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By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
The Class 6A No. 10-ranked Washburn Rural boys led by seven points in the final three minutes against Manhattan on Friday night before the Junior Blues suffered their first Centennial League matchup of the year, 60-58, in heartbreaking fashion on a buzzer-beater by Indian senior Dre Delort.
Senior Jack Bachelor led Washburn Rural with 15 points in Friday's 60-58 Centennial League loss to Manhattan at Rural. [File photo/TSN]
“If you look at the whole game aside from the third quarter we just weren’t very strong with the ball,” said Washburn Rural coach Alex Hutchins. “And then closing late we gotta guard. We gave up I think nine points in the last minute and a half so we just got to get stops to finish a game.”
Rural scored 23 points in the third quarter but was held to 10 in the final frame as the team's four-game win streak was snapped.
“In the third quarter we were strong and aggressive and didn’t play on our heels which was the biggest thing,” Hutchins said.
Hutchins is hoping to find consistency as the team moves into the back half of its season.
“Our guys are probably chomping at the bit wanting to get back on the court but we just got to be consistent, that’s the biggest thing. Every game we have shown flashes of great and we have shown flashes of awful, we just have to be more consistent,” Hutchins said.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Hayden's 67-57 win over Topeka High on Friday night was an "all hands on deck" clinic.
Class 4A No. 6-ranked Hayden breathed easier after snapping a brief three-game losing streak.
Hayden's Joe Otting (left), Mister Cameron and Dominik Ridley helped the Wildcats snap a three-game losing streak with a 67-57 win over Topeka High Friday at Hayden. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
However, winning a backyard brawl against a team right down the road from Hayden was challenging.
"I feel like the three games that we lost were all winnable at one point in the game," Hayden coach Dwayne Paul said. "I felt like in every game, we were right there. So today, to come in against a lot of our defensive principles in switching one through five, putting Joe (Otting) into soe tough matchups was good.
"Credit goes to Topeka High. They shoot the ball so well that you can't hedge off of their guys. They play with five guards at all times. So you have to be able to run them off of the line and make contested twos rather than penetrating and kicking threes. I thought, for the most part, we did a pretty good job of that."
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
In the rarity of city matchups in 2023, Class 6A No. 8-ranked Topeka High made the most of its opportunity Friday night with a 60-25 Centennial League romp at Hayden.
After suffering two straight losses to Emporia and Washburn Rural, Topeka High bounced back with a dominant performance against the Wildcats.
Topeka senior Kiki Smith (23) gets ready to pass the ball in to Ayana Leesman in Friday's 60-25 Centennial League win at Hayden. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
"We took those two losses personally," Topeka High coach Brittany Redmond said. "We went back to the drawing board on defense. Everything we did in practice was stressing our play on defense. We want to win on the defensive end. I think tonight showed what we worked on in practice."
On defense, Topeka High prevented Hayden from scoring double figures in any quarter. Topeka High was a bruising force down low, and the Lady Trojans guarded the perimeter and took away passing lanes well.
The Lady Trojans' willingness to crash the boards, create turnovers and force Hayden to take uncomfortable shots allowed Topeka High to play comfortably.
It's a special night for a player when they have the same amount of points as the entire team they're facing.
For Topeka High standout senior Kiki Smith, her 25 points in three quarters of play boosted the Lady Trojans past Hayden.
In two quarters, Smith was the most unguardable player on the court. However, the 25 points on the offensive end were as good as her defensive effort, where she had five steals and a block to match it.
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By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
It took a total group effort for No. 5-ranked Washburn Rural (7-2 overall, 4-0 in the Centennial League) to extend its winning streak to six games against Manhattan (3-6, 1-2) after standout junior guard Zoe Canfield went down with a first-quarter injury.
Four Lady Blues scored at least eight points in the team's 48-32 win over the Indians.
Senior Brooklyn DeLeye led the way with 16 points as Washburn Rural's girls improved to 7-2 with their sixth straight win Friday night, a 48-32 decision over Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
“I really like how we responded,” said Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick. “I thought Destiny and Tinly and Kate and Allie helped to fill in after that … MaRyah stepped up, I thought she hit some big shots and handled the ball most of the time after Zoe went out … I was really proud of that.”
Rural’s seniors led the charge, scoring 36 total points, with Brooklyn DeLeye leading the way with 16 points on the day she was named the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year in volleyball for a second straight year.
“She’s had an awesome day. She’s a competitor, she understands the game and what other teams are trying to do,” Bordewick said. “Brooklyn’s impact is always huge … we get on her shoulders every once in awhile.”
Even at full strength, it was not smooth sailing for Washburn Rural early on. DeLeye had eight of Rural’s 10 first-quarter points but the two teams were knotted at 15 in the second after nine early points from Manhattan freshman Kat Ball.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After jumping out to a commanding 16-point lead early in the second quarter, Shawnee Heights' boys promptly let Seaman right back in the hunt Friday night.
But after allowing the Vikings get within a single point with 4:45 left in the third quarter, the T-Birds outscored Seaman 32-19 the rest of the way to pull away for the 65-51 United Kansas Conference win over the defending Class 5A state champs at Heights.
Shawnee Heights senior Q Stovall scored 21 points in the T-Birds' 65-51 UKC win over Seaman Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"There's a natural tendency for 99 percent of teenagers, and some Division I players, to say, 'OK, we're in control, now I can get mine,' '' Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said. "So two guys take two bad shots and they hit two 3s. We should be shooting nothing but perfect shots -- we not make them, but we're going to get them -- and then we're going to be 20 ahead at half and the game's over.
"Instead we're going to take two bad ones and they hit two 3s and now we're in a fight. But we recovered and we need people to pressure us, because then we hit layups.''
Shawnee Heights, which improved to 6-2 with its fifth straight victory (all in the UKC), jumped out to 17-4 first-quarter lead over the Vikings (3-4, 3-4) and took a 22-6 lead early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer from sophomore Jaret Sanchez.
