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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Sometimes talent isn’t as important as chemistry. Shawnee Heights girls basketball coach Bob Wells could see his team had talent. But he had to wonder about the chemistry when Heights added three newcomers this winter who were most likely to start and play big roles for the T-Birds.

Pearmella Carter, Shawnee Heights

Imani McGlory, Shawnee Heights

Sami Baum, Shawnee Heights

The T-Birds made a run at the Class 5A State Tournament last season that came up just short, a loss to Piper in the sub-state finals. Wells wanted to build on that success, which was spearheaded by then-sophomore guard KK Emmot.

Emmot returned, as did versatile forward Reianna Vega, but the T-Birds lost Kaydence Torrez to graduation and Tayler Hanshaw, a current senior who is out with an injury, in addition to a couple of other key graduates. Wells would need to find athleticism, size, scoring and leadership if the T-Birds were to continue their run of success.

Into the gym this November walked three new players who brought those qualities, plus experience. An added benefit was that the three were a known commodity. For the most part, they knew each other and the returning T-Birds knew them.

Joining the T-Birds were senior Imani McGlory, a sharpshooting transfer from Topeka West, junior Pearmela Carter, a skilled scorer from Highland Park, and junior Sami Baum, a long wing who played for the NEK homeschool team.

Wells liked what he saw, but couldn’t be sure how well the group would work together.

“Without a doubt I wondered, ‘How are they going to jell together?’” Wells said after Tuesday’s 64-46 T-Bird win over De Soto. “They all knew each other when they were young kids, but that was when they were playing ‘bitty ball.’ Now they’re playing high-speed ball.”

Wells said after the T-Birds’first home game that the new T-Birds faced a tough learning curve but were growing. He said the team’s returners were helping to smooth the transition.

One month later – in its eighth game of the season – the new crew was called upon to step up under adversity. Facing De Soto Tuesday, Emmot was sent to the bench with early fouls. Averaging 18 points per game for the season, the junior spent much of the night on the sideline and managed just two points in the game. Someone would have to take up the slack.

The pressure was on the trio of newcomers, and they rose to the occassion. Carter, a powerful forward with a soft touch around the goal, scored 19 to lead the T-Birds. Baum knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. McGlory tossed in 14. The trio hit 16-29 shots from the field and 11-13 from the line.

The result was the T-Birds' fourth straight win as Heights improved to 5-3 on the season.

“We needed them to step up, and they did it within the execution of the team,” Wells said. “That’s what I was most impressed with. They were getting the shots we want them to get. It was really fun seeing them all step up and hit shots and rebound and play solid on defense.”

Was it the natural progression of players becoming more comfortable in the system that caused the trio to bloom Tuesday, or was it the absence of their scoring leader?

“It was probably a little bit of both,” Wells said. “They realized KK was not (in the game), I’ve got to step up a little bit here, and they did. And now they know they can do it.

“We’ve had so many games and so little practice time where they can get out there and really work together and start to feel like they know what’s going on. They’re starting to play without thinking instead of having to think about what they’re doing out there.”

Vega said familiarity with the new girls was key. Once they were in the program, it was a matter of embracing roles.

“We had seen them come from different places and we know what they are best at,” said Vega, who scored 13 points against De Soto. “So, we just fit them into the roster and let them do what they had to do. If they didn’t get it right, we explained to them how we do certain things. Eventually we were all on the same page and we are all learning together now at this point.”

Carter came to the T-Birds with the most familiarity. She knew both McGlory and Baum, who didn’t know each other. She also was friends with most of the returning T-Birds. Carter had shouldered a heavy load at Highland Park as a sophomore, serving as the Scots’ primary scoring option.

“I actually like (my role here) because the whole team is playing together and the whole team is scoring,” Carter said. “It’s like a group effort. Everybody’s cheering for each other, not getting jealous of each other. I went to Shawnee Heights Middle School, so it’s kind of like playing with old friends.”

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Created: 05 January 2026

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

As we wade into the first full week of a new year, it's natural to get excited about the future.

But while we look ahead to 2026, it’s also important that we don't forget those we lost in 2025.

In '25 we said goodbye to Bob Uecker (baseball). George Foreman (boxing), D. Wayne Lukas (horse racing), Dave Parker (baseball), Ryne Sandberg (baseball), Davey Johnson (baseball), Ken Dryden (hockey), Bob Trumpy (football), Lenny Wilkens (basketball), Fuzzy Zoeller (golf) and Greg Biffle (auto racing), but the losses were also felt close to home.

Longtime local radio broadaster and TopSports.news founder Bill Griffin passed away at the age of 69 just 20 days into 2025 while WIBW, Kansas state and University of Nebraska broadcaster Greg Sharpe passed away on Feb. 14 at the age of 61.

The year was also marked by the passing of Hayden Hall of Famer Rick Strecker on June 28 at 67 years old, Washburn University basketball Hall of Famer Ryan Murphy on July 9 at 45 years old and Hayden Hall of Famer Tom Stringer on Nov. 28 at the age of 64 .

Here’s a brief look at the legacy the five Topeka sports figures left:

BILL GRIFFIN

TopSports.news founder and longtime local radio broadcaster Bill Griffin passed away on Jan. 20, 2025 at the age of 69 after a 10-month battle with esophageal cancer.

Bill Griffin, who passed away Monday at the age of 69, was recognized during a 2022 Washburn University football game in Yager Stadium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Griffin grew up in the greater Kansas City area and played baseball and football at the University of Kansas before carving out a long multi-faceted business career in Topeka, including a stint as the general manager of the Heartland Park Topeka racing facility.  

It was Griffin's brainchild in 2020 to launch TopSports.news, a website dedicated to Shawnee County high school and Washburn University sports, and he was the heart and soul of the organization from its debut on Jan. 1, 2021.

Griffin also put together a 30-year career broadcasting high school sports with Hall of Famer Mike Manns, with Griffin continuing to broadcast games during his cancer fight, working his final high school basketball doubleheader six days prior to his death.

Manns said his longtime broadcast partner was a perfectionist in everything he did.

"Even if he made a little mistake he just knocked himself out, feeling bad about making a mistake and making sure he never ever made that mistake again,'' Manns said. "He told me one time, 'This is something I really enjoy, I love doing games and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else with my life right now than doing games.' '' 

GREG SHARPE

RICK STRECKER

Rick Strecker, a member of Hayden Catholic High School's first class of inductees into the school's Hall of Fame in 2021, passed away on June 28 at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Rick Strecker, who led Hayden to five state titles and served his alma mater in a variety of roles, passed away on June 28 after a battle with cancer. [File photo/TSN]

A 1976 Hayden graduate, Strecker served his alma mater as a physics and chemistry teacher, state championship coach, athletic director, principal and the school's president for nearly two decades before moving on to Blue Valley West in 2016.

Strecker, the student council president and athlete of the year as a senior at Hayden, led the Wildcats to three Class 4A  state championships in girls basketball and two in track during his coaching career at the school.

Strecker continued to teach and coach in multiple sports at Blue Valley West, including serving as the Jaguars' head girls basketball coach, until being forced to step away after receiving his cancer diagnosis early in 2025.

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Brooks Ballard

BROOKS BALLARD, Washburn Rural

A 6-foot-2 sophomore, Ballard connected on 6 of 10 3-point attempts and hit 7 of 11 shots overall and his only free throw attempt on the way to a career-high 21-point performance in Saturday's 68-53 non-league road victory at Olathe West, helping the Junior Blues improve to 5-2 on the season.

Hailey Caryl

HAILEY CARYL, Topeka High

Playing only her second game of the season after missing four games with an injury, the 5-foot-10 sophomore scored a career-high 26 points Friday night, including a 6 of 7 performance at the free throw line, as Topeka High posted its second straight victory, an 87-31 road decision over USD 501 rival Highland Park.

KK Emmot

KK EMMOT, Shawnee Heights

Emmot, a 5-foot-8 junior, scored 9 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining, as Shawnee Heights took a 38-36 home non-league victory over city rival Hayden Friday night. Emott scored 7 of the T-Birds' final 8 points as Heights improved to 4-3.

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