament in games played in St. Joseph going 1-2 at the MWSU Fieldhouse and 0-1 at the St. Joseph Civic Center.
‰The last time the Lady Blues played an NCAA Tournament game in St. Joseph on MWSU’s campus, they fell 63-50 to Southeastern Oklahoma on 3/7/02.
‰Washburn is 4-1 in their first round NCAA Tournament game under head coach Ron McHenry.
‰Brooke Ubelaker holds the Lady Blues NCAA single-game record with 5 3-pointers made against Angelo State in the NCAA second round game with the Rambelles on 3/12/05 in Springfield, Mo.
‰The 139 career points scored by Ubelaker is the third most in Lady Blues’ NCAA recordbook. She trails Shelley Foster who scored 149 points in 10 games and Jennifer Harris who scored 178 in eight games.
‰Cindy Keeley has played in 11 NCAA Tournament games, which ranks tied for fourth on the NCAA games played chart.
‰The Lady Blues are 6-2 against teams from the Lone Star Conference in the NCAA Tournament. They are 3-1 against West Texas A&M, 0-1 against Southeastern Oklahoma, 1-0 against Abilene Christian, 1-0 against Angelo State and 1-0 against Midwestern State.

Series records with Possible NCAA Tournament opponents . . .
No.1 Seed Missouri Western
The next meeting will be the 73rd between the Lady Blues and the Griffons. Washburn is 35-37 against the Griffons as Washburn has won 11 of the last 13 meetings after losing both regular season meetings this season while taking the last meeting on March 4 in the MIAA Tournament Championship game. In St. Joseph, Washburn had their four-game winning streak snapped earlier this year. In the MIAA Tournament, the Lady Blues are 4-5 all-time against the Griffons winning in the finals of this season’s tournament giving the Lady Blues wins over the Griffons in all four meetings in the postseason tournament in Kansas City. The teams have met twice in the NCAA Tournament with Missouri Western winning both match ups. The Griffons won 66-62 on March 11, 1994 and March 9, 1995 73-57.
MWSU head coach Josh Keister is 2-7 all-time against Washburn and Lady Blues head coach Ron McHenry is 11-9 against the Griffons.

No. 2 Seed West Texas A&M
The next meeting would be the seventh in the series as Washburn leads 4-2. Washburn has won the last two meetings including a 63-52 win on Dec. 20, 2005 in Las Vegas. All previous six meetings have been on neutral courts. Four of the six meetings have come in the NCAA Tournament, where Washburn is 3-1 against the Lady Buffs. West Texas A&M first year head coach Krista Gerlich has never faced Washburn and Lady Blues head coach Ron McHenry is 2-0 against the Lady Buffs.

No. 4 Seed Texas A&M-Commerce
The next meeting would be the first as the teams have never met on the court.

No. 5 Seed Emporia State
The next meeting will be the 73rd in the series. The Lady Hornets lead the all-time series 39-33. Washburn has won 13 of the last 18 games in the series. The teams split the regular season series with each team winning on their own courts by seven. The Lady Blues won the latest meeting on March 3, in the MIAA Tournament semifinals in Kansas City. Both teams have been nationally ranked the last 13 times they have played and they have both been in the top ten during 11 of the last 12 meetings. Eleven of the last 14 games between the two have been decided by less than ten points with four games decided by two points or less. The teams have met three times in the NCAA Tournament with Washburn winning two of the three meetings. Washburn won in the regional semifinals on March 15, 2003 with a 66-60 win in Topeka and then topped the Lady Hornets 63-51 on March 14, 2005 in the regional finals in Springfield, Mo. ESU won the last NCAA meeting on March 13, 2006 winning 61-59 in overtime over the Lady Blues in Topeka while snapping Washburn’s 51-game winning streak.
ESU head coach Brandon Schnieder is 11-12 against the Lady Blues and WU head coach Ron McHenry is 13-7 against ESU.

No. 7 Seed Northwest Missouri
The next meeting would be the 45th in the series. Washburn is 37-7 all-time against the Bearcats and have won the last seven meetings. The Lady Blues have won 22 straight games over the Bearcats in Topeka. The last win for the Bearcats in Topeka was in a 79-65 win on Nov. 30, 1985. The last win for the Bearcats in the series came in a 76-68 win over Washburn in the MIAA Tournament semifinals on March 6, 2004. In Maryville, the Lady Blues have won five of the last six games in Bearcat Arena last falling 67-59 on Jan. 14, 2004. The Lady Blues have won the only meeting in the NCAA Tournament winning 65-64 on March 12, 2004 in Springfield, Mo. in the South Central Regional quarterfinals.
NWMSU head coach Gene Steinmeyer is 3-16 against Washburn and Lady Blues head coach Ron McHenry is 14-3 against the Bearcats.

No. 8 Seed Montana State-Billings
The next meeting would be the first as the teams have never met on the court.

Remaining NCAA South Central Regional Tournament Schedule . . .
Missouri Western State University/St. Joseph, Mo.
Match-ups
Friday, March 9
#3 Washburn (27-3) vs. #6 Angelo State (17-11) -- 1 p.m.
#2 West Texas A&M (27-4)vs. #7 Northwest Missouri St. (18-11) -- 3 p.m.
#4 Texas A&M-Commerce (25-8) vs. #5 Emporia State (22-7) -- 6 p.m.
#1 Missouri Western (29-3) vs. #8 Montana St.-Billings (21-9) -- 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 10
WU/ASU vs. WTAMU/NWMSU -- 6 p.m.
TAMUC/ESU vs. MWSU/MSUB -- 8 p.m.
Monday, March 12
Championship Game -- 7 p.m.