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Washburn Women Look to Continue Hot Streak
By David Boyce
Washburn’s women’s basketball team has all the ingredients to make a deep run in the NCAA Division II tournament.
The Lady Blues have a complete starting five - a tall center who scores, a point guard with quickness, an off guard that can drain the three-pointer and two forwards who can score outside and inside.
And they all play pesky defense that hounds opponents into shooting less than 40 percent from the field.
“They are just aggressive on defense,” Central Missouri guard Kara Fleming said. “They don’t pressure so you can’t backdoor them. They just play hard defense. They talk a lot and help each other.”
But one aspect of Washburn that might mean more than the physical skills is the way they get along.
“Most importantly, we are having fun as a team,” junior forward Hope Gregory said. “We enjoy being around each other. That helps because when it comes time to play we are there, every single one of us.
“The bench players and everybody are there for each other.”
It’s a big reason why the Lady Blues enter the South Central Regional as one of the hottest teams around.
Washburn, 26-3, has won 13 games in a row. The Lady Blues face an opponent in the quarterfinals of the South Central Regional that’s aware of just how well they are playing.
Washburn, the No. 2 seed, takes on No. 7 seed Central Missouri, 19-11, at 2:30 p.m. Friday at First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas. The Jennies’ only two losses in their last 11 games came against Washburn, including the championship game of the MIAA Tournament.
“Only in the Deuce (Division II) do you play Washburn a fourth time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament,” Central Missouri coach Dave Slifer said.
Central Missouri is 0-3 against Washburn so far this season. They have the difficult task of trying to cool the Lady Blues down.
“We know a lot about them and they know a lot about us,” Gregory said. “We have a lot of things we didn’t show in the MIAA championship game.”
What is known is pretty difficult to stop. Center Dayna Rodriguez scores consistently when she gets the ball in the paint. Gregory and Brette Ulsaker can hit the long-range shots and score in the paint. Amanda Fessenden is almost automatic when left alone at the three-point arc.
Rose Hammond makes things happen from the point guard position. Most guards have a difficult time matching up against her.
The Lady Blues’ bench is just as effective. Sophomore center Cassie Lombardino showed in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament that she can score when she was thrust into the starting lineup because of a sore ankle for Rodriguez.
Junior Alyssa Mullen, sophomore Stevi Schultz and Laura Kinderknecht are all capable of scoring points when they come off the bench. They have all made important shots during the season.
The Lady Blues are ready to take their game to Canyon, Texas, and they hope it is good enough to earn them a trip to St. Joseph, Mo., for the Elite Eight.
“Coach Mac (Ron McHenry) always says toughness, and that’s something we worked on all season,” Ulsaker said. “We will come out ready to compete. We are competitive with each other every day and that’s what makes us better.”
Washburn also knows it can’t get complacent just because it is on such a good streak.
“We definitely have to be focused,” Gregory said.
“We need to leave what is in Topeka and go down there with
one thing in mind and that is to play until Monday
night.”
To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.
