Game Notes

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Bolivar, Mo. - After defeating nationally ranked Emporia State University last Tuesday (Feb. 8) and breaking a three-game losing streak, the SBU Bearcats host Washburn University this Saturday. The game can be found live on 99.9 KBFL, and streaming online at www.radiospringfield.com. A live webcast will be available as well, at www.AmericaOne.com.

The Coaches and the All-Time Series

SBU head coach J.C. Carter is in his third season on the Bearcat bench, where his teams have shown improvement each season. Last year's 10-18 mark was two games better than Carter's first year in Bolivar.

Entering his 11th season as the Lady Blues head coach, Ron McHenry has an overall record of 268-53 and has won 83 percent of his games. coach McHenry is the winningest coach at the NCAA D-II level and has won six tournament seasons in the past eight years.

Washburn leads the series against the Bearcats 30-11, and have won the last five meeting against SBU.

Last Time Out for the Bearcats

The SBU women knocked off the defending national champion #20 Emporia State Lady Hornets in Bolivar, 75-67. “I believe this team can do a lot of things” head coach J.C. Carter stated after the victory, “they were really excited, and need to be excited. This team works hard.”

The Bearcats ability to drive the lane, and hit clutch three point shots lifted them to victory over the Lady Hornets. “We attacked more offensively” coach Carter said after the game. The Bearcats had five women in double figures, including Whitney Malone, who had a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Ashleigh Gallio was the Bearcats leading scorer with 15 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the field, and 8 of 10 shooting from the stripe. Gallio also had 5 assists, and 1 block to go along with her excellent shooting night. Jaquavia Couch had a great game, scoring 12 points, and pulling down 7 rebounds. Courtney Heady and Chasity Prince both scored 11 in the win.

“Our defense was decent in the first half” coach Carter said, “once we started hitting our shots, our defensive intensity went up.” The Bearcats were able to hold Emporia State to 32.8% shooting from the field (20-61) and 28.6% shooting from beyond the arc (8-28).

Quick Hits

• Senior guard Ashleigh Gallio led the Bearcats in points against #20 Emporia State University last Tuesday (Feb. 8). Gallio scored 15 points, she also grabbed two rebounds, had five assists and one block.

• Junior guard Jaquavia Couch once again played a big role against the Hornets of Emporia State. Couch scored a total of 12 points, had three steals and grabbed eight rebounds.

• Courtney Heady played a total of 26 minutes against the Hornets, enough time to score eleven points and help the Bearcats with two assists, one rebound and one steal.

• Senior forward Whitney Malone is one of the front-runners for the MIAA All-Defense team. The senior from Attoka, Tennessee averages 8 rebounds per game (4th in MIAA) and 2.2 steals per game (4th in MIAA). Against Emporia, Malone had 13 rebounds 12 points, one assist and one block.

• The Bearcat women have an overall record of 8-12 (5-11 MIAA). Offensively SBU averages 64.4 points per game (9th in MIAA). Defensively SBU conceives an average of 65.9 points per game (9th in MIAA).

Scouting the Lady Blues

#16 Washburn University has a season record of 16-4 (12-4 MIAA). On the road Washburn is 4-4, at home the Lady Blues have a record of 8-0. The Lady Blues won their last match against the Jennies of Central Missouri State 55-49.

Cassie Lombardino is the leader scorer for the Washburn Lady Blues. She averages 16-3 points per game (6th in MIAA). Lombardino also averages 5.7 rebounds per game and has a total of 23 assists this season. Last time for the Lady Blues, Lombardino lead the Lady Blues against the University of Central Missouri with a total of 14 points.