By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SILVER LAKE (4-0, 2-0) at ROSSVILLE (5-0, 0-0)
Tuesday's early-season War on 24 showdown matches Silver Lake, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 3A by the KBCA, against Rossville, No. 9-ranked in 3A. Silver Lake ended its pre-holiday schedule with a 59-36 Mid-East League win over St. Marys while Rossville ended 2022 with a 63-12 non-league romp past Kansas City Christian. Junior Makenzie McDaniel paced Silver Lake with 21 points against St. Marys while senior Taylor Ross added 10 points. Rossville raced out to a 31-2 first-quarter advantage over KCC and cruised the rest of the way as four Bulldawgs cracked double figures. Freshman Rylee Dick led Rossville with 18 points while junior Emma Mitchell added 15 points, junior Kinsey Perine 11 points and junior Katie Spielman 10.
JUNCTION CITY (1-5, 0-0) at WASHBURN RURAL (3-2, 0-0)
Washburn Rural, ranked No. 7 in Class 6A by the KBCA, knocked off a pair of state-ranked Class 6A teams in its final two games before the Christmas break, including rallying from a double-digit deficit for a 49-34 win over Wichita Heights in its final game of 2022. Junior Zoe Canfield scored 15 points with four 3-pointers against Heights while senior Brooklyn DeLeye added 14 points. Junction City dropped a 68-53 decision to Wichita Northwest to end its pre-holiday slate. Both teams will be playing their Centennial League openers.
HAYDEN (3-1, 0-0) at EMPORIA (6-0, 0-0)
Hayden and Emporia will already be playing for the second time this season, with the Spartans taking a 52-27 win over the Wildcats in the second round of the Paul Terry Classic at Emporia. Hayden is coming off a 71-14 non-league romp past Kansas City-Bishop Ward in its final game of 2022 as junior Avery Grunert led the Wildcats with a career-high 17 points off the bench. Junior Lauren Sandstrom added 16 points for the Wildcats, sophomore Brylee Meier 13 points and junior Reagan Huscher 11. Emporia, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A by the KBCA, ended its pre-holiday slate with a 45-39 non-league win over Great Bend. Tuesday night's game will be the Centennial League opener for both schools.