- Details
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
It took three periods, but Shawnee Heights and Hayden finally shook off the rust accumulated over the holiday break, turning a snoozer into a thriller that the T-Birds won in the final seconds, 38-36, at Shawnee Heights Friday.
Junior KK Emmot scored a game-high 18 points in Friday's 38-36 win over Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Just one day after New Years, the Wildcats and T-Birds came out looking like they needed more practice, or more sleep. They struggled to a 20-20 tie after three quarters. But then the offenses got in gear. Hayden led 31-26 with 2:25 remaining. But then the T-Birds went on a 10-2 run to lead 36-33 with just seconds remaining.
Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein, frustrated into an inefficient shooting night, let fly a 3-pointer from about 25 feet that tied the game with 6.2 seconds remaining.
Shawnee Heights junior KK Emmot was not intimidated by the moment, however, but rather seized command of the game. Knowing the T-Birds were in the bonus, she took the inbounds pass and drove the length of the floor, drawing a foul with 2.9 seconds on the clock. Emmot calmly stepped to the line and sank both free throws, as she had twice earlier in the period. She scored nine of her 18 points in the final quarter to lead the T-Birds to their fourth victory of the season.
“Lucky enough for us, we hit some shots coming down the stretch,” Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. “Then (Schmidtlein) hit a big shot coming down the stretch when she hadn’t (shot well) from the perimeter all game. Kudos to her for stepping up and hitting that.”
Wells drew up a play to give Emmot a chance to decide the game.
“I thought we did a good job getting the ball where we wanted to get the ball, finding a way to get it into KK’s hands. She was definitely the first option,” Wells said. “She was just gonna take it and go do what she does.”
Emmot hit six of six free throws down the stretch and accounted for seven of the T-Birds’ final eight points. She said pressure does not bother her.
“I work good with pressure and stress. I don’t really care,” Emmot said. “I just know that if I start hustling, everyone else (takes) their energy from me. In the fourth quarter we just had to get going. I was screaming at everyone, ‘We have to get hyped!’ And then we just started hitting shots.”
“She works her tail off. I’m super proud of her,” Wells said of Emmot. “And all the girls, at some point in time, stepped up and hit shots, and that’s what we needed to happen. We just need to get where everybody is rolling at the same time. This is a fun group to watch.”
Hayden, ranked second in Class 4A in the most recent poll by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, struggled to get its offense in gear. Schmidtlein hit just 4-19 attempts from the field and finished with 16. Lauren Borjon added 11.
Wells said playing a game so early in January, with so little time to practice, contributed to the ragged performance by both teams.
“When you have four days to practice, where you’re trying to get your legs back and get your shot back, you can’t have both,” Wells said. “I think you saw that from both teams.”
“I think there’s some sickness going around,” Emmot added. “And you could tell (Hayden) was not in super great shape either. I think both of us were just playing with the same amount of hustle and everything. It was just no one could score. We were both pretty gassed.”
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS 38, HAYDEN 36
Hayden 8 8 4 16 -- 36
Shawnee Heights 5 9 6 18 -- 38
Hayden (6-2) – Schmidtlein 4-19 6-10 16, Foster 0-2 0-0 0, Huscher 0-0 0-0 0, Borjon 4-10 1-2 11, Watts 2-5 2-5 6, Walter 0-3 0-2 0, Connell 0-1 0-0 0, Mitchell 1-2 0-0 3, Wichman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-32 9-19 36.
Shawnee Heights (4-3) – Emmot 4-18 8-11 18, Schmidt 0-5 1-2 1, Carter 2-3 0-2 4, Baum 1-5 4-6 7, Vega 3-9 0-2 7, Brees 0-2 0-0 0, Hamilton 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 10-43 14-25 38.
3-point goals – Hayden 5 (Schmidtlein 2, Borjon 2, Mitchell 1), Shawnee Heights 4 (Emmot 2, Baum 1, Vega 1). Total fouls – Hayden 15, Shawnee Heights 15. Fouled out – Schmidt. Technical fouls – None.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A scheduling quirk resulted in Topeka High's girls playing two straight games against USD 501 rival Highland Park.
And after ending the 2025 portion of their schedule with a 30-point win over the Scots at Topeka High, Ron Slaymaker's Trojans were even more dominant Friday at Highland Park, rolling to an 87-31 victory to improve to 2-4 on the season.
Sophomore Hailey Caryl scored a game-high 26 points in Friday's 87-31 Topeka High win at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 21 points for Topeka High in Friday's 87-31 victory over Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Keimara Marshall scored 18 points Friday in Topeka High's 87-31 win over Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka High sophomore Hailey Caryl led all scorers with 26 points while junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton added 21 points and senior Keimara Marshall scored 18 to lead the way in the Trojan rout.
Veteran Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said Friday was important to continue to making strides after an 0-4 start while playing its first four games without Caryl.
"Highland Park's a little short-handed, but sometimes they can make you look bad,'' Slaymaker said. "I just wanted us to be solid and get our running game going, which we did.
"We got out 23-0 and 25-1 and we starterd subbing and it gets a little frantic there. But the start of the second half it was the same thing and we played really well.''
Topeka High took control in the opening eight minutes, outscoring the Scots 25-1.
High was still in front by 24 points (44-20) at the half before hitting the Scots with a 35-3 lick in the third quarter to force a running clock in the fourth quarter with a 79-23 advantage.
"Our practices have been high and low, really good, really bad,'' Slaymaker said. "So I was pleased to see them come out and play well because our schedule's pretty tough from here on out. Game, game, game, game, so there's not much time for practice and there's still a lot of things we need to clean up.''
Junior Zayah Kincaid led Highland Park with 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while senior Koralee Jones added 8 points as the Scots fell to 1-4 on the season.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 87, HIGHLAND PARK 31
Topeka High 25 19 35 8 -- 87
Highland Park 1 19 3 8 -- 31
Topeka High (2-4) – Short 2-4 2-4 6, Marshall 8-11 2-2 18, Rayton 9-15 1-2 21, Caryl 10-16 6-7 26, Gotru 1-5 0-1 2, Triplett 1-2 0-0 2, Conley 0-0 0-0 0, Whayne 2-2 0-0 4, Mathews 0-2 0-0 0, Martin 3-7 0-0 8, Brown 0-4 0-2 0. Totals 36-68 11-18 81.
Highland Park (1-4) – Cosey 2-7 0-0 6, Kincaid 3-9 3-4 11, Jones 4-10 0-0 8, Williams Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Barnett 0-1 0-0 0, Grace 0-4 0-0 0, Atkins 0-1 0-0 0, Cameron 0-0 0-0 0, Hooper 2-6 0-0 6, Inyard 0-2 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Watson 0 0-0 0. Totals 11-40 3-4 31.
3-point goals – Topeka High 4 (Rayton 2, Martin 2), Highland Park 6 (Cosey 2, Kincaid 2, Hooper 2). Total fouls – Topeka High 13, Highland Park 15. Fouled out – none.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 1-ranked Washburn University men's basketball will ring in 2026 at 3 p.m. on Saturday, hosting Emporia State in the long-standing Turnpike Tussle.
Junior Jack Bachelor is averaging 16.2 points with 36 3-pointers and 64 assists for 13-0 and No. 1-ranked Washburn. [File photo/TSN]
Saturday's game will be the 223th meeting between Emporia State and Washburn, with the Ichabods leading 114-108.
The ESU series is the most-played series for Washburn, with the two teams starting the series in 1905-06, Washburn's first recorded year of basketball.
"We've talked to our guys about how important this game is for our program and our fans,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "I like it because it's got our guys excited that we're at home against a rival after when you've had a long week of practice.''
Washburn is 13-0 overall and 3-0 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, one of six remaining undefeated teams in Division II, while Emporia State is 4-8 overall and 0-3 in the MIAA after falling 78-71 at Central Missouri on Thursday.
The Ichabods took an eight-day holiday break after beating then-No. 4 Lubbock Christian on Dec. 16 and No. 4 West Texas A&M 74-48 on Dec. 17 in the River City Classic in San Antonio.
"Coming off San Antonio you're kind of wanting to keep playing because you're really rolling, but it was a good time for a break, just mentally and physically,'' Ballard said. "Everybody got to go home.''
Washburn returned to practice on Monday and Ballard has been pleased with the Ichabods' work this week as they prepare for the Hornets while also trying to continue building on their hot start to the season.
"We're really harping on battling complacency,'' Ballard said. "It's human nature when things are going well to get complacent, so we're trying to challenge them as much as we can mentally to battle that with competitive practices.''
Washburn leads the nation in scoring margin in the NCAA Division II ranks at plus 29.3 points per game and is seventh in field goal percentage at 51.3 percent, which leads the conference.
Washburn is fifth in rebound margin at plus 12.5 and ranks sixth in scoring defense (60.2 points per game). The Ichabods have not been out-rebounded in a game and have only been tied once (vs. Lubbock Christian).
Ichabod sophomore Dillon Claussen, who is averaging 16.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, ranks sixth in the nation in field goal percentage at 68.1, which also leads the MIAA.
Junior Jeremiah Jones leads the nation in total steals with 43 and he is ranked fourth in steals per game at 3.31.
Junior Jack Bachelor, a former Washburn Rural star, now has 1,017 career points in his 77 career games played. He is tied with former teammate Michael Keegan on Washburn's all-time scoring chart at No. 24 overall.
Bachelor, who is averaging 16.2 points with 36 3-pointers, is 19th in the nation in total assists with 64 and second in assist to turnover ration at 3.76 to 1.
The Ichabods' 13-game winning streak is second in the nation behind Daemen, which has won its last 15 contests.
Washburn's 22-game homecourt winning streak is third in the nation behind Nova Southeastern's 93 wins and Miles' 23 victories. The Ichabods' homecourt winning streak is tied for the fourth longest in program history.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After ending 2025 with three straight double-digit victories, Washburn University women's basketball will tip off 2026 on Saturday with a 1 p.m. home Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association contest against longtime rival Emporia State in the season's first edition of the Turnpike Tussle.
Washburn will ride a three-game win streak into Saturday's Turnpike Tussle matchup with Emporia State in Lee Arena. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is 9-3 on the season and 2-1 in the MIAA while Emporia State enters the game 7-5 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA after a 70-61 road loss to Central Missouri on Thursday.
The Ichabods got a holiday break after a 78-49 win over Cameron on Dec. 20 before returning to practice on Monday.
"I've been very pleased,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said. "This group has some goals in mind and they came back ready to go and we've had really good practices. They've been excited to be here and that makes it fun.''
Westling got her first taste of the Washburn-Emporia State rivalry as a standout for the Ichabods from 2001-05 and said the Turnpike Tussle continues to be very important.
"We're getting some of our new kids aware of what this game means to everybody in this community,'' Westling said. "We love this rivalry game. It's mattered since when the two schools started and it certainly mattered when I played here and it matters a lot as a coach.
"It's fun to have rivalries in college sports and it's one thing Division II still has and does really well.''
Senior Payton Sterk leads the Ichabods with a 12.6 scoring average with 22 3-pointers while also registering 1.8 steals. Sterk ranks seventh in the MIAA in steals and eighth in total 3-pointers made.
Senior Gabi Giovannetti is scoring 12.3 points per game on 43.3 percent shooting and a team-high 40.7% from deep with 22 3-pointers. Giovannetti also leads the team with 1.9 steals per game to go with 3.9 rebounds per game. The former Bishop Miege star is fourth in the MIAA in steals and ranks ninth in 3-pointers per game.
Senior Yiibari Nwidadah is averaging 11.9 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds despite missing one game and playing limited minutes the past two games after suffering an injury (concussion protocol) against Central Missouri. Nwidadah is shooting 56.7% from the floor.
Newcomer Britany Kogbara, a junior, has given Washburn a big lift, averaging 8.9 points in just 16.9 minutes per game while shooting 57.1% from the floor and averaging 3.8 rebounds.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
FRIDAY'S GIRLS GAMES
Topeka High junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton leads the city in scoring with a 22-point average [File photo/TSN]
Senior Koralee Jones averages team-highs of 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds for Highland Park. [File photo/TSN]
TOPEKA HIGH (1-4) at HIGHLAND PARK (1-3)
Topeka High closed out its 2025 schedule with a 65-35 home win over Highland Park and will play its second straight game against the Scots to open 2026. Junior Sasha Gotru scored a game-high 22 points on 11 of 15 shooting from the field in the Trojans' earlier win over the Scots while recording a double-double with 12 rebounds. Senior Keimara Marshall added 19 points, including a 5 of 5 performance at the free throw line, while sophomore Hailey Caryl scored 13 points against the Scots. Topeka High junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton, who did not play in the Trojans' first game against the Scots, leads the city with a 22-point average. Highland Park ended its pre-holiday slate with a 68-52 Meadowlark Conference against Kansas City-Wyandotte. Senior Koralee Jones leads Highland Park with a 10.8 scoring average and 7.5 rebounds per game. Game time: 5:30 p.m.
Junior KK Emmot leads Shawnee Heights, 3-3 on the season, with an 18-point scoring average. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein averages 18.6 points. 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 2.6 assists for the 6-1 Wildcats. [File photo/TSN]
HAYDEN (6-1) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (3-3)
Hayden suffered its first loss of the season in its final game before the holiday break, with Hesston taking a 55-47 decision over the Wildcats, while Shawnee Heights closed out 2025 with a 67-30 United Kansas Conference romp past Topeka West. Junior KK Emmot scored a game-high 17 points for Shawnee Heights against West, while juniors Sami Baum and Pearmella Carter added 11 points apiece and seniors Reianna Vega and Imani McGlory scored nine and eight points, respectively. Emmot ranks third in the city with an 18-point scoring average. Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein is No. 2 in the city with an 18.6 scoring average and also leads the city with 4.6 steals per game while also averaging 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game. Game time: 5 p.m.
FRIDAY'S BOYS GAMES
Senior Bryson McComas leads Topeka High with averages of 13.2 points and 7.6 rebounds. [File photo/TSN]
TOPEKA HIGH (2-3) at HIGHLAND PARK (1-3)
Highland Park gave Nate Wallace his first victory as a head coach in the Scots' final game of 2025, a 78-35 Meadowlark Conference romp past Kansas City-Wyandotte, while Topeka High ended '25 with a 63-50 loss to Olathe East. Junior JoJo Kingcannon leads Highland Park with a 19-point average, ranking third in the city in scoring, while Kingcannon and junior G'Honi Montgomery grab 5.0 rebounds a game and are averaging .3.7 and 3.0 steals. Senior Bryson McComas leads Topeka High with a 13.2 scoring average with 7.6 rebounds a game. Senior Jalen Aldridge averages 13 points for the Trojans. Both Topeka High first-year coach Robbie Sanders and Wallace are Topeka High graduates. Game time: 7 p.m.
Junior Carter Compton (12) averages a team-high 17.3 points for Hayden. [File photo/TSN]
Junior Cam Ross leads Shawnee Heights with a 16-point scoring average. [File photo/TSN]
HAYDEN (3-4) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (2-3)
Hayden snapped a three-game losing streak with a 64-57 win over Silver Lake in its final game of 2025 while Shawnee Heights ended its pre-holiday slate with a 63-58 United Kansas Conference loss to Topeka West. Junior Carter Compton leads Hayden with a 17.3 scoring average while senior Connor Hanika averages 14.9 points and 7.1 rebounds. Junior Cam Ross leads Shawnee Heights with a 16-point scoring average while freshman Quincy Dixon averages 12.2 points and a team-high 4.8 rebounds. Game time: 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY'S BOYS GAME
Senior Simon Rowley is averaging a team-high 16.2 points for 4-2 Washburn Rural. [File photo/TSN]
WASHBURN RURAL (4-2) at OLATHE WEST (3-3)
Washburn Rural ended its pre-Christmas slate with its third straight victory, a 60-25 road romp over Kansas City-Barstow, Mo., while Olathe West is coming off a 65-43 loss to Mill Valley. Senior Simon Rowley leads Washburn Rural with a 16.2 scoring average while senior John Hoytal averages 9.5 points and sophomore Brooks Ballard 9.2 points. Game time: 1 p.m.
