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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team jumped out to an early lead with a hot-shooting first quarter and held on down the stretch for an 85-78 MIAA win over Nebraska-Kearney Saturday in Lee Arena, getting 30 points and a 13 of 14 performance at the free throw line from junior Payton Sterk.
Junior Payton Sterk scored 30 points and went 13 of 14 at the free throw line in Washburn's 85-78 MIAA win over Nebraska-Kearney Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I think we handled everything really well,'' Sterk said. "We started the game hot and that always helps, and then after (losses) last Saturday and Thursday, we wanted to beat them and I think our whole team had that common goal.''
"I'm proud of them,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said of her team. "I think we did a good job under pressure. I thought (the Lopers) hit some really tough shots late and you know it's difficult to guard people when they have nothing to lose, but we stepped up at the free throw line, which has been a little bit of an achilles heel for us the last few weeks so it was nice to see those points on the board.''
Washburn, 12-10 overall, 6-6 in the MIAA, never trailed and led by as many as 17 points over the Lopers (16-5, 8-3), but the Ichabods had to endure more than a few anxious moments, particularly after junior star Yibari Nwidadah (21 points, 8 of 8 shooting) fouled out in the fourth quarter.
But WU, which snapped a two-game losing streak, did an outstanding job of continuing to get the ball to Sterk, who continued to can clutch free throw after clutch free throw to keep the Lopers at bay.
"I thought Amaya Davison did a really nice job of coming in and running the team and kind of made sure the ball went to where we needed it to go,'' Westling said.
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- The Topeka High Trojans dominated the Wichita South Titans through three quarters Saturday, but had to hang on over the final eight minutes to capture fifth place in the Glacier’s Edge Tournament in Emporia. The Trojans improved to 8-4 on the season with a 51-45 decision over the Titans.
Sophomore Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 19 points to lead Topeka High in Saturday's 51-45 win over Wichita South. [File photo/TSN]
As you might expect from a game starting at 11 o'clock on a Saturday morning, both teams started slow and the first point was scored with 4:00 remaining in the first quarter on a free throw by Wichita South freshman Auhmari Gary. The Trojans responded and closed the quarter on an 11-6 run to lead 11-7.
As the second quarter began, the Trojans continued their defensive intensity and held the Titans to 2-19 shooting from the field for the entire half for 11 percent. The Trojans took a commanding lead to the half at 30-13, with sophomore Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton leading the way for the Trojans with 13 points in the first half and junior Keimara Marshall dropping in 9 points.
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- In a tough contest for the championship of the Glacier’s Edge Tournament, the top-ranked team in Class 5A, the Seaman Lady Vikings, defeated the second-ranked team in 6A, the Derby Panthers, 63-50, on Saturday.
Seaman's girls basketball team poses for a picture after Saturday's 63-50 win over Derby in the Glacier's Edge Tournament final. [Seaman Athletics]
Seaman senior Anna Becker was named the Most Valuable Player in the Glacier's Edge Tournament Saturday in Emporia. [Seaman Athletics]
The Lady Vikes improved to 13-0 on the season by defeating two of the top four teams in Class 6A on their way to the tournament title.
“We brought it today from an energy standpoint,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "Whether it was rebounding, plus-one plays or getting on the floor for loose balls, we did what we had to do to beat a good team in Derby.”
As one should expect a championship game to be, the teams went back and forth throughout the first quarter and Seaman led 15-13 with a little over a minute remaining in the quarter. On a battle for a loose ball, senior Jaida Stallbaumer fouled a Derby player, a couple of Panther players took exception and a technical was issued on one of the players. Senior Anna Becker knocked down both technical foul shots and Seaman ended the quarter on a 7-2 run, leading 22-15 at the end of the first stanza.
The second quarter was played evenly and the Lady Vikes were able to extend their lead to 37-29 at the half. Becker scored 8 points in the quarter, giving her 14 for the half.
Derby was able to cut the lead to 46-40 with 3:15 left in the third quarter, leading to a Seaman timeout. For the next two-plus minutes, neither team scored until a basket with 50 seconds by Stallbaumer. Derby was able to hit one free throw, but senior Kinley Wilhelm hit a jump shot at the buzzer to give Seaman a 50-41 lead going to the fourth quarter.
“Our ‘next play’ mentality was good throughout the game and I thought all the girls contributed in their own way to help us win this tournament,'' Tinsley said. "We talk all the time about how you can help us win a game just by making one play.”
Seaman’s lead never dropped below nine points throughout the final quarter and the Lady Vikes made their free throws down the stretch, posting the 13-point win.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' hopes looked bleak late in the first half of Saturday's Capital City Classic championship game against Washburn Rural.
Shawnee Heights poses for a team picture Saturday after winning the championship in the Capital City Classic. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights celebrates its 59-54 win over Washburn Rural Saturday at Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds trailed the Junior Blues by a whopping 16 points while their top three scorers were all in serious foul trouble.
But the situation wasn't anything a career performance from sophomore star KK Emmot as well as timely key plays from several other T-Birds couldn't rectify, with Shawnee Heights rallying for a 59-54 win at Topeka West.
"For our girls to have the resolve to come through adversity like they did, I'm just so proud of them,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. "Because it would have been real easy, like coach (Duncan) Whitlock said, to fold like a lawnchair, but they didn't. They kept fighting and they kept staying with it and they stayed together as a group when it would have been real easy to splinter off there.''
"We just really needed to step up and just stop fouling,'' Emmot said about the Heights turnaround. "We just had to change defenses. We changed to a different defense and we just kept going to that and that helped the game.''
Shawnee Heights sophomore KK Emmot (left), who scored 36 points, battles for a loose ball Saturday against Washburn Rural's Tenly Bunck (22) and Maddie Vickery. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Emmot poured in a career-high 36 points, including 19 in the third quarter, as the 9-4 T-Birds turned the tables on the No. 5-ranked Class 6A Junior Blues.
"We just never stop competing,''Emmot said. "No matter how far down we are we just compete, compete, compete and competing wins the game.''
Shawnee Heights, which trailed 33-19 at the half, hit the Junior Blues (7-4) with a 24-11 lick in the third quarter, pulling within a point (44-43) at the start of the fourth quarter.
Rural continued to hold the lead through the bulk of the final stanza until T-Bird junior Reianna Vega scored with 45 seconds remaining to give Heights its first lead since the first quarter at 55-54.
Washburn Rural turnovers led to two Emmot free throws and two Vega charities to close out the win.
Vega backed Emmot with 12 points while senior Kaydence Torrez and Vega combined for 15 rebounds.
Washburn Rural sophomore Maddie Vickery scored 27 points in Saturday's 59-54 loss to Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Maddie Vickery led Washburn Rural with 27 points while sophomore Gracie Hayes added 9 points off the bench on three 3-pointers.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 59, WASHBURN RURAL 54
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
Friday's semifinal games of the Glacier’s Edge Tournament had three of the top four-ranked teams in Class 6A (Wichita Heights No. 1, Derby No. 2, SM South No. 4) along with the top-ranked and defending state champion from Class 5A, Seaman, battling for the two spots in Saturday's championship game at Emporia High School.
Junior Maddie Gragg (32) scored a game-high 27 points in Seaman's 70-45 win over SM South Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
The Seaman Lady Vikings defeated the Shawnee Mission South Raiders, 70-45 on Friday night, turning a 4-point game at halftime into a rout as Seaman scored 51 points in the second half.
The Lady Vikes improved to 12-0 on the season and will face the Derby Panthers, a 52-46 upset winner over Wichita Heights, in the championship game at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Over the first three minutes of the opening quarter, the Raiders jumped out to a 6-3 lead by beating the Lady Vikes off the dribble. The Lady Vikes battled back with 10 points by junior Maddie Gragg and led at the end of the first quarter, 14-11. However, both teams were sloppy with the ball -- Seaman committed seven turnovers and SM South six.
The sloppy play continued in the second quarter, with both teams committing seven turnovers each. Senior Anna Becker made Seaman’s first and only field goal of the quarter with 5:00 remaining in the half. But the Lady Vikes' defense was stingy and held SM South to only two buckets in the quarter and led 19-15 at the half.
“I thought in the first half we struggled to get into a flow of the game,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "Too many turnovers and we shot 5-21 from the field. That’s not a good combination, but our defense was solid and kept us in the game.”
Scoring offense made an appearance in the third quarter for both teams, as each team scored more points (Seaman 27, SM South 17) in the quarter than they had in the entire first half.
“The girls made a great adjustment at the half and just made the game simple,'' Tinsley said. "Anna hit back-to-back 3s to kind of jump-start us.”
