Details

Created: 17 January 2022

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Washburn Unversity men's basketball team played well enough Monday night to beat a lot of teams ... just not quite well enough to knock off the defending Division II national champions.

The Ichabods made run after run at No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State, leading by as many as five points in the first half, but the Bearcats answered each and every run with one of their own, taking a 71-63 MIAA victory at Lee Arena.

Washburn, which had its four-game winning streak snapped by the Bearcats, trailed by just four points at the half (34-30), but Northwest Missouri, which improved to 16-1 overall and 9-0 in the MIAA, took control with a quick start to the second half, building a 14-point advantage at the 11:01 mark, and Ichabods were in chase mode the rest of the way.

"I thought we played really hard and competed at a high level,'' said Washburn coach Brett Ballard, whose Ichabods fell to 10-7 overall and 7-4 in the conference. "We didn't play great the first five minutes of the second half and sometimes that's all it takes against a team as elite as that.

"We played 35 minutes of really good basketball, but that five kind of dug ourselves a hole and then we could never quite get over the hump.''

Connor Deffebaugh (right) scored a team-high 17 points for Washburn in Monday's 71-63 loss to Northwest Missouri State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Washburn senior Tyler Geiman scored 14 points in the Ichabods' 71-63 loss to Northwest Missouri Monday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

But the Ichabods, who are starting to round back into form after being short-handed much of the season, showed a lot of positive signs Monday that they could be ready to mount a charge the second half of the season.

"We are so much more of a team than we were a month ago and we're coming along,'' Ballard said. "I think we're playing a lot better on both ends. I'm pleased with the progress we've made and the direction we're going.

"Obviously there's no moral victories here and that's not why you come to Washburn, but I feel like if we can come out and fight and compete like that every night ... we showed we can do that against the best team in the country. Now we've got to back it up.''

Sophomore Connor Deffebaugh led the Ichabods with 17 points while senior Tyler Geiman added 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for WU before fouling out late in the game and Jonny Clausing had 12 points.

"We've been prepping for these guys for a long time and obviously they're the best team in the country,'' Deffebaugh said. "We just didn't have some things go our way late, but we're going to adjust.

"We've got a good team in the locker room and we all are connected, so we're going to get better. We're going to learn from this.'' 

Former Manhattan star Trevor Hudgins scored a game-high 26 points for the Bearcats, while Wes Dreamer added 18 points.

Washburn will return to action Saturday, hosting Emporia State at Lee Arena.

NORTHWEST MISSOURI MEN 71, WASHBURN 63 

Northwest Missouri 34 37 -- 71 

Washburn 30 33 -- 63 

NORTHWEST MISSOURI (16-1, 9-0) 

Dreamer 5-11 4-4 18, Bernard 3-7 3-4 9, Jackson 2-3 0-0 4, Hudgins 9-23 2-2 26, Waters 2-5 2-2 7, Abreu 0-2 0-0 0, Alexander 3-3 1-1 7. Totals 24-54 12-13 72. 

WASHBURN (10-7, 7-4) 

Harrell 1-8 2-2 5, Deffebaugh 6-8 3-4 17, Geiman 6-14 0-0 14, Lewis 1-2 2-2 5, Keegan 0-0 0-0 0, Nelson 1-9 0-0 2, Clausing 4-6 4-5 12, Ellis 3-6 0-0 8. Totals 22-53 11-13 63. 

3-point goals -- Northwest Missouri 11-30 (Hudgins 6-16, Dreamer 4-8, Waters 1-3, Bernard 0-2, Abreu 0-1), Washburn 8-20 (Deffebaugh 2-3, Geiman 2-5, Ellis 2-2, Harrell 1-5, Lewis 1-2, Nelson 0-3), Rebounds -- Northwest Missouri 31 (Dreamer 9), Washburn 29 (Geiman 5). Assists -- Northwest Missouri 15 (Hudgins 5), Washburn 11 (Geiman 4, Nelson 4). Turnovers -- Northwest Missouri 9, Washburn 10. Total fouls -- Northwest Missouri 14, Washburn 18. Fouled out -- Geiman. Technical fouls -- none.

Details

Created: 17 January 2022

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Washburn University's women's basketball team got thrown for a bit of a loop hours before Monday's MIAA makeup tilt against Northwest Missouri State when the Ichabods found out that veteran head coach Ron McHenry would be unavailable for the game due to COVID-19 protocols.

But dealing with the unexpected is nothing for the Ichabods, who went out and ended a two-game losing streak with a 58-52 win over the Bearcats at Lee Arena.

Washburn veteran assistant Brette Herber took over the Ichabods in McHenry's absence and sophomore Macy Doebele said it was a smooth transition.

"I feel like our team has hit a lot of bumps in the road, one thing after another, but I think we've just tried to come together this whole time and especially at the end of this game,'' Doebele said. "We were like, 'We need to come together, we need to get this big win and we need to start getting these wins and keep it going.'

"Even with all the bumps we've just got to keep fighting through it and I think that kind of showed in this game.''

Hunter Bentley

Macy Doebele

Herber said she was very happy with how the Ichabods responded to her and the effort they showed against the Bearcats.

"They were used to my voice and they're used to my style, how I'm going to coach and how I'm going to talk to them and I think they responded well,'' said Herber, a nine-year WU assistant who also coached the Ichabods early in the season when McHenry attended his daughter, Sami's, wedding. "That definitely helped because they know what I expect on the floor and how we communicate with each other.'' 

WU senior guard Hunter Bentley agreed.

"We all have confidence in her and she has confidence in us and she can run this team just as well as Coach Mc, so we knew that she could do it and that we could all do it together,'' Bentley said.

Washburn, which improved to 6-9 overall and 4-5 in the MIAA, fell behind 4-0 out of the gate Monday night, but answered with nine straight points to take the lead and led 13-8 at the end of the opening quarter.

The Ichabods outscored the Bearcats 7-1 at the start of the second quarter to build a 20-9 advantage but Northwest (11-5, 6-4) fought back to within two at 22-20 with 2:39 left in the half before Aubree Dewey scored the final two baskets of the half to put Washburn in front, 26-20.

Northwest Missouri used a 17-9 third quarter to take a 37-35 lead into the fourth quarter but Washburn answered with a 9-0 run at the start of the fourth, taking a 44-37 lead with 7:32 remaining on a hoop from Bentley.

Northwest Missouri got within a point twice over the final 1:26, the final time at 53-52 with 36.9 seconds remaining, but the Ichabods came up with some huge stops on the defensive end and Nuria Barrientos and Shae Sanchez both hit two free throws apiece and Bentley one over the final 22.9 seconds to put the game away.

Bentley finished with game-high totals of 14 points and four assists while sophomore Abby Oliver added 12 points and Doebele 11.

Sanchez and Irene Sanz both grabbed six rebounds for the Ichabods.

Kelsey Fields scored 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Bearcats while Peyton Kelderman also scored 10 points for Northwest.

Northwest shot just 32.7 percent from the field on the night while hitting just four of 24 3-point attempts.

Washburn countered with 43.8-percent shooting and hit 14 of 17 free throw attempts (82.4 percent).

Washburn will be back at home Saturday, hosting Emporia State.

WASHBURN WOMEN 58, NORTHWEST MISSOURI 52

NW Missouri  8  12 17 15 -- 52

Washburn     13 13   9  23 -- 58 

NORTHWEST MISSOURI (11-5, 6-4)

Green 2-5 1-2 7, Rau 0-1 0-0 0, Hartnett 2-8 0-2 4, Kelderman 4-6 0-0 10, McConkey 3-7 1-2 7, Kesten 1-8 0-0 2, Fields 3-6 4-5 10, Atwood 0-3 3-4 3, Vazquez 3-7 2-2 8, Fleming 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 18-55 12-19 52.

WASHBURN (6-9, 4-5)

Cassaday 1-5 0-0 2, Gamble 0-3 0-0 0, Bentley 5-9 4-6 14, Barrientos 2-6 2-2 6, Doebele 3-3 4-5 11, Sanchez 0-3 4-4 4, Oliver 6-9 0-0 12 , Sanz 1-1 0-0 3, Dewey 3-7 0-0 6, Chapman 0-2 0-0 0, Glatczak 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 14-17 58.

3-point shots – Northwest Missouri 4-24 (Green 2-3, Kelderman 2-3, Hartnett 0-3, Kesten 0-5, McConkey 0-1, Fields 0-1, Vazquez 0-3, Fleming 0-3, Atwood 0-2). Washburn 2-6 (Doebele 1-1, Sanz 1-1, Bentley 0-1, Barrientos 0-1, Sanchez 0-1, Dewey 0-1). Rebounds – Northwest Missouri  34 (Fields 14 ), Washburn 34  (Sanchez 6, Sanz 6). Assists – Northwest Missouri 6 (Vazquez 3), Washburn 11 (Bentley 4). Turnovers – Northwest Missouri 7, Washburn 7. Total fouls – Norhwest Missouri 18, Washburn 18. Fouled out – Doebele. Technical fouls – none.

Details

Created: 17 January 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Elijah Brooks

ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West

A 6-foot-4 senior, Brooks scored a total of 47 points in two Topeka West boys basketball wins on the week as the Chargers improved to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the Centennial League. Brooks scored 21 points in West's 71-57 win over Emporia last Tuesday and scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds on Friday as West took a 79-67 league win over previously-unbeaten Highland Park.

Tyler Geiman

TYLER GEIMAN, Washburn University

Geiman, the Ichabods' 6-1 point guard, helped Washburn boost its winning streak to four games with MIAA wins at Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. Geiman scored 12 points with 16 rebounds and seven assists in a 87-72 win over Southern last Thursday and scored 28 points with 5 rebounds and 6 assists in Saturday's 80-79 victory at Pittsburg State.

Jaliah Johnson

JALIAH JOHNSON, Washburn Rural

Johnson, Washburn Rural's star senior 155-pound wrestler, was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Newton Women's Tournament of Champions after helping lead the Junior Blues to a perfect 5-0 record and the tournament team title in the dual tournament. Johnson went 5-0 with four pins and a win by forfeit. 

Carter Olson

CARTER OLSON, Shawnee Heights

Olson, a 6-6 senior, registered a pair of double-doubles last week as Shawnee Heights boosted its record to 7-1 with a pair of victories. Olson scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the T-Birds' 66-44 United Kansas Conference victory over Leavenworth last Tuesday and had 14 points and 13 rebounds in Shawnee Heights' 82-58 UKC win at Turner on Friday.

Luke Perkins

LUKE PERKINS, Shawnee Heights

Perkins won four gold medals for Shawnee Heights in last Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational swimming meet at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. Perkins won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 6.06 seconds and the 100 butterfly in 54.07 seconds and also swam on the T-Birds' winning 200 medley relay (1:46.33) and 200 free relay (1:37.29).

Juan'Tario Roberts

JUAN'TARIO ROBERTS, Highland Park

Roberts, the Scots' standout senior guard, scored a total of 59 points in two Highland Park games on the week. Roberts scored 24 points in Highland Park's 70-54 Centennial League win over previously-unbeaten Junction City on Tuesday and scored a career-high 35 points with seven 3-pointers in Highland Park's 79-67 league loss at Topeka West on Friday.

Details

Created: 17 January 2022

By KEVIN HASKIN

TopSports.news

Musings at the mid-month:

• Did six consecutive touchdown drives in the postseason opener put to rest concerns about the Chiefs offense?
• Not when the first five series resulted in three punts, two turnovers and a defensive touchdown for Pittsburgh.
• The clash still proved to be the kind of mismatch a No. 7 seed presents in the NFL’s bloated wild-card round.
• Despite the slow start, Patrick Mahomes can look mighty good making plays from the pocket or bouncing out.
• Recording 400-plus yards passing before the end of the third quarter far exceeds whatever threat Mecole Hardman poses when taking snaps.
• Hardman? Sounds like a sure way to give an opponent a touchdown return, though Darrel Williams contributed mightily.
• Just stop it, you say, with the trick plays?
• Andy Reid can’t help himself. Ask Nick Allegretti. Or rifleman Travis Kelce.
• Next time you bash a football coordinator, and you will, remember the head coach has final say.
• If the head coach has surrendered oversight on play-calling, he’s negligent.
• Shuffling coordinators, however, often appeases fans.
• Good luck, Collin Klein. Nice plan and execution, by the way, in the Texas Bowl win.
• A potent mix of returnees and good results combing the transfer portal makes for a bright outlook at K-State.
• The transfer portal will be key for both K-State and KU in terms of assembling talent.
• It will come with hits and misses but seems like a pipeline upgrade when compared to jucos.
• Happy to see Ky Thomas playing close to home after transferring to Kansas.
• He could be the best rusher to come out of Topeka, though I never forget the folklore told about Levi Lee.
• It could be spellbinding to watch Thomas and Devin Neal in the same KU backfield. It’s also a credit to Leipold for emphasizing in-state talent.
• Whether they sign or walk on, in-state players are the heart and soul of any college program. They are caretakers of the culture.
• The toxicity readings on Bruce Weber’s popularity at K-State have never diminished totally since he got hired.
• His postgame absence following the upset over Texas Tech could be that his voice skedaddled coming off COVID.
• Yet it’s all the more reason for Weber not to shriek on every live or dead ball. Let the Cats get one on their own.
• Look, K-State has better overall talent. Yet most teams in the Big 12 are somehow better than a year ago.
• I don’t see an NCAA Tournament bid for a club fighting to stay above .500. With no berth, it’s time to move on from Bruce for the sake of unified fan support.
• In his 10th season coaching K-State, Weber has probably expended his nine lives.
• The difficult part to this equation is who would K-State bring in as a replacement? Will that coach compete favorably in the rugged Big 12?
• For the record, the 10-year records of Weber (179-137) and South Carolina’s Frank Martin (163-140) are pretty similar heading into games Tuesday.
• Could it be that every KU player will be inconsistent throughout the season except for Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun?
• Not overly surprising since Bill Self has a rotation that’s hard to condense and features different pieces for different opponents.
• Remy Martin is the flashiest facilitator, but I wonder how much his reduced scoring role frustrates the former Arizona State go-to man.
• Already the Big 12 is uneven and unpredictable. That will be a constant.
• One of my favorite high school events, the Topeka Invitational, will be staged this week.
• When I first arrived to cover sports in Topeka, city schools hosted three exceptional mid-season basketball tournaments.
• They attracted strong teams coached by greats such as Steve Eck, Chuck Minor, Chic Downing and Ted Juneau.
• And, visiting standouts such as Danny Manning, Steve Woodberry, Earl Watson and Val Barnes.
• How many of you gave or received a new vehicle as a Christmas gift?
• Forever wondering the ratio of over-the-top TV ads to gifted trucks and SUVs.
• And, if the ads work, who gets stuck making the payments?
• Whenever Bill Snyder spoke of “the people” as his reason behind staying at K-State, I always thought of Joan Friederich.
• Her love for everyone in the football complex, and even this one lucky sportswriter, cannot be overstated.
• Rest in peace to a remarkable woman Snyder fittingly called “one of a kind” in a moving eulogy he delivered at Joan’s memorial service.