By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The Class 5A No. 3-ranked Emporia girls left the capital city with a massive 51-40 Centennial League win over 6A No. 6-ranked Topeka High on Friday night, snapping Topeka High's seven-game win streak.
Topeka High had won its previous seven meetings against Emporia, outscoring the Spartans 409-258 in the seven-game span. One of those contests was by a two-point spread back on December 14, 2021, but HIgh won the rest by large margins.
Topeka High senior Kiki Smith (23) tries to get past Emporia junior Lexsey DeWitt in Friday's 51-40 Emporia win Friday night at Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Emporia junior Emeil Bennett (5), defending Topeka High's Faith Shields, scored 13 points in Friday's 51-40 Centennial League win over the Trojans. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
On Friday night, however, Emporia looked like one of the most dominant teams in the state, with the Spartans taking control offensively and shutting Topeka High down defensively.
The Lady Trojans outrebounded the Spartans and forced Emporia to turn the ball over 14 times but Emporia went eight of 14 from the 3-point line and gained 23 opportunities from the charity stripe from Lady Trojan fouls.
Besides a high rate of fouls, Topeka High saw some notable performers defensively. Star senior Kiki Smith, Ladaysha Baird, Keimara Marshall and Adisyn Caryl combined for nine steals. The defense stumbled early but picked it up throughout the game.
Emporia looked like the ghost of the 2017 Golden State Warriors in the first quarter. The Lady Spartans were hitting 3-pointers left and right, forcing a plethora of steals and were a dominant force in the paint.
Emporia stunned Topeka High with an opening 15-3 run within a few minutes.
Near the tail end of the quarter, Smith scored five points for the Lady Trojans to chop down Emporia's enormous lead to 20-8 at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was much better defensively for Topeka High. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to cut the Lady Spartans' points in the half.
Emporia was making 3-point shots with ease in the opening quarter, but Topeka High's perimeter defense forced the Lady Spartans to take more challenging shots.
Topeka High didn't allow a single field goal to Emporia's 6-foot star senior Rebecca Snyder in the first half. Instead, they removed Emporia's biggest strength and allowed Snyder four points from free opportunities.
As good as the defense was, the Topeka High offense didn't do itself any favors. Topeka High was setting some terrific screens for their pick-and-rolls but had difficulty feeding the ball inside to the screen setter.
The uncomfortable passes throughout the first half led to nine turnovers. Most of the time, Emporia capitalized on Topeka High's turnovers.
At the halftime break, Emporia had a commanding 30-17 lead.
Emporia remained scorching hot coming out of the halftime break. The Spartans swiftly gained a 10-3 run over Topeka High, forcing the Lady Trojans to take a timeout with 3:02 remaining in the quarter.
In that 3:02 mark of the third quarter, Topeka High was down 40-20. The Lady Trojans turned the ball over 11 times to Emporia's three.
Topeka High answered with an 8-3 run to end the quarter, still making the contest competitive. Emporia had a 43-28 lead in the fourth and final quarter.
Topeka High's momentum from the third quarter surge carried over into the fourth quarter. Topeka High had signs of life on offense and held Emporia's offense at bay.
Topeka High went on a 7-1 run to force Emporia to take a timeout with 3:31 left in the game. The Lady Trojans also brought the game back within single digits, trailing 44-35.
But Emporia would rebound every Topeka High miss, draw fouls and convert its free opportunities.
Topeka High couldn't make a comeback, and in the end, Emporia left Topeka with the 11-point victory.
Topeka High (7-2, 1-1) will host Washburn Rural (5-2, 2-0) Tuesday night.
EMPORIA GIRLS 51, TOPEKA HIGH 40.
Emporia 20 10 13 8 – 51
Topeka High 8 9 11 12 – 40
Emporia (8-0, 2-0) – Kirmer 4-8 1-3 10, Bennett 4-7 1-6 13, DeWitt 4-7 2-3 12, Shivley 2-3 3-7 8, Snyder 2-9 4-4 8. Totals – 16-34 11-23 51.
Topeka High (7-2, 1-1) – Leesman 4-9 2-2 11, Baird 3-8 0-0 8, Caryl 1-4 1-6 3, Marshall 2-4 0-0 4, Smith 5-15 2-2 13, Shields 0-5 0-0 0, Benning 0-1 1-4 1. Totals – 15-46 6-14 40.
3-point goals: Topeka High 4 (Baird 2, Leesman, Smith), Emporia 8 (Bennett 4, Dewitt 2, Kirmer, Shivley). Total fouls – Topeka High 18, Emporia 9. Technical fouls – none. Fouled out – none. Turnovers – Topeka High 12, Emporia 14. Rebounds – Topeka High 29, Emporia 28. Steals – Topeka High 9, Emporia 9. Blocks – Topeka High 2, Emporia 1.
