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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel Latin girls battled to the wire in search of their second win of the season, coming up just short at home against West Franklin 36-33 Friday.
Karsyn Hastert led Cair Paravel with 10 points in Friday's 36-33 Flint Hills League loss to West Franklin. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
First-year coach Jaley Barkley praised the Lions' effort and sees improvement from the eight players suited up.
“We’ve played some tough teams but we’ve learned so much these past couple of games,” Barkley said. “This was one of our first games that was close to the end, so just learning to finish those last couple of minutes in the fourth quarter is huge, being able to push with our small team, just being able to figure out how to finish strong.”
The Lions are navigating the Flint Hills League for the first time, with a small roster and limited experience. Barkley had to juggle the lineup in the final minutes after two players fouled out. But she is happy with the chemistry of the group.
“The girls have grown so much and they are great together,” Barkley said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a struggle (to have just eight players). It’s more of a joy just being able to figure out how to work with these eight girls.”
Freshman London Backman (12) scored seven points Friday in Cair Paravel's 36-33 home loss to West Franklin. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Lions were led Friday by 10 points from junior Karsyn Hastert. Freshman London Backman added seven.
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Beating ranked Class 6A teams has become a familiar thing for the Hayden Lady Wildcats, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association.
After beating defending Class 6A champion Shawnee Mission South in their 2024 finale and then topping 6A runnerup Washburn Rural, the Wildcats knocked off No. 5 Manhattan 54-47 in an instant classic Friday night at Hayden.
Senior Millie Ramsey scored 8 of her 13 points in the closing minutes as Hayden took a 54-47 Centennial League victory over Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
The Lady Wildcats, who are off to a 9-0 start after placing third in 3A last year, would start off up 12-8 at the end of the first quarter and would go into halftime with a 30-24 lead.
But Hayden would cool off at the end the third quarter, allowing the Indians to come back and tie it up at 40 going into the fourth quarter.
The Centennial League rivals would trade punches until Hayden senior Millie Ramsey would deliver the knockout punch with 4:10 left in the game.
Ramsey would hit the biggest shot of the night with a 3 pointer to tie it up at 46 before hitting another 3-pointer on the next possession to put Hayden up 49-46 with 2:20 left.
Ramsey then put the icing on the cake with a layup to put the Wildcats up 51-46 with 1:15 left in the game, followed by two Brylee Meier free throws and the Cats would survive a hard fought game against the Lady Indians.
Senior Brylee scored a game-high 16 points as Hayden took a 54-47 Centennial League victory over Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
The Wildcats who got another good scoring night from senior Meier, who would lead all scorers with 16 points.
“She carries us through times when our offense is stagnant with her ability to shoot the ball,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said of Meier. "And when times are tough, she’s been a tremendous leader for us. The comments she makes on the bench during a time out are perfectly in sync with the message.”
“I felt like going into the game I knew I was going to have to be a big leader for the team,'' Meier said. "I just had to make sure we had energy in times where everyone was tired and staying positive when shots weren’t falling.”
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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
The Topeka West boys basketball team saw 10 players find the scoring column as the Chargers downed visiting Kansas City-Turner 63-41 in United Kansas Conference action on Friday night at West.
Junior Malakyah Duncan (12) led a balanced Topeka West scoring attack with 10 points in Friday's 63-41 UKC win over KC-Turner. [File photo/TSN[
The Chargers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minutes of the contest with baskets from Jalen Foy and Kamoni Ford, but Turner’s Mekhi Follick answered with five quick points to give the visitors their only lead of the night.
Topeka West responded with a layup from Keimani Paul and a 3-pointer from Jay’veon Traylor to take a 9-5 lead.
Follick added a basket to cut the lead back to one possession, but the Chargers took advantage of multiple Golden Bears turnovers to take a 17-10 lead after the first quarter.
The teams traded baskets for the entirety of the second quarter.
Despite running a fast-paced offense, the Chargers struggled to get shots to fall, only tallying 11 points in the period.
West looked to take a double-digit lead into the halftime locker room, but Follick knocked down a 3-pointer late in the half to cut the Charger lead to 28-20 entering the break.
With the Golden Bears hanging around after 16 minutes, Topeka West opened up the contest in the third quarter.
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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
The Topeka West girls basketball team earned its first win of the 2024-2025 season with a 67-37 United Kansas Conference victory over Kansas City-Turner on Friday at West.
Junior Imani McGlory scored 16 points Friday in Topeka West's 67-337 UKC win over KC-Turner, pacing four Chargers in double figures. [File photo/TSN]
The Chargers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, using defensive pressure to force turnovers from the Golden Bears.
Imani McGlory earned the first points of the contest by knocking down a shot from beyond the 33-point arc, while Addaline Hall added two layups to force a Turner timeout.
The strong Charger defense held the Golden Bears at bay for most of the first quarter, with the visitors only mustering one made field goal in the frame, giving Topeka West a 14-3 lead.
The Turner offense improved in the second quarter, scoring the first basket of the period on their way to a 10-point frame, but the Chargers’ Breonnah Keeling scored eight of her 13 points in the quarter to give the hosts a 28-13 halftime advantage.
Topeka West opened up the contest in the third quarter, out-scoring the Golden Bears 23-10 in the period.
McGlory started the second-half, scoring with a layup off an assist from Hall, while Teairra Gonzales knocked down two 3-pointers to extend the Charger lead.
Turner put together its best eight minutes of offense in the fourth quarter, with Kahlis Jones giving the Golden Bears the first field goal of the period.
Jones would go on to knock down a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter, but McGlory and Hall would add long-range shots of their own to help prevent a comeback attempt from the visitors.
Izzy Kutina chipped in a pair of free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory for the Chargers.
McGlory led Topeka West with 16 points on 6-11 shooting.
Gonzales added 15 points, while Hall and Keeling reached double figures with 13 points each.
Jerzey Hanna paced Turner with 16 points on 3-9 shooting, while going 9-18 from the free-throw line. Jones added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Bears.
Topeka West returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 21 with a trip to Basehor-Linwood.
TOPEKA WEST GIRLS 67, KC-TURNER 37
Turner 3 10 10 14 -- 37
Topeka West 14 14 23 16 -- 67
Turner (0-6, 0-5) -- Boyd 1-3 0-0 3, Chavez 0-0 0-0 0, Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, Lopez 2-4 0-2 4, Ollie 2-7 0-0 4, Hanna 3-9 9-18 16, Jones 4-13 0-0 10, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0, Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-37 9-20 37.
Topeka West (1-6, 1-6) -- Allen 0-2 0-2 0, Traylor 0-0 0-0 0, I. McGlory 6-11 0-0 16, VanDyke 1-4 1-4 3, Keeling 6-11 1-2 13, Hall 5-15 2-6 13, Gonzales 6-13 1-2 15, A. McGlory 2-8 0-0 5, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Kutina 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 26-65 7-18 67.
3-point goals -- Turner 4 (Jones 2, Boyd, Hanna), Topeka West 8 (I. McGlory 4, Gonzales 2, Hall, A. McGlory). Total fouls -- Turner 14, Topeka West 14. Fouled out -- VanDyke. Technical fouls - none.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel Latin boys withstood a furious fourth quarter rally by West Franklin Friday to hold off the Falcons to win on the Lions’ home floor, 71-67.
Senior Jase Pavlik scored 18 points to lead the way as Cair Paravel topped West Franklin 71-67 Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer and the Lions' bench react to a big play in Friday's 71-67 win over West Franklin. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Lions led by 17 with five minutes remaining, but had to hit free throws in the final couple of minutes to stave off the comeback.
The Lions improved to 4-5 on the season, 2-3 in the Flint Hills League. Cair Paravel had to replace eight players from last year’s squad and coach Chip Kueffer said the learning process is ongoing.
“It helped tonight that we were at home, for sure,” Kueffer said. “The way the game played out says a lot about our youth, because we were playing a lot of young guys, and it says a lot about our leadership. So, we were able to hold onto it. Ideally, you’d like to win that game by 20. But I think we learned more from it because we were able to win a close one.”
Providing leadership, as well as 18 points, Friday was senior guard Jase Pavlik. Juniors Caleb Cleverdon and Lucas Marichal added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Coming off the bench to combine for 20 points were freshmen Chase Hastert with 13 and Blaine Durbin with seven.
“These new guys, they’ve been in the system and they’re very skilled,” Pavlik said. “The thing I like about our team is we’re smart. But we’ve got to learn to play in pressure situations. Coach said we had four turnovers at half, and I think we ended up with like 18. After the game we discussed that we haven’t been in that scenario yet.”
“To lose eight guys at a small school, that’s tough,” the Lions’ second-year coach said. “It kind of feels like my first year again because of the new league, the new schedule, playing a lot of the teams for the first time.
“The kids love each other and that makes it easier, but we’re not playing well yet. Once we get it figured out, I think we can be good.”
