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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Seaman and Topeka West's boys basketball teams faced off on Friday night in a rematch of the Dec. 7 game which saw the Vikings hand the Chargers their only loss of the season.
Topeka West senior star Elijah Brooks was not going to let that happen again as he followed up his 43-point effort earlier in the week with 33 more, breaking the all-time career scoring record at Topeka West.
“They just told us before the game, but whatever happened happened,'' Brooks said. " I wasn’t hunting for it, but it’s good to have it. Every time I would have went over there out of bounds they (the fans) would have told me I broke it and I was like I just wanted to finish the game really cause I was tired.”
Topeka West star Elijah Brooks scored 30 or more points for the fifth straight game in Friday's 74-58 win over Seaman, becoming the career scoring leader in West history. [File photo/TSN]
The previous record of 1,235 was held by Luke Dwyer and had stood since 2000, but after Brooks' 33 points he leaped up to 1,250 in his career.
“It’s definitely great because I spent all my four years here, I worked hard for it,'' Brooks said. "And just, every year they told me I could be a special player, so just seeing the proof is in the pudding, that’s really the great thing about it.''
The 74-58 win moved the second-ranked Chargers to 12-1 on the season overall and 8-1 in the Centennial League while the Vikings fell to 7-5, 5-3.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High girls basketball coach Hannah Alexander is always quick to point out that defense is a big focus and a big key for her Trojans.
And Alexander was just as quick to point out that without that defense in the second half Friday night the Trojans probably wouldn't be headed to Saturday's 2:30 p.m. Capital City Classic championship game.
The undefeated and fourth-ranked Trojans trailed underdog Shawnee Mission East 25-23 at halftime and the Lancers held a 31-28 advantage with 5:30 left in the third quarter before Topeka High, forcing a rash of East turnovers, used a 10-0 run to take a seven-point lead on an Adisyn Caryl hoop with 1:14 left in the quarter.
East was still within 38-33 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Trojans, who forced 25 Lancer turnovers on the night, scored the first seven points of the final quarter and the final five to hold on for the 52-43 win.
"It didn't go as well as planned in the first half and they had some girls really step up for them, but (defense) is the thing that we've got to live or die by and I think we tightened things up at the end of the third and the fourth quarter,'' Alexander said. "That was huge for us.''
And although Friday wasn't necessarily one of the 11-0 Trojans' best performances, Alexander knows that there are going to be nights like that and that the key was finding a way to win.
"We did not play our best but that's just something we've got to bounce back from and understand that and drive and penetrate a little bit more,'' Alexander said. "But that was a solid team and they really brought everything that they had.''
Topeka High, now 11-0, will face Wichita Heights, a 50-28 winner over Seaman in the second semifinal, for the championship while Shawnee Mission East will play Seaman in the 1 p.m. third-place game.
Topeka High junior Kiki Smith scored a team-high 13 points as the Trojans remained unbeaten with a 52-43 win over Shawnee Mission East Friday night. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Trojans were led by junior Kiki Smith with 13 points and senior Tae Thomas with 11 while sophomore Ayana Leesman added nine points.
Shawnee Mission East got a game-high 25 points and five 3-pointers from sophomore Abigail Long while senior Tess Roman added 14 points and nine rebounds.
WICHITA HEIGHTS 50, SEAMAN 28 -- Seaman was within eight points at halftime and within six early in the third quarter before Wichita Heights (9-2) took control behind Louisville recruit Zyanna Walker.
Seaman's Brooklyn Gormley scored the first basket of the second half to cut Wichita Heights' lead to 19-13, but the Falcons answered with a 14-2 run and led by 20 late in the quarter before Seaman freshman Kinley Wilhelm hit a 3-pointer to end the quarter (38-21).
Heights went on to lead by 24 points twice over the final eight minutes.
Walker, a 5-10 senior, led all scorers with 22 points, including 15 in the second half.
Senior Cayanna Stanley added 13 points for Wichita Heights, with three 3-pointers.
Sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer led Seaman (7-4) with nine points, the only Viking with more than five points.
HIGHLAND PARK 50, SHAWNEE MISSION NORTH 47 -- Highland Park rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to pick up its second win of the season, taking a 50-47 win over Shawnee Mission North in a Capital City Classic consolation game.
The Scots trailed 18-4 at the end of the opening quarter and 26-15 at the half, but cut their deficit to 32-27 at the start of the fourth quarter and outscored the Bison 23-15 over the final eight minutes.
Aisya Taylor
Senior Aisya Taylor scored 22 points with three 3-pointers to lead Highland Park while sophomore Victoria Reed added 13 points and freshman Amelia Ramsey 12 points and 20 rebounds.
With Friday's win, Highland Park advanced to Saturday's fifth-place game at 2:30 p.m. to face Maize.
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By RICK PETERSON 
TopSports.news
The Dan Key Farmers Insurance agency is teaming up with TopSports.News to spotlight outstanding performances by male and female Shawnee County High School student-athletes.
Beginning Thursday, Feb. 3, The Dan Key Farmers Insurance “Athlete of the Week” will be featured on the TopsSports.News website.
Key, who opened the Dan Key Insurance Agency in 2013, has been involved in Shawnee County high school athletics for more than 35 years, as an umpire and basketball and football official as well as a multi-time state-champion high school coach.
“We are excited to be able to highlight the athletes in our community that are making a difference -- not just in athletics, but in other areas as well,'' Key said. "Getting to connect with the athletes in our community is very important to us. As I start to approach the end of my refereeing and umpiring career, I am excited to have found a way to still be involved in the high school athletics community.
"I came up with the idea because there are so many athletes that I have seen over the years that needed to be recognized. I’ve spent years working in athletics and there are just so many student- athletes I see that deserve to be recognized. Having a different male and different female athlete each week allows more kids to be honored.''
The Athlete of the Week feature will run until the end of May and then become a regular feature each week of the 22-23 school year.
The Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency is located at 5942 SW 29th Suite A in Topeka.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural’s Brooklyn DeLeye had a smooth and quiet 18-point night Thursday, missing just two shots on eight attempts, as the Lady Blues rolled to a 57-30 win over Leavenworth in the first round of the Lady Firebirds Winter Classic at Free State.
“Going into tournaments, we have to just go one game at a time,” said DeLeye, a 6-foot-2 junior. “We have to look on to the next and face a good team.''
Junior Brooklyn DeLeye scored a game-high 18 points in Thursday's 57-30 win over Leavenworth in the first round of the Lady Firebirds Winter Classic. [File photo/TSN]
The momentum of the Round 1 game started and finished with the No. 6-ranked Lady Blues in control.
The Lady Blues had the hot hand early, going on a 15-2 run 3:47 into the first quarter.
Zoe Canfield and Emma Krueger hit a combined three 3-point shots in the run, while DeLeye had four points in the paint.
“In the first quarter, we hit some threes which always opens things up,'' Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "Our defense fed off of that and put together some really good stops.''
DeLeye had a nine-point second quarter, including a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, while Jada Ingram scored four points as Washburn Rural earn a 22-point lead going into the halftime break.
Leavenworth played better in the second half, getting 11 points on the night from guard Kaylee McLain, but the Pioneers were unable to make a series run, with Rural rolling to Friday's semifinals.
In the Lady Blues' current five-game winning streak, Washburn Rural has outscored opponents, 284-147.
With the win, Washburn Rural will take on Derby in Friday's 7:30 semifinal, with Rural ranked No. 6 in 6A and Derby No. 3.
“Derby is awful good,'' Bordewick said. "We haven’t seen (Derby) yet, but I know they are very good and very tall.''
TOPEKA WEST DROPS 59-25 DECISION TO PANTHERS
The Lady Chargers fought hard in the first quarter against No. 3-ranked Derby Panthers, including 3-point shots by Siani Sanchez and Breya Bogart, before Derby pulled away for a 59-25 first-round win in the Lady Firebirds Winter Classic.
“All I asked from the girls was to compete and play hard,” said Topeka West coach Jeff Skar. “For the most part, we did that, especially in the first quarter.”
Derby took control with 20 points in the second quarter, with Jada Hopson, Maryn Archer and Naomi White combining for 18 points.
Derby’s up-tempo style of basketball was tough for the Lady Chargers to handle, including a scoreless third quarter from the Chargers.
“I’m not disappointed. We played hard. That’s a team (Derby) who’s phenomenal. (Derby) has a real good chance of winning the 6A state title. I really liked our effort, but we have to adjust some defensive things,” said Skar.
Jazmyn Ford led the Lady Chargers in points with 11 while Derby’s leading scorer was Archer with 17 points.
Skar has one thing he would love to carry over from Thursday night’s game into Friday 4:30 p.m. consolation contest against Leavenworth.
“Effort. As long as we play like that, we are going to be in a lot of games,” Skar said.
Derby coach Dan Harrison was pleased with the defense and hopes it can carry over to Friday's semifinal matchup with Washburn Rural.
“I’d like to carry over our defensive energy to tomorrow,'' Harrison said. "We jumped out early tonight and that was the difference in the game. Early on we were missing some shots, but because of our defense, we were able to make up a lot of them. We are going to have to play great defense against Washburn Rural tomorrow. They can make threes and they can play on every part of the floor.”
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS 57, LEAVENWORTH 30
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It was a struggle at times, but Hayden's girls basketball team survived a low-scoring nail-biter to advance to Saturday's Top Gun Invitational championship game with a 32-30 win over Nemaha Central Thursday night in Wellsville.
Carly Stuke
Hayden, which improved to 7-3, will play Spring Hill for the tournament championship at 5 p.m. Saturday in Wellsville.
The Wildcats were locked in an 8-8 tie with the Thunder at the end of the first quarter before using a 12-4 second quarter to take a 20-12 halftime advantage.
Nemaha Central outscored Hayden 18-12 in the second half, but the Wildcats were able to hold on for the victory.
Senior Carly Stuke led Hayden with eight points while Lauren Sandstrom added five points. Three other Hayden players scored four points.
Spring Hill, ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, advanced to the championship game with a 59-54 win over previously-unbeaten and No. 3 Lansing.
