It was cold outside, but Washburn University women's basketball was hot from the start on Friday afternoon in Lee Arena, scoring 47 points in the first half to down Missouri Western 71-55 and earn a fourth straight win.
Washburn senior Payton Sterk (20) scored 20 of her game-high 22 points in Friday's 71-55 MIAA win over Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn improved to 14-5 overall and 7-3 in the MIAA while avenging an earlier loss to the Griffons (6-13, 2-8).
"I thought we did a really nice job in the first half with a lot of things we've been working on,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said. "We were solid defensively and stayed in front of the ball and I thought we got some really good looks offensively and weren't forcing.
"I thought our shot selection was great and a great team effort.''
It was the Griffons who took an early 9-7 lead with a pair of 3-pointers, but Washburn answered back with an 8-0 run, including five points from senior Payton Sterk, who had 20 in the first half.
"I think it definitely gets me going and gets the team going, too,'' Sterk said of her hot start.
The Ichabods shot 50.0 percent in the first quarter and ended the final minute on a 4-0 run to lead 21-14 after the opening quarter.
The Washburn run continued with the first four points in the second quarter, pushing the lead to double figures. A quick 5-0 burst was capped off by a 3-pointer from senior Gabi Giovannetti that pushed the lead up over 20 points.
While Washburn shot over 50.0 percent again in the second stanza, Missouri Western was held to just 2 of 8 shooting in the frame as the Ichabods built a 47-24 lead.
Out of the break Washburn's offense cooled off as they were held scoreless until junior Kellyn Hunter knocked down a jumper with 4:24 left in the quarter. She hit another shot to push the lead back over 20 points the next possession.
The Ichabod defense helped maintain the lead, with the Griffons hitting just 4 of 11 shots in the quarter.
The Griffons' offense picked up in the fourth quarter, scoring the first 10 points to make it a single-digit game with 6:38 remaining.
But Ichabod junior Britany Kogbara got a pair of shots to fall over the next few possessions to push the lead back into double digits. Missouri Western knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:06 remaining, but that was the last time it would get on the scoreboard as the Ichabods finished the game on a 6-0 run to put away a 16-point win.
The hot start helped Washburn shoot 40.7 percent for the game along with 8 of 17 (47.1) attempts from 3-point range. The Ichabods were also 19 of 22 at the free throw line.
Hayden girls roll past city rival Highland Park, 69-24
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
In a battle of former Centennial League foes, the Hayden Wildcats rolled to a 69-24 home win over Highland Park Scots Thursday night at the Bueltel Activity Center.
Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein scored a game-high 20 points in Thursday's 69-24 Wildcat win over city rival Highland Park. [File photo/TSN]
The Wildcats, ranked No. 9 in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, would get things started with sophomore standout Hailey Schmidtlein finding the basket to score the first of her game-high 20 points.
But the lead would not last long as Highland Park’s Zayah Kincaid would hit the first of her three 3-pointers to take a 3-2 lead.
The Lady Scots would hold the lead for a few minutes before Schmidtlein would find the basket again with a 3-pointer to put Hayden up 5-3 and the Wildcats wouldn’t look back as they would go on a 13-0 run before Kincaid would find the basket again to make it 18-5.
The Wildcats would answer with a 14-0 run to make it 32-5 before the Scots' Koralee Jones would get to the free throw line. The Wildcats would take a 39-9 lead into halftime.
Hayden sophomore Blakely Walter would get her team going early in the third quarter with a 3-pointer and Kincaid would match with her own 3-ball.
Hayden junior Emberly Connell would get going in the third as she would score 7 of her 11 points in the quarter. Connell, who mainly played junior varsity last season, has seen her minutes increase this year as Wildcat coach Carvel Reynoldson is trying to replace the four seniors he graduated a year ago.
“Well, if you watch her, she's always really talking and communicating on defense and she's a really good rebounder,'' Reynoldson said. "Sometimes the ball finds people like that, the hustle players, and she shows in practice that she can put the ball in the hole. So we're really not that surprised.”
“It’s always encouraging when your teammates have faith that you’re able to put the ball in the basket. I like how they have the same faith in me that I do as them,” Connell said.
The Wildcats would end the third quarter with a 57-19 lead and force a running clock in the fourth quarter.
Topeka Invitational Tournament: Topeka High, Topeka West advance to semis
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Due to a clock malfunction, Topeka High got a late start to Thursday's opening game in the Topeka Invitational Tournament at Highland Park.
And the Trojans also had to endure a late finish, being forced to overtime by Shawnee Mission East before the Trojans took command in the four-minute extra session to advance to the semifinals with a 49-43 win over the Lancers.
Topeka High basketball coach Robbie Sanders talks to his Trojans during Thursday's 49-43 overtime win over Shawnee Mission East. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I feel like I keep repeating it, but these guys have been through so much,'' Topeka High coach Robbie Sanders said. "They've experienced a lot of losing and a lot of bad times and one of the things that we tend to do is when things go bad we start to pout and hang our heads and I'm just trying to speak that life into them and let them know that they are good enough to beat anybody if we show up to play.''
The Trojans, now 7-5, will take on Lansing, a 59-57 winner over Shawnee Mission North, in Friday's 5 p.m. semifinal. The tournament schedule has been revamped due to the forecast of inclement weather, with the place games scheduled for Saturday now being pushed back to Monday.
Topeka High will be joined in the semifinals by top tournament seed Topeka West, a 70-50 winner over St. Thomas Aquinas. The Chargers will play Friday's first semifinal at 3:30 p.m. against Wichita Northwest, a 62-49 first-round winner over Highland Park.
After taking a 14-11 first-quarter lead over SM East (6-6), Topeka High trailed 25-19 at the half, 30-27 at the start of the fourth quarter and 41-39 in the final minute of regulation before 5-foot-7 senior Elisha Guest tied the game with a hoop with 14 seconds remaining and the Lancers missed a late shot to send the game to OT.
Guest then nailed a 3-pointer to open the four-minute overtime period and the Trojans led the rest of the way as High outscored East 8-2 to take the six-point victory.
"Elisha, small in stature, heart of a lion,'' Sanders said. "I just love that kid and I grow more appreciation and more fondness for his game every time I see him play.''
Senior Bryson McComas, who also scored in the overtime, led Topeka High with 12 points while Guest added 11 and sophomore Mar'saun Redmond 10 for the Trojans.
Senior Stephen Hloblik scored a game-high 19 points for SM East while senior Quentin Ochs added 10.
In the semifinals Topeka High will face a Lansing team which won its third straight game to improve to 4-6 with a hard-earned 59-57 win over Shawnee Mission North (6-4).
Deacon Manthe, a 6-foot-7 junior, led Lansing with 16 points, all in the second half, while junior Mehki Stephens added 11 points.
TOPEKA HIGH 49, SM EAST 43 (OT)
SM East 11 14 5 11 2 -- 43
Topeka High 14 5 8 14 8 -- 49
SM East (6-6) – Lucas 0-4 0-0 0, P. Ochs 3-9 0-0 8, Dillon 1-7 0-0 3, Hlobik 6-9 7-8 19, Konold 1-13 0-0 3, Zubeck 0-1 0-0 0, Q. Ochs 5-7 0-0 10. Totals 16-40 7-8 43.
Topeka High (7-5) – Aldridge 1-5 1-2 3, Guest 3-10 3-4 11, McComas 6-12 0-3 12, Ross 2-4 1-2 5, McFadden 0-1 0-0 0, Redmond 4-4 0-2 10, Luarks 0-1 1-4 1, Humphrey 3-5 0-1 7. Totals 19-42 6-18 49.
3-point goals – SM East 4 (P. Ochs 2, Dillon, Konold), Topeka High 5 (Guest 2, Redmond 2, Humphrey). Total fouls – SM East 12, Topeka High 11. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
Junior Prince Lassiter scored 15points in Thursday's 70-50 Topeka West win over Aquinas in the Topeka Invitational Tournament. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Chargers pull away in second half for 20-point win
On paper, Thursday's first-round game in the Topeka Invitational between third-ranked (Class 5A) Topeka West and three-win St. Thomas Aquinas looked like a mis-match.
But West coach Christian Ulsaker was well aware of Aquinas' tradition and the fact that the Saints had played one of the state's toughest schedules, and he knew the Chargers would get tested.
"We talked about it, that that record goes out the window when you play St. Thomas Aquinas,'' Ulsaker said. "They're a very well-coached team and very fundamentally sound and it was a battle for three and a half, four quarters.
"So hats off to them, making it a tough game.''
After jumping out to a 22-13 first-quarter lead, Topeka West, now 10-2, got that test in the second quarter, with Aquinas rallying to take a 35-31 advantage in the second stanza and leading 36-34 inside the final minute of the half before senior Keimani Paul hit a 3-pointer and junior Prince Lassiter converted a traditional three-point play to put the Chargers up 40-36 at the half.
Topeka West then showed its dominance after the break, outscoring the Saints 30-14, including a 17-5 advantage over the final eight minutes to pull away for the 20-point victory.
Lassiter, a 6-6 junior, led a balanced West attack with a game-high 15 points as all five Charger starters cracked double figures.
"Prince, he's a workhorse, and it's not easy to guard him for 32 minutes, I'll tell you that,'' Ulsaker said.
Jay'Veon Traylor added 14 points while Paul had 13 and Gad Munganga and Malakyah Duncan 11 apiece.
The Chargers did a lot of their damage from outside the 3-point line, hitting 10 3s on the night, while Lassiter dominated things on the inside.
Senior Nic Sabers led Aquinas with 12 points, including three treys.
West will now play a Wichita Northwest team which advanced with a 62-49 win over host Highland Park in Thursday's final first-round game.
TOPEKA WEST 70, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 50
Aquinas 13 23 9 5 -- 50
Topeka West 22 18 13 17 -- 70
Aquinas (3-9) – Renze 2-6 0-2 5, Gavin 2-5 2-3 6, Wayland 0-0 2-2 2, Browne 5-6 0-0 10, Sabers 3-7 3-4 12, Merfen 2-3 0-0 6, Bertholf 1-5 0-0 2, McCullough 2-4 1-1 5, NA 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 18-37 8-10 50.
Topeka West (10-2) – Munganga 3-9 2-2 11, Traylor 3-10 6-8 14, Duncan 4-9 1-2 11, Paul 5-8 0-0 13, Lassiter 7-13 1-1 15, Phillips 2-3 2-4 6, Fox 0-0 0-0 0, Ware 0-0 0-0 0, Doby 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 24-53 12-17 70.
3-point goals – Aquinas 6 (Sabers 3, Merfen 2, Renze), Topeka West 10 (Munganga 3, Paul 3, Traylor 2, Duncan 2). Total fouls – Aquinas 20, Topeka West 12. Fouled out – Browne. Technical fouls – none.
