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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Playing for the first time in 13 days and playing its first complete game without injured standout Zoe Canfield, Washburn Rural's girls basketball team struggled at times against Wichita Life Prep in Thursday's opening game of the Thunderbird Classic.
But the third-ranked (Class 6A) Junior Blues accomplished their only objective, advancing to Friday's semifinals with a 44-41 overtime win over Wichita Life Prep.
Senior Brooklyn DeLeye scores on a reverse layup in Washburn Rural's 44-41 overtime win over Life Prep Thursday night in the first round of the Thunderbird Classic. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Senior MaRyah Lutz hit seven of eight free throws as Washburn Rural advanced to the Thunderbird Classic semifinals with a 44-41 overtime win over Life Prep. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
"We competed and we found a way and we're still fresh off losing Zoe (knee injury) so we're still trying to find ourselves a little bit,'' Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "We kind of squandered the lead at the start of the third quarter but we fought back and that's what I was really most proud of.
"We had a pretty good fourth quarter and then overtime I thought was pretty good. I wasn't too displeased with our defense for the most part. As far as their physicality I thought we answered that for the most part pretty good.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University men's basketball team will be looking for its fourth straight win in Thursday's 7:30 p.m. home MIAA game against Rogers State at Lee Arena.
The Ichabods are 8-9 overall and 5-6 in the conference after a 65-62 win over Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday. The Hillcats (11-8, 7-6) rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to top Missouri Southern 71-68 last Saturday.
Junior Tyler Nelson in coming off a 25-point performance in last Saturday's 65-62 home win over Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Rogers State won the first meeting between the two teams on Dec. 10, rallying from a 17-point halftime deficit to take an 88-81 win in Claremore, Okla.
Washburn coach Brett Ballard is hoping that loss can serve as motivation for the Ichabods Thursday night.
"I mentioned that to the guys, that they should be motivated,'' Ballard said. "I don't know if that time of year we felt like we deserved to win those games or believed that we should win those games. I think now there's a greater sense of belief.
"I think that was very much our team early in the year, where we allowed the emotions of the game to consume us when things started not going right for us individually. We kind of gave in and they got momentum and we couldn't turn the tide.''
Ballard feels like the Ichabods are better prepared to handle those tough situations now.
"We're playing well,'' he said. "We've held three straight opponents under 65 points. Our defense has been really solid. I feel like we are playing our best basketball of the year.
"We have to keep showing up and maintaining that, but we are playing well.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team will be aiming to snap a four-game losing skid Thursday night when the Ichabods host Rogers State in a 5:30 p.m. MIAA contest at Lee Arena.
The Ichabods, 7-10 overall, 3-8 in the MIAA, are coming off a tough 55-51 loss to No. 16-ranked Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday while Rogers State has lost five in a row and is 4-15 overall and 2-11 in the MIAA.
Washburn junior point guard Aubree Dewey (3), talking with Ichabod coach Lora Westling, leads WU in scoring, assists and minutes played entering Thursday's home game against Rogers State. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn has been competitive throughout its four-game winless streak, including back-to-back single-digit defeats against MIAA stalwarts Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney, and WU coach Lora Westling said her team continues to be upbeat.
"They've been tremendous,'' Westling said. "We started from early on in preseason talking about small bites of progress and not really being results-driven and they've done an incedible job of that. I think they see the improvement and how we're playing.
"They see the improvement in their personal development and we're close and they're still working as hard as ever and still trying. Against four of the top five teams in the league we were competitive. We're getting there slowly, but surely.''
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
In the 2021-2022 season, Seaman's boys got off to a slow start before catching fire in the second half of the campaign.
It seems as if Craig Cox's Vikings may be following the same script this winter, with the Vikings playing their best basketball of the season.
Seaman senior Kaeden Bonner (left) scored 23 points with five 3-pointers Wednesday night as the Vikings cruised to an 81-45 non-league win over KC-Washington at Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The defending Class 5A state champions, who suffered heavy graduation losses, got off to a 1-3 start this season but the Vikings have won three straight games after Tuesday's 81-45 home non-league romp past Kansas City-Washington, climbing above the .500 mark for the first time since their season-opener at 6-5.
The Bonner brothers, senior Kaeden and freshman KaeVon, sparked the Vikings against Washington, with Kaeden Bonner hitting a game-high 23 points with five 3-pointers and KaeVon Bonner addding 15 points and three 3-pointers as Seaman canned 12 treys as a team.
Senior Aron Davis joined the Bonners in double figures with 12 points.
"I think we're hitting a stride offensively,'' Cox said. "Kaeden's really stepped up the last couple of games and Aron's so solid and then those other guys are kind of the beneficiaries of those two players and what they create.
"I still feel like we've got some room to improve defensively, but that's something that you can do.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS (7-2) vs. LIFE PREP (6-7)
At Shawnee Heights Lady Thunderbird Classic
Senior Brooklyn DeLeye and No. 3-ranked Washburn Rural will compete in the Lady Thunderbird Classic at Shawnee Heights this week. [File photo/TSN]
No. 3-ranked (Class 6A) Washburn Rural has been off since a 48-32 Centennial League win over Manhattan on Jan. 13 and will return to action in Thursday's 4 p.m. first-round game against Wichita Life Prep. Senior Brooklyn DeLeye finished with 16 points to lead Rural in its win over Manhattan while senior Chloe Carlgren added 12 points. The Rural-Life Prep winner will advance to a Friday semifinal to face No. 1-ranked (6A) Shawnee Mission South. The Rural-Life Prep loser will receive a bye into Saturday's fifth-place game in the seven-school tournament.
Senior Taylor Rottinghaus and Shawnee Heights will host the Lady Thunderbird Classic Thursday through Saturday at Heights. [File photo/TSN]
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS (7-3) vs. WICHITA SOUTH (7-2)
Lady Thunderbird Classic
Tournament host Shawnee Heights, ranked No. 9 in 5A, will face Wichita South, No. 10 in 6A, in a 5:30 p.m. first-round game. Shawnee Heights will be looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses to state-ranked teams, including a 35-31 non-league loss to Hayden last Friday. Senior Taylor Rottinghaus led Heights with nine points against Hayden while senior Emari Doby grabbed 16 rebounds. The Heights-Wichita South winner will advance to a Friday semifinal to take on the winner of the first-round game between Hutchinson and Shawnee Mission North.
