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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
ROSSVILLE – If Class 3A's No. 2-ranked Silver Lake developed any cobwebs over the winter break, it wasn't noticeable Tuesday night as the Lady Eagles opened the new year with an emphatic 63-50 rivalry victory over its Highway 24 nemesis, Rossville.
The last time the Silver Lake Lady Eagles lost a regular season contest was January 22nd, 2022. With the same starting five that took this team to a state tournament last year, the Eagles have yet to look back and are moving forward at warp speed.
Silver Lake junior Makenzie McDaniel (left) scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Eagles' 63-50 win at Rossville Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The 2023 opener had more meaning than most matchups.
Both Rossville and Silver Lake entered the War on 24 contest undefeated.
No. 9-ranked Rossville entered Tuesday night's Mid-East League matchup with a ton of momentum, winning its first five games before Silver Lake handed the Bulldawgs their first loss and outscored its first five opponents, 305-142.
The Lady Dawgs were looking to avenge their two losses against Silver Lake from last year but couldn't overcome the Eagles.
"I told the girls I was very proud of them," Rossville coach Michael Bell said. "I thought we accomplished a lot of stuff that we wanted to. I thought we were able to get the ball out and push. (Silver Lake) obviously has a great team, but we've got to play for four quarters. We had some mishaps."
A big reason why Rossville took a home loss was the standout 6-foot-1 junior McKenzie McDaniel's impact for Silver Lake. For the second game in a row, McDaniel had a double-double, recording 22 points and 14 rebounds.
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By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
Through the middle two quarters of their Centennial League opener Tuesday night, the No. 7-ranked Washburn Rural girls basketball team went on a 35-0 run against Junction City en route to a 50-9 home win.
“(We were) obviously a little rusty coming off the break,” said Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick. “But we will take a 'W' anytime. It’s a credit to the kids and how hard they are working.”
Senior Brooklyn DeLeye scored a game-high 17 points Tuesday night as Washburn Rural opened Centennial League play with a 50-9 romp past Junction City. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Zoe Canfield (15) scored 13 points in the Junior Blues' 50-9 Centennial League win over Junction City Tuesday night. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
Blue Jay sophomore Sasha Cebula scored a layup in the first minute of the second quarter to make the game, 10-5.
It was about the only highlight for Junction City (1-6 overall, 0-1 league) on the night as the Lady Blues (4-2, 1-0) scored the final 20 points of the quarter to lead 30-5 at the break.
“We’ve got a lot of things we can do on offense to create better looks for us, but, when we have a couple of kids hit some outside shots and some 3s, like we did, it just opens up everything,” Bordewick said.
All 30 first-half points for Rural came from seniors Brooklyn DeLeye and Chloe Carlgren and junior Zoe Canfield. The trio of starters combined to score 39 for the game.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Former Topeka High superstar running back Ky Thomas announced Tuesday night that he has entered the transfer portal after one season at the University of Kansas.
"Thank you Kansas. I have entered my name into the transfer portal,'' the 6-foot, 200-pound Thomas announced on Twitter Tuesday night.
Former Topeka High star Ky Thomas scores the first of his two touchdowns for Kansas in the 2022 Liberty Bowl. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Topeka High product Ky Thomas announced Tuesday night that he has entered the transfer portal after one season at Kansas. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Thomas, who finished his high school career as the the No. 2 all-time rushing leader in Kansas with 7.703 yards (3.009 as a senior), began his college career at Minnesota before transferring to Kansas prior to the 2022 season.
As a redshirt freshman at Minnesota, Thomas led the Gophers with 824 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 166 carries and capped his Minnesota career with 144 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, earning offensive most valuable player honors in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix.
Thomas played in nine games this past season at Kansas, rushing for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 53 carries (3.1 yards per carry). Thomas also had 39 receiving yards and a TD on five receptions.
Thomas scored two touchdowns, on a 29-yard pass reception and a 2-yard run, in Kansas’ 55-53 triple-overtime loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the second time this season, Hayden's boys basketball team took Emporia down to the wire on the road with a chance to win.
But for the second straight time, Emporia found a way to fight off the Wildcats, with the Spartans claiming a 59-52 decision Tuesday night in the Centennial League opener for both schools. Emporia took a 57-53 win over Hayden earlier in the season in the Paul Terry Classic.
Hayden senior Jake Muller (3) looks for room to maneuver against Emporia's zone defense in Tuesday's 59-52 Wildcat loss to the Spartans. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden, which fell to 3-2 overall, 0-1 in the league, only led once on the night, at 3-2, but the third-ranked (Class 4A) Wildcats never lost contact.
Emporia (6-1, 1-0) led 18-13 at the end of the first quarter and 34-27 at the half, but Hayden pulled within a point (42-41) with 1:46 left in the third quarter after sophomore Jacob Deister's third straight 3-pointer.
The Spartans stretched their lead back to six points (49-43) at the start of the fourth quarter, but Hayden pulled within two points (54-52) with 3:34 remaining on two Joe Otting free throws before Emporia ran off the final five points of the game, all from the free throw line.
"That's a credit to (the Spartans),'' Hayden coach Dwayne Paul said. "They play hard, they play fast, they make you shoot shots that you have to make. That's what the 1-3-1 (defense) does. Last time we played they had about a two and a half minute stretch where they out-toughed us and in my opinion they out-toughed us from the start to the finish today.
"We came back and we made it (close) but when it's time for your toughness and your team and your togetherness to shine through the most, we folded at that time.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Playing No. 3-ranked (Class 5A) Emporia for the second time in its first five games, Hayden's girls basketball team showed showed improvement in Tuesday night's Centennial League opener against the Spartans.
But the Wildcats' fourth-quarter rally wasn't enough to keep Emporia from improving to a perfect 7-0 (1-0 in the league) with a 43-34 home win.
Hayden girls basketball coach Carvel Reynoldson talks to his Wildcats during Tuesday's 43-34 Centennial League loss at Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Emporia, which had beat Hayden 52-25 in the second round of the Paul Terry Classic early in the season, built double-digit advantages in each of the first three quarters.
But after trailing by 13 points (32-19) late in the third quarter, Hayden (3-2, 0-1) used a 10-0 run, capped by a Brylee Meier 3-pointer, to cut the Spartans lead to 32-29 with 5:43 remaining.
Emporia regained control at that point, however, using an 8-1 run to build its lead back to 40-30 and the Wildcats got no closer than eight the rest of the way.
"We played better tonight, but it's still frustrating for me and the girls because we think we can compete with them if we play better,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "We got ourselves in too big of a hole.''
Emporia jumped out to a 13-2 advantage at the start of the game before Meier hit a 3-pointer to cut Hayden's first-quarter deficit to 13-5.
