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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn's 1-7 start to the 2021-2022 women's basketball season is starting to look more and more like just a bad memory.
The Ichabods picked up their fourth straight win Friday in Warrensburg, Mo., taking a 66-59 win over Central Missouri to improve to 5-7 overall and 3-3 in the MIAA.
"I think we just got into a much better flow,'' WU senior Hunter Bentley told KTPK Radio after the game. "We've been talking a lot more, communicating better and we've been able to read each other better, so it's just been helping us flow a lot better on offense and when we can score then it's easier to set our defense and to get stops.''
Senior Hunter Bentley scored 18 points and went five of five from the free throw line in Washburn's 66-59 road win at Central Missouri on Friday. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn got off to a good start Friday, jumping out to a 15-13 first-quarter advantage over the Jennies, a Final Four team a year ago.
The Jennies rallied for a 31-29 halftime lead, but the Ichabods forged a 47-47 tie at the end of the third quarter and took control down the stretch to win for the second straight time on Central Missouri's home floor.
Bentley led Washburn with 18 points while Nuria Barrientos had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Shae Sanchez added 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers.
Bentley moved into the No. 9 spot on Washburn's career scoring list, moving past former Ichabod standout Crystal Walker. Bentley is just seven points behind Joy Benton, who is No. 8 on the list.
Bentley went five of five from the free throw line while Macy Doebele canned four of four charities late as the Ichabods held off the Jennies.
The Ichabods also turned in an excellent job on the defensive end, particulary on Jennies star Nija Collier, who had just four points and four rebounds and got in second-half foul trouble. Collier entered the game averaging 22.8 points and 13 rebounds.
Brooke Littrell led Central Missouri (8-5, 4-2) with a game-high 23 points while Olivia Nelson added 18, but Washburn out-shot the Jennies (51 percent to 35.1) and finished with a 35-31 rebounding edge.
Washburn was coming off a 71-50 non-conference win over Bethany on Wednesday and Bentley said it helped the Ichabods to have that game under their belts coming off the holiday break.
"I think that was definitely crucial for us,'' Bentley said. "It was really key for us to kind of get the rust off and go get a win on Wednesday.''
Washburn will be back at Lee Arena on Thursday, hosting Northwest Missouri.
WASHBURN WOMEN 66, CENTRAL MISSOURI 59
Washburn 15 14 18 19 -- 66
Central Missouri 13 18 16 12 -- 59
WASHBURN (5-7, 3-3)
Oliver 4-7 1-4 9, Bentley 6-12 5-5 18, Barrientos 5-9 1-2 11, Sanchez 4-7 0-0 10, Doebele 2-5 4-4 8, Gamble 0-1 0-0 0, Cassaday 3-3 0-0 6, Chapman 0-0 0-0 0, Sanz 0-2 0-0 0, Dewey 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 26-51 11-15 66.
CENTRAL MISSOURI (8-5, 4-2)
Nelson 5-9 8-8 18, Bovaird 2-5 0-0 6, Collier 2-10 0-0 4, Littrell 8-19 6-6 23, Hackerott 3-10 1-8 8, Van Zant 0-0 0-0 0, Vigil 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 20-57 15-22 59.
3-point shots – Washburn 3-11 (Sanchez 2-4, Bentley 1-4, Dewey 0-2, Gamble 0-1). Central Missouri 4-23 (Bovaird 2-4, Littrell 1-7, Hackerott 1-3, Vigil 0-4, Collier 0-3, Nelson 0-2). Rebounds – Washburn 35 (Barrientos 10), Central Missouri 31 (Nelson 7, Hackerott 7). Assists – Washburn 12 (Bentley 3, Dewey 3), Central Missouri 8 (Four with two). Turnovers – Washburn 17, Central Missouri 11. Total fouls – Washburn 21, Central Missouri 17. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's hard for Louisville volleyball star Amaya Tillman not to think about the NCAA Final Four semifinal loss that ended a dream 2021 season for the Cardinals.
But as the days go by, the former Shawnee Heights state champion thinks more about what an incredible run the Cardinals had.
Louisville ran off 32 straight victories to advance to the Final Four before the Cardinals dropped a heartbreaking five-set decision to eventual NCAA national champion Wisconsin.
"I definitely still think about it, not as much as I did right after we lost, but when I think about it now I think back more on the experience and just how surreal it all was,'' said Tillman, a 6-foot-3 junior middle blocker. "As a kid I went to volleyball Final Fours and all the NCAA Tournament games and now that I'm in that and being there it was a great experience and I'll forever remember it. So now I don't look back on it as we lost, I just look at all the great moments with my team and being able to have that opportunity.''
Amaya Tillman
And the fact that the Cardinals came within just two wins of a perfect season while winning Atlantic Coast Conference and East regional championships was obviously a highlight.
"It was so cool,'' Tillman said. "I remember throughout the season I was like, 'Are we really going to go undefeated ?' '' Tillman said. "It was kind of unbelievable just being in that moment. Of course it would have been great to go all the way undefeated, but just being able to say that the only loss was to the national champion, that's pretty cool.''
Tillman, who has two years of eligibility remaining, was a key part of Louisville's success, earning first-team All-East Region honors while also being named to the All-ACC second team for the second straight year.
Louisville middle blocker Amaya Tillman (right), a Shawnee Heights graduate, helped lead Louisville to a 32-1 record and the NCAA Final Four this past fall. [Photo by Louisville Athletics]
Tillman, who was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, ranked among the NCAA national leaders with 149 blocks while also registering 213 kills.
With every year that goes by Tillman feels better and better about her decision to attend Louisville.
"Going in as a freshman three years ago was really intimidating and I was one of my coach Dani Busboom Kelly's first commits since she was a new coach,'' Tillman said. "I just had a lot of trust in her and a lot of trust in the program and thankfully I did because my freshman year we made it to the Elite Eight, my sophomore year we made it to the Sweet 16 and then this year the Final Four, so it's been everything I ever hoped for.''
Tillman is on track to earn her bachelor's degree in May, will work on her master's during her final two seasons with the Cardinals, and said she is excited about Louisville's future.
"We have quite a few players coming back,'' Tillman said. "We lost a lot of seniors, but we're getting quite a few freshmen and we just had a big team in general. This past year we had a team of 19 and that's pretty big for a volleyball team, so just in general our team's pretty deep and I think we'll be good no matter what.''
Tillman's success at Louisville has come on the heels of an outstanding career at Shawnee Heights, which included a Class 5A state championship her sophomore season in 2016.
Tillman's T-Bird teammates included Jazz Sweet, who helped Nebraska win a national championship, Megan Cooney, who played in the Final Four for Illinois, and Faith Rottinghaus, who earned All-America honors for Washburn this past season while helping lead the Ichabods to the Division II championship match.
"I still talk to all of them and I congratulated Faith when she made it to the national championship game,'' Tillman said. "That's cool seeing Washburn do that here in Topeka.
"In high school I feel like it was just pretty obvious that we were a pretty special group and I think it's really cool now that we're older just to see everyone going on and doing great things. It all kind of ties back to high school when we played together and I'm so thankful that I had that experience in high school because I played with some of the best.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's MIAA basketball doubleheader at Central Missouri that was scheduled to open 2022 will now close out 2021.
Because of expected winter weather on tap for Saturday, the Washburn-Central Missouri games were pushed up a day to be played on Friday, with the women's game scheduled for 2 p.m. and the men's game to follow at approximately 4 o'clock in Warrensburg, Mo. at the UCM Multipurpose Building.
The Ichabod women's team has won its last three games, including a 71-50 non-conference victory over Bethany College Wednesday in Lee Arena, improving to 4-7 on the season. The Ichabods are 2-3 in the MIAA and will face a Jennies team that is 8-4 this season and 4-1 in MIAA play.
The Ichabod men's team (6-6, 3-3 MIAA) dropped an 85-82 loss to Northeastern State on Dec. 20. The Mules are (6-3, 3-2 MIAA) and have won their last two games, topping Missouri Southern 87-57 on Dec. 16 and Pittsburg State 66-58 on Dec. 18 in a pair of road wins.
Senior Hunter Bentley needs 14 points to move into the No. 9 spot on Washburn's career scoring list. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
WU AT CENTRAL MISSOURI WOMEN
Both the Ichabods and Jennies will take three-game win streaks into Friday's contest.
Washburn will only have had one day's rest before heading to Central Missouri while the Jennies last played on Dec. 18 at Pittsburg State and claimed a 70-61 win.
Washburn and Central Missouri have played each other 66 times since 1990 and WU leads the all-time series, 41-25. The two teams met three times last season and Washburn went 1-2, taking a 63-55 victory in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals.
Senior Hunter Bentley leads Washburn in scoring at 11.8 points per game and averages 4.3 rebounds. The former Bishop Miege standout needs 14 points to move into the No. 9 spot on Washburn's career scoring list.
Abby Oliver averages 7.5 points and Mackenzie Gamble 6.9 points while Lauren Cassaday leads Washburn with a 5.0 rebounding average and Aubree Dewey leads WU with 25 assists.
Central Missouri's Nija Collier leads the MIAA in four categories and averages a double-double with 22.8 points and 13 rebounds per game to go with a 57.8 field goal percentage.
Brooke Littrell (17.8-point average) and Olivia Nelson (14.4) also contribute double-figure scoring for the Jennies.
WU AT CENTRAL MISSOURI MEN
Washburn is expected to be closer to full strength than it has been all season for Friday's game, as both Johnny Clausing and Tyler Nelson could see their first action of the season against the Mules.
The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Mules 54-52 and have won the last three overall, including a 70-68 win on Feb. 13, 2021 in Warrensburg.
Junior Jalen Lewis leads Washburn in scoring at 14.3 points per game while hitting 25 of 66 3-pointers.
Freshman Michael Keegan is averaging 11.2 points and leads the Ichabods with a 6.3 rebounding average.
After missing multiple games with an ankle injury, senior Tyler Geiman is averaging 10.4 points and 6.4 assists in five games this season.
Gavin Pinkley leads the Mules with a 12.8 scoring average while Ja'Cor Nelson averages 10.9 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds.
Washburn will return to Lee Arena next Thursday to host defending national champion Northwest Missouri.
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NOTE: Statistics for city Centennial League and United Kansas Conference girls basketball teams were compiled by Seaman girls coach Matt Tinsley, with assistance from Seaman senior Jackson Stuewe. TopSports.news will also run stats for Shawnee County teams Cair Paravel Latin, Rossville and Silver Lake as they are made available.
Topeka High junior Kiki Smith leads city schools in scoring, assists and steals, helping lead the Trojans to a 5-0 start to the 2021-2022 season. [File photo/TSN]
SCORING
Name, school Gms. Pts. Avg
Smith, Topeka High 5 108 21.6
Thomas, Topeka High 5 77 15.4
DeLeye, Washburn Rural 4 54 13.5
Becker, Seaman 5 66 13.2
Doby, Shawnee Heights 3 34 11.3
Meier, Hayden 4 42 10.5
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 50 10.0
Stallbaumer, Seaman 5 48 9.6
Canfield, Washburn Rural 5 48 9.6
Smith, Hayden 4 38 9.5
Stuke, Hayden 4 38 9.5
Shields, Topeka High 5 42 8.4
Canady, Shawnee Heights 3 25 8.3
Schulte, Shawnee Heights 3 24 8.0
Taylor, Highland Park 5 37 7.4
Highland Park freshman Amelia Ramsey (32) is the current city leader in rebounding, averaging 10 boards per game. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
REBOUNDING
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Ramsey, Highland Park 5 50 10.0
Oczko, Shawnee Heights 3 26 8.7
Bearman, Topeka West 5 38 7.6
Meier, Hayden 4 25 6.3
Sandstrom, Hayden 4 25 6.3
Caryl, Topeka High 5 31 6.2
DeLeye, Washburn Rural 4 23 5.8
Gormley, Seaman 5 28 5.6
Ingram, Washburn Rural 5 28 5.6
Esser, Seaman 5 26 5.2
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 26 5.2
Wiley, Topeka High 5 24 4.8
Smith, Topeka High 5 24 4.8
Canady, Shawnee Heights 3 14 4.7
Becker, Seaman 5 23 4.6
ASSISTS
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Smith, Topeka High 5 35 7.0
Thomas, Topeka High 5 17 3.4
Ingram, Washburn Rural 5 14 2.8
Benson, Topeka West 5 14 2.8
Canfield, Washburn Rural 5 12 2.4
Schulte, Shawnee Heights 3 7 2.3
Sanchez, Topeka West 3 11 2.2
Becker, Seaman 5 10 2.0
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 10 2.0
Bagshaw, Washburn Rural 5 10 2.0
Gonzales, Highland Park 5 8 1.6
Stallbaumer, Seaman 5 8 1.6
Grego, Hayden 4 6 1.5
Reed, Highland Park 5 7 1.4
Taylor, Highland Park 5 7 1.4
Anderson, Seaman 5 7 1.4
STEALS
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Smith, Topeka High 5 25 5.0
Stallbaumer, Seaman 4 16 4.0
Becker, Seaman 5 17 3.4
Schumann, Seaman 5 17 3.4
Smith, Hayden 4 12 3.0
Thomas, Topeka High 5 15 3.0
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 15 3.0
Doby, Shawnee Heights 3 8 2.7
Schulte, Shawnee Heights 3 7 2.3
Greco, Hayden 4 9 2.3
Benson, Topeka West 5 10 2.0
Taylor, Highland Park 5 9 1.8
Sanchez, Topeka West 5 9 1.8
Stuke, Hayden 4 7 1.8
Canady, Shawnee Heights 3 5 1.7
Showalter, Shawnee Heights 3 5 1.7
BLOCKS
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Wiley, Topeka High 5 9 1.8
Ingram, Washburn Rural 5 9 1.8
Meier, Hayden 4 6 1.5
Gormley, Seaman 5 7 1.4
DeLeye, Washburn Rural 4 5 1.3
Smith, Topeka High 5 6 1.2
Oczko, Shawnee Heights 3 3 1.0
Benning, Topeka High 5 5 1.0
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 5 1.0
2-POINT FG %
Name, school Made Att. %
Baird, Topeka High 12 19 63.2
Rantz, Shawnee Heights 5 8 62.5
Schulte, Shawnee Heights 7 12 58.3
Smith, Topeka High 31 56 55.4
Caryl, Topeka High 11 20 55.0
Becker, Seaman 25 47 53.2
Benson, Topeka West 3 6 50.0
Meier, Hayden 10 21 47.6
Ramsey, Highland Park 11 24 45.8
Bearman, Topeka West 14 31 45.2
Sandstrom, Hayden 7 16 43.8
Esser, Seaman 9 21 42.9
Smith, Hayden 14 33 42.4
Canady, Shawnee Heights 9 22 40.9
Gormley, Seaman 10 27 37.0
Highland Park senior Aisya Taylor is the current city leader in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.7 percent. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
3-POINT FG %
Name, school Made Att. %
Taylor, Highland Park 7 15 46.7
Meier, Hayden 2 5 40.0
Doby, Shawnee Heights 3 8 37.5
Gonzales, Highland Park 4 11 36.4
Clark, Topeka West 4 11 36.4
Greco, Hayden 1 3 33.3
Parker-Brown, Highland Park 2 6 33.3
Showalter, Shawnee Heights 3 9 33.3
Shields, Topeka High 7 21 33.3
Thomas, Topeka High 7 24 29.2
Smith, Topeka High 9 34 26.5
Hill, Shawnee Heights 2 8 25.0
Benson, Topeka West 4 19 21.1
Stuke, Hayden 3 15 20.0
Stallbaumer, Seaman 4 23 17.4
Brylee Meier
FREE THROW %
Name, school Made Att. %
Meier, Hayden 16 17 94.1
Schumann, Seaman 6 7 85.7
Smith, Topeka High 19 23 82.6
Canfield, Washburn Rural 8 10 80.0
Stuke, Hayden 15 19 78.9
Stallbaumer, Seaman 10 13 76.9
Thomas, Topeka High 12 16 75.0
Bagshaw, Washburn Rural 8 11 72.7
Ford, Topeka West 11 16 68.8
Smith, Seaman 4 6 66.7
Canady, Shawnee Heights 4 6 66.7
Duncan, Topeka West 10 15 66.7
Krueger, Washburn Rural 13 20 65.0
Sanchez, Topeka West 6 10 60.0
Becker, Seaman 13 22 59.1
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Playing for the first time in 11 days, Washburn University's women's basketball showed some rust at times Wednesday night.
But the Ichabods were able to pick up where they left off before the break, earning their third straight victory with a 71-50 non-conference win over Bethany at Lee Arena.
Washburn, now 4-7 on the season, played 17 players on the night, with 12 cracking the scoring column, as the Ichabods wrapped up the non-conference portion of their schedule.
"It was good for us to get out there and knock some rust off,'' Washburn coach Ron McHenry said. "Nobody got hurt and we got to play a lot of kids. I think it was a positive for us and we got exactly what we needed out of it.''
Former Hanover star Macy Doebele (30) came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points for Washburn in Wednesday's 71-50 win over Bethany at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods trailed just once in the game, at 2-0, and doubled up Bethany 20-10 at the end of the first quarter and opened up a 29-10 advantage at the 4:23 mark of the second quarter, with Macy Doebele (Hanover) hitting a 3-pointer to cap a 13-0 WU run -- four straight at the end of the first and nine to open the second.
