A second-half surge, spearheaded by senior Gabi Giovannetti and junior Britany Kogbara, gave Washburn University's women's basketball team a 72-64 MIAA win at Lee Arena on Saturday afternoon in front of a Pink Out crowd.
In a game that included 22 lead changes and 12 ties, Washburn, now 17-7 overall and 10-5 in the MIAA, played its best down the stretch, with the Ichabods' final eight-point margin its biggest of the day.
Senior Gabi Giovannetti scored a game-high 17 points to lead Washburn in a 72-64 MIAA win over Northeastern State Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I was real proud of our second-half effort,'' said Washburn coach Lora Westling, whose Ichabods are now within one win of equaling their win total from 2024-2025 with a minimum of five games remaining. "I think we got on our heels a little bit in the first half. Credit to Northeastern, they're a tough team and they played well.
"But I thought we just had really good leadership in the second half, particularly from Gabi Giovannetti and Britany Kogbara. I was really proud of their resiliency.''
WU and Northeastern State traded baskets throughout the first quarter, with multiple ties and lead changes before a 3-pointer by senior Aniah Wayne inside the final minute producing a 15-15 deadlock heading into the second period.
Washburn created some separation with a five-point lead after senior Payton Sterk hit a trey to make it 22-17.
But the RiverHawks (16-8, 8-7) battled back, scoring 10 of the next 14 points to go in front 27-26 at the four-minute mark of the second quarter. This time a 3-pointer in the final minute by Northeastern State put it ahead 36-33 at the half.
Out of the break the RiverHawks pushed the lead to its game-high five in the opening minutes. The Ichabods were able to tighten up defensively, allowing them to go on a 5-0 run and tie the game at 44. Both teams shot under 30.0 percent in the quarter and it was a pair of free throws by Sterk in the final second of the quarter that gave Washburn a 50-49 lead at the start of the fourth.
Northeastern State continued to answer back, taking the lead three times in the first five minutes of the fourth. But a fastbreak and-one layup by sophomore Brooke Gomez with 3:04 left would put the Ichabods in front for good.
"Once you stack defensive stops and then good possessions on offense, then there's no stopping us from there,'' said Giovannetti, who led all scorers with 17 points. "I thought Britany had a very good end of the game and second half. She was really dominant down there.''
The Ichabods finished the game shooting 44.4 percent overall and 4-13 from deep while going 20-27 at the free throw line. Northeastern State shot 42.6 percent from the floor while going 5-17 from deep and were efficient in limited trips at the line shooting (13-16).
The rebounding battle was won 35-26 by Washburn and points in the paint also went in favor of the home team, 40-24.
Giovannetti led five players in double figures for the Ichabods.
Washburn junior Britany Kogbara narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds in a 72-64 MIAA win over Northeastern State Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Kogbara added 11 points with nine rebounds and a pair of blocked shots while Sterk had 11 with five assists. Wayne and Gomez both scored 10 points for the Ichabods.
Kogbara has been a valuable reserve all season for the Ichabods in her first year in the program, but was in the game in crunch time Saturday and was huge down the stretch.
"That just shows the amount of trust that coach has in me,'' Kogbara said. "I know that she puts me out there for a reason and I'm just going to go out there and execute what she believes that I have.''
- Details
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Cair Paravel Latin's boys basketball team picked up its 15th straight win Friday on Senior Night, improving to 18-2 with a 73-34 home victory over Heritage Christian.
“It’s obviously super fun,'' CPLS senior Caleb Cleverson said. "I think with this group of guys, I couldn’t pick a better group to do it with. At a Christian school, we talk about God is the middle term and we’re united as a team with God in mind, so when the first five go out there, we are pursuing Christ.”
“It was kind of a weird game,'' Lions coach Chip Kueffer said. "I thought our kids did well. I felt like they did some things fundamentally sound like they should. It’s tough because you want to stay sharp and when things are going well in games like this, it’s really easy to develop some bad habits, get away with one handed passes, jump to pass or take some sloppy shots, but I think we did a pretty good job in spurts of trying to stay disciplined.”
Senior Lucas Marichal continued his stellar season, especially his 3-point shooting, hitting two in the first quarter, pushing CPLS in front 5-4. The team would go on a 9-0 run, leading 13-4. Marichal pushed that lead to 10, 18-8 and pushed the Red Lions to a 22-12 advantage after one.
“We had all the pieces but I don’t think we knew we could play to this level that we’ve been playing at and we’ve played some really good teams this year,'' said Marichael, who finished with a game-high 20 points. "I think we’ll be very well prepared down the road.''
CPLS put up 23 points in the second quarter from a variety of players, thanks to another 12-0 run. Cleverdon knocked down a triple at 29-12. Then at 31-12, the Eagles called timeout with 4:27 before halftime.
Senior Drew Fay, who chipped in 11 points, capped off the 12-0 run with a bucket down low to put CPLS in front, 34-12.
CPLS then ran away with the game late in the second quarter, taking a commanding 45-16 lead while holding Heritage Christian to four points in the quarter.
In the third quarter, CPLS jumped out to another big run of 10-0. Fay got an and-one opportunity, missed the free throw but sophomore Blain Durbin, who provided 19 points, grabbed the rebound for the putback as the Lions opened up a 39-point cushion, their biggest of the game (55-16).
Kueffer did pull the seniors with over five minutes left in the third quarter but they returned to begin the fourth quarter before they were eventually pulled once again.
The Lions led by 43 at one point with the running clock in effect (73-30).
“If you come out and watch some pretty poor basketball you kind of get out of it but I don’t think our guys or their team did that,'' Cleverdon said. "Both of us were playing really hard and fighting for every point so I think it was pretty easy for us on the bench to stay locked in.''
“I think we’re having fun, there’s a lot of season left,'' Kueffer said. "We have big dreams, big aspirations. I think we’re treating people the right way. One of our advantages is we don’t have one guy, we’ve got five or six that can lead the charge.
"Basketball is a crazy sport that’s why March is Madness because anybody can beat anybody. We have to stay disciplined and sharp.''
CAIR PARAVEL 73, HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 34
Heritage Christian 12 4 11 7 – 34
Cair Paravel 22 23 21 7 – 73
Heritage Christian (9-6) – Freerksen 2 0-0 5, June 2 0-0 4, May 2 2-4 6, Perry Cruz 7 5-5 19.
Cair Paravel (18-2) – Gossard 1 0-0 2, Turcato 1 2-2 5, Congdon 1 0-0 2, Hastert 4 0-0 9 Marichal 7 3-4 20, Durbin 9 12 19, Cleverdon 2 0-0 5, Fay 5 1-2 11, Bond 0 0-3 0.
3-point goals – Heritage Christian 1 (Freerksen), Cair Paravel 6 (Marichal 3, Hastert, Turcato, Cleverdon). Total fouls – Heritage Christian 8, Cair Paravel 11. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
- Details
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Cair Paravel Latin girls basketball entered Friday's Senior Night game coming off a big win over league rival Council Grove Tuesday and pushed its win streak to two, handling Heritage Christian, 43-9.
Seniors Karysn Hastert and KellyAnn Chada have meant a lot to the Lions program over the last four years and especially the last two years with coach Jaley Barkley, who said she’s loved coaching both of them.
“Their connection is just something special,'' Barkley said. "They’re great friends off the court. They’ve been great leaders for me since I took over as coach. The girls look up to both Karysn and KellyAnn and they’ve stepped up in such a big way.”
“It’s very bittersweet,'' Chada said. "Obviously this isn’t the last game but it symbolizes the last game in a way which is something I will miss. I’ve really enjoyed having Jaley as a coach. She went here and we’ve had a prior connection and it was great to have her come back to CP.''
Hastert started the scoring for CPLS just over two minutes into the game, but then the Lions kicked it into another gear. Junior Becca Gateley drilled a triple to make it 5-0 and after another bucket, Heritage Christian called a timeout with 4:25 left in the first quarter.
Cair Paravel went on a 19-1 run to begin the game, thanks to freshman Avery Rosenow and then a Chada and-one as CPLS led 19-3 after one quarter.
The second quarter started slow for both teams, but CPLS was all over the Eagles forcing turnovers, leading to fastbreak and transition points, as multiple players scored in the game for a balanced scoring attack.
Gateley pushed the advantage to 26-5 after another three and held and Cair Paravel held Heritage Christian to just five points in the half, leading 32-5.
Hastert and Chada scored all six points for CPLS in the third quarter as Hastert would finish with a game-high 14 points and Chada with 13. After the 32 point margin (38-6) the running clock began in the fourth quarter.
“Once we settled in and got into that rhythm, we had a fun game,” Chada said.
Barkley subbed out Hastert and Chada with a little under three minutes left in the game as the Lions picked up win No. 10 on the campaign.
“Once the first basket falls, it opens the lid for the girls,'' Barkley said. "Our 3-2 zone has been our bread and butter creating steals and I have a couple of girls in the top of the steals category for the city. Once Karsyn got that first bucket, it helped get the game flowing.''
CAIR PARAVEL 43, HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 9
Heritage Christian 3 2 1 3 – 9
Cair Paravel 19 13 6 5 – 43
Heritage Christian (10-5) – Mullikin 1 0-0 2, Raj 0 1-2 1, Seashols 0 1-4 1, May 2 1-4 5.
Cair Paravel (10-10) – Hastert 6 2-4 14, Rosenow 3 0-0 6, Gateley 2 0-0 6, Welshans 2 0-0 4, Chada 6 1-1 13.
3-point goals – Cair Paravel 2 (Gateley 2). Total fouls – Heritage Christian 3, Cair Paravel 8. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
- Details
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The second-best boys team in the United Kansas Conference standings was pushed all night Friday by the second-worst team in the standings. But Topeka West, ranked fourth in the state in Class 5A, held off a feisty Leavenworth team to win 66-57 at West. The win kept the Chargers in the conference title hunt.
Senior Malakyah Duncan tied for team-high scoring honors with 16 points in Friday's 66-57 Topeka West win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Leavenworth rallied to take a lead midway through the second period. That ignited a fire in the Chargers. Topeka West ripped off a 10-0 run to lead 32-23. But that fire burned out quickly. The Pioneers repeatedly clawed back from double-digit deficits throughout the second half.
Having trailed by as much as 13 points, Leavenworth scored seven-straight points late in the fourth period to put a scare in the home team. Pioneer senior Kentravion Tolbert drove to the bucket with 1:46 remaining and was knocked to the deck in the process of scoring in traffic. His free throw made the score 58-55 – way too close for comfort in a game that was supposed to be one-sided.
The Chargers responded by outscoring Leavenworth 8-2 down the stretch. But there wasn’t much to celebrate after the victory.
“Leavenworth is a team that has nothing to lose,” said Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker. “They’re going to come out and play hard, because a lot of those guys are playing for playing time next year.
“For us, we were a little sluggish. We’ve got to start a little better. That’s kind of been our motto the last couple of games, we’ve got to start with a better tempo. That’s on me as the coach. I’ve got to get them going early on.”
It seemed every time the Chargers started to pull away, they lost the momentum.
“I think (in those moments) we had a little bit of a loss of concentration. Maybe just getting complacent,” Ulsaker said. “We’ve got to learn how to continue those runs, make them a little bit longer. And be more sound on defense.”
Seniors Keimani Paul and Malakyah Duncan scored 16 points apiece to lead the Chargers. Paul, who connected on 7-10 shots from the field, found some positives from the game, particularly the Chargers’ full-court pressure.
“We didn’t let them just run over us. We came out trying to play defense, trying to score,” Paul said. “We like to speed things up. (The Pioneers) couldn’t handle the pressure, so we just stayed up, got the ball back every time we turned it over.”
- Details
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Topeka West girls basketball coach Angie Ketterman found a bright spot in her team’s 63-40 United Kansas Conference home loss to Leavenworth Friday -- the Chargers fought to the end.
Senior Addaline Hall paced Topeka West with 13 points in Friday's UKC loss to Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Despite trailing by double digits from late in the first period on, the Topeka West girls battled and scrapped to the final buzzer. The Chargers’ intensity produced a number of tense exchanges and a bevy of whistles in the fourth period. Ketterman said afterward she appreciated her team’s effort and attitude.
“I feel like we really battled a lot harder than we have in the past,” Ketterman said. “That’s what we’ve been really talking about, especially on defense.”
Topeka West junior Sydney VanDyke scored 10 points in Friday's UKC loss to Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Addaline Hall led Topeka West with 13 points, followed by Sydney VanDyke with 10. But the Chargers struggled at the offensive end, hitting just 13 of 56 shot attempts.
“Tonight, we missed a lot of our free throws,” Ketterman said. “We missed some of those easy things. But I feel like our girls battled. They got very frustrated the last minute and a half. That shows that they really wanted this. They played hard.
“I’m not going to take that away from them. They did play hard. But we missed a lot of free throws and some easy shots.”
Ketterman said that in the Chargers’ three remaining games, she hopes to see similar tenacity and effort, which will serve as a foundation for improvement.
“I hope to see us keep battling like that, to show the younger ones what it takes to get those wins,” Ketterman said.
LEAVENWORTH GIRLS 63, TOPEKA WEST 40
Leavenworth 17 11 16 19 -- 63
Topeka West 9 11 10 10 -- 40
Leavenworth (7-12, 5-7) – Walker 4-12 3-4 14, Huewitt 4-12 6-8 14, Brown 6-11 3-6 16, Allen 1-4 0-0 2, M. McIntyre 4-12 1-2 9, Graham 0-3 0-2 0, P. McIntyre 0-3 2-2 2, McCann 2-3 0-0 6, Noell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-60 15-24 63.
Topeka West (5-14, 2-11) – Allen 1-11 2-2 4, Gonzales 2-5 2-2 7, VanDyke 3-17 4-10 10, Hall 4-16 5-8 13, McGlory 1-5 0-0 2, Kutina 2-2 0-0 4, Ogles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-56 13-22 40.
3-point goals – Leavenworth 6 (Walker 3, McCann 2, Brown), Topeka West 1 (Gonzales). Total fouls – Leavenworth 21, Topeka West 21. Fouled out – Allen. Technical fouls – VanDyke.
