By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When NiJaree Canady, a 1,000-point scorer in just three high school basketball seasons, decided to bypass her senior season to concentrate on her future in softball, Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander knew her Trojans were going to need to make some changes, both in terms of personnel and style of play.
As a result, Topeka High, 68-5 over the past three seasons, is forcing the pace more offensively without the 6-foot Canady, a Stanford softball commit, in the middle while also trying to turn up the heat even more on the defensive end.
And while Alexander knows there's still plenty of work to be done, she's excited about the Trojans' 3-0 start and the way this year's team is creating its own identity heading into Tuesday's 6 p.m. Centennial League game at 2-1 Emporia.
"I think our true test is definitely going to be Tuesday against Emporia to see what we do against them, but I think that the guards know we're that fast-paced kind of team and we want to push it to the max,'' Alexander said. "We've got to do just a little better job or rebounding and things like that, but I think our leadership is key out there and they know when to push it and when to pull back a little bit.''
Topeka High junior Kiki Smith, who had 32 points, puts up a shot against Topeka West in the Trojans' 85-31 win last Friday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Tae Thomas (center) is coming off a 23-point performance in Topeka High's 85-31 win over Topeka West last Friday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Trojans have outscored their first three opponents by a 228-96 margin and are coming off an 85-31 league win at Topeka West last Friday night.
High got off to a little bit of a slow start offensively against the Chargers and Alexander credited the Trojans' effort on the defensive end for getting them up to speed.
"Things kind of started flowing once they got some easy touches underneath the basket,'' Alexander said. "Defensively we just tried different things against (West) -- zones, halfcourt traps, presses, just to work on a few things.''
Alexander also got the opportunity to play 13 players against West, which she feels will help the Trjojans' depth moving forward.
"It was good for us to see and get all those different people in and get them some touches,'' Alexander said.
Not surprisingly, Topeka High's most experienced players, senior Tae Thomas and junior Kiki Smith, have set the tone for the Trojans and combined for 55 points against West.
"Those guards have been playing ball their whole life, so when we found out about NiJa it was heartbreaking, but we knew we had to move forward because had too much talent to waste this season,'' Alexander said. "We're just excited for the season and want to keep going.''
A look at Tuesday's Shawnee County games:
GIRLS
TOPEKA HIGH at EMPORIA
Tuesday night's game figures to be the toughest thus far for Topeka High (3-0), with the eighth-ranked (Class 6A) Trojans taking on an Emporia team whose only loss came against undefeated Washburn Rural. Topeka High is coming off an 85-31 league win at Topeka West last Friday while Emporia took a 32-27 home decision over Seaman. Junior Kiki Smith scored 32 points and hit four 3-pointers for the Trojans against West while Tae Thomas had 23 points. Gracie Gilpin scored 15 points to lead 2-1 Emporia in the win over Seaman.
WASHBURN RURAL at HAYDEN
Washburn Rural, 3-0, 3-0 and ranked second in Class 6A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, is coming off a 54-12 Centennial League romp past Highland Park last Friday while Hayden (2-0, 2-0) topped Manhattan at home, 48-41. Junior Brooklyn DeLeye and sophomore Jada Ingram scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, for Rural against Hi Park while freshman Brylee Meier had a breakout 21-point game for Hayden in the win over Manhattan.
SEAMAN at HIGHLAND PARK
Seaman (2-1, 2-1) will be looking to bounce back from its 32-27 Centennial League loss to Emporia last Friday while Highland Park (0-3, 0-3) is still looking for its first victory after a 54-12 loss to Washburn Rural. Freshman Anna Becker led Seaman with 11 points against Emporia while seniors Aisya Taylor and Atiya Gonzales scored five points apiece against Washburn Rural.
TOPEKA WEST at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS
Shawnee Heights picked up its first win of the season last Friday at Ottawa, evening its record at 1-1 with a 49-45 non-league decision. Topeka West fell to 0-3, 0-3 with last Friday's 85-31 Centennial League loss to Topeka High. Heights had six players score between six and nine points against Ottawa, led by junior Riley Showalter with nine points and juniors Emari Doby and Taylor Rantz with eight points each. Junior Azaryah Duncan led Topeka West against High with nine points while senior Whitley Benson and sophomore Rebecca Bearman scored seven points apiece.
BOYS
TOPEKA HIGH at EMPORIA
Either Topeka High or Emporia is going to pick up a much-needed win Tuesday, with Topeka High entering the game 0-4, 0-3 and Emporia 0-3, 0-3. Topeka High is coming off a 68-41 Centennial League loss at Topeka West last Friday while Emporia fell at home to Seaman, 72-52. Matt Flenoy scored 10 points to lead Topeka High against West. First-year Trojan head coach Ty Baumgardner is an Emporia High grad.
WASHBURN RURAL at HAYDEN
Hayden gave new Wildcat coach Dwayne Paul his first win in exciting fashion, rallying from a 16-point deficit to tip Manhattan, 50-48, last Friday, while Washburn Rural dropped a 55-40 decision to Highland Park. Hayden (1-1, 1-1) got 16 points from junior Jake Muller, 11 from junior Joe Otting and 10 from senior Trent Duffey. Rural (1-2, 1-2) was led by Jack Bachelor with nine points against Highland Park.
SEAMAN at HIGHLAND PARK
Seaman improved to 2-1, 2-1 with its second straight Centennial League victory, a 72-52 win at Emporia. Highland Park improved to 3-0, 3-0 with a 55-40 league win at Washburn Rural. Senior Ty Henry led Seaman with 22 points while senior Mateo Hyman and junior Kaeden Bonner added 19 and 15 points. Junior Ketraleus Aldridge scored 29 points for Highland Park against Rural while senior Juan'Tario Roberts added 13 points.
TOPEKA WEST at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS
Veteran coaches Ken Darting of Shawnee Heights and Rick Bloomquist of Topeka West have well over 1,000 career wins between them. Shawnee Heights is 3-0 after a 62-27 non-league win at Ottawa last Friday while Topeka West is 2-1 after a 68-41 win over Topeka High. Sophomore Brennon Dodge scored 29 points and hit seven 3-pointers in the T-Birds' win over Ottawa while senior Elijah Brooks had 29 points and five dunks for West against High. Juniors Xavier Alexander and Sincere Austin added 12 and 11 points for the Chargers.
