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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights girls took the next step in the United Kansas Conference race Tuesday night by beating up on visiting Leavenworth, 53-18.
Junior Reianna Vega scored 13 first-half points for Shawnee Heights in Tuesday's 53-18 UKC romp past Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds improved to 5-3 in a league that features three of the top seven Class 5A teams in the state according to the most recent Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll in Seaman, Piper and De Soto.
Shawnee Heights left no doubt against the Pioneers, building a 14-0 lead before the visitors got on the board with 2:16 left in the first period. The second period followed the same script, with Leavenworth getting its second bucket with 2:30 left before halftime. At the break, the T-Birds led, 31-7.
“We wanted to come out of the gate and get a good start,” said Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells. “We’ve had some times where we struggled a little bit at the start, or that we’ve had a dead spot in the third quarter. We wanted to make sure we didn’t have those dead spots. And I thought the girls really responded.”
Leading the first half charge was junior Reianna Vega, who scored 13 points before the intermission. The 6-foot forward demonstrated the ability to face the basket, knock down perimeter shots, handle the ball and battle in the paint.
“I think I am growing as a player, watching myself improve each game,” Vega said. “I set goals for myself each game, and when I achieve them, I feel (I’m improving).”
“I think she can play an even bigger role,” Wells said of Vega. “We are looking to her to score and now she’s stepping forward in games and starting to put up some numbers like we think she’s capable of doing.
“For somebody that’s basically 6-feet tall who can handle the ball, who can shoot from the perimeter or go inside and battle with the bigs, that really helps us. With that size, she’s able to see over the defense and that makes a big difference looking at what’s going on with the offense.”
Sophomore KK Emmot scored a game-high 21 points in Tuesday's 53-18 home UKC win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Pacing Shawnee Heights for the game was sophomore KK Emmot with 21. The T-Birds were an efficient 21-42 from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line.
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
Seaman, the top-ranked team in Class 5A, hosted sixth-ranked St. James Academy Tuesday in a contest that had been rescheduled due to the snowstorm earlier this month.
Senior Anna Becker led the way with 20 points as Seaman improved to 9-0 with a 57-44 non-league win over St. James Academy Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Combining a fast start with clutch play down the stretch, the Vikings improved to 9-0 with a 57-44 victory over the Thunder.
Seaman started the game quickly with a flurry of baskets both inside and outside and led 18-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The Thunder responded with a 15-6 run to start the second quarter and cut the lead to 24-23 with 4:20 remaining in the first half. But the Lady Vikes outscored the Thunder 9-3 over the last 3:40, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by senior Kinley Wilhelm, to lead 33-26.
The first four minutes of the third quarter went back and forth and Seaman was able to extend its lead by the end of the quarter to 10 points, 45-35.
In the first three minutes of the final quarter, seniors Jaida Stallbaumer and Anna Becker hit two and three-point baskets, respectively, and along with a free throw by sophomore Maddie Gragg, the Lady Vikes led 51-40. The final five minutes of the contest became a battle of free throws and the Lady Vikes won their ninth straight game of the season.
Seaman Matt Tinsley was pleased with his team’s total performance.
“We guarded and played really well defensively,'' Tinsley said. "We controlled the boards, which was an emphasis before the game. Offensively, we moved the ball, kept our composure and got great shots.”
Prior to the game, Tinsley mentioned to the team that this would be a ‘big girl’ game and it would require toughness throughout.
“Ava Esser had some big shots in the third quarter, Kinley Wilhelm was tough on the boards, Maddie Gragg made tough plays and Jaida Stallbaumer had a couple of important drives for baskets in the fourth quarter,'' Tinsley said. "We needed to have a game like this where the girls had to rely on each other to get it done. The game honors toughness and we were tough tonight.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Playing without injured point guard Keimara Marshall, Topeka High's committed 29 turnovers in Tuesday night's non-league game against USD 501 rival Highland Park, but despite those struggles the Trojans never trailed en route to a 53-45 win over the previously-unbeaten Scots on their home floor.
Sophomore Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored a game-high 19 points in Tuesday's 53-45 road win at Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"As a coach, and any coach would understand this, you want a little bit more,'' Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said. "You want to win and look halfway decent but we also know that an awful lot of the time you win and you don't look very good winning, so we'll take it.
"(Highland Park's) not a bad team. They're flying high, they were undefeated and this is a rivalry game, as I was reminded several times by the girls. I'm just happy that we won that one.''
Topeka High (5-3) and Highland Park (6-1) were knotted four times in the opening quarter before High junior Amari Triplett canned a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter to put her team in front 13-10 and the Trojans never trailed again.
High went on to build a 24-15 advantage late in the first half, but Highland Park sophomore Pearmella Carter converted a 3-point play to get the Scots within six (24-18) at the break.
It was in the third quarter where the Trojans took control, with High outscoring the Scots 16-5 to lead 40-23 at the start of the fourth.
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By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Monthly musings …
• Chiefs Derangement Syndrome is sure in vogue now that the playoffs have started.
• And remember, unlike another derangement syndrome often cited, media types can pander to 31 different fan bases rather than allies of one political party.
• The person they most want to discredit, of course, is the face of the league, Patrick Mahomes.
• Does Mahomes benefit from favorable calls? Perhaps. But it’s not unprecedented.
• Tom Brady did too, playing for a franchise that was caught red-handed cheating.
• The consequences for those New England teams? None really. Their championships will forever remain intact.
• Look, if you’re a Chiefs fan, enjoy it. Your team is in the heads of every opponent and opposing fan base.
• Also, Mahomes remains focused and strong-willed as he bids for a third straight Super Bowl championship.
• Realize this, too. The Houston Texans will find it hard to ever become a powerhouse.
• Not as long as they blame the refs by saying they walked into Arrowhead knowing they’d get jobbed.
• Excuses sound good to some people, especially those bashing the Chiefs.
• But excuses weaken teams. Excuses can’t cover Travis Kelce, can’t pass-block effectively and can’t execute on special teams.
• Those are the flaws that contributed to Houston’s loss; more so than any unfavorable calls.
• Not many want to acknowledge, on a national scale, that the Chiefs built their curent reign on character.
• Andy Reid is one of the best to ever do it because he leverages his curiosity.
• He gets to know his players and anyone else who works in the Chiefs operation.
• Speaking with Mahomes’ daughter outside the locker room after the Houston win was no publicity stunt.
• When you get to know your people, it promotes teamwork. Not everyone complies, but those who don’t usually get shipped elsewhere.
• One of them, Kareem Hunt, came back into the fold and will be the running back the Chiefs count on in the AFC Championship game on Sunday against the Bills.
• Kansas City needs Hunt, and whatever Isiah Pacheco can add, to keep the ball out of Josh Allen’s hands.
• For the Chiefs to win, someone unexpected will step up and either make a big play or overachieve for 60 minutes.
• Allen is a great quarterback and the Buffalo team he commands is capable of playing for a Super Bowl title.
• Mahomes, however, remains the proven leader I want in a postseason run.
• Especially when he and the Chiefs are clearly in the heads of so many haters.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
TopSports.news founder and longtime local radio broadcaster Bill Griffin passed away peacefully early Monday morning at a local hospital at the age of 69.
Bill Griffin, who passed away Monday at the age of 69, was recognized during a 2022 Washburn University football game in Yager Stadium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Griffin was surrounded by wife Nancy and close friends at the time of his death after a 10-month battle with esophageal cancer.
Griffin grew up in the greater Kansas City area and played baseball and football at the University of Kansas before carving out a long multi-faceted business career in Topeka, including a stint as the general manager of the Heartland Park Topeka racing facility.
It was Griffin's brainchild in 2020 to launch TopSports.news, a website dedicated to Shawnee County high school and Washburn University sports, and he was the heart and soul of the organization from its debut on Jan. 1, 2021.
“The conversation about launching this website started about a year and a half before we actually made it to the webpage,” Griffin said in a 2021 interview with TK Business Magazine. "It then accelerated when we were at a brunch in Vegas. While we were there, we said, ‘Let’s take a hard look at doing this.’
“From my side of it, it looked like there was an open opportunity in the market for someone to step in and take over coverage of high school sports.”
Griffin also put together a 30-year career broadcasting high school sports with Hall of Famer Mike Manns, with Griffin continuing to broadcast games during his cancer fight, working his final high school basketball doubleheader last Tuesday.
