- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Following a heartbreaking overtime loss to Highland Park on Tuesday, Hayden bounced back to defeat Manhattan 50-48 at home Friday, giving Dwayne Paul his first win as the Wildcats' coach.
The Indians and Wildcats defenses were tough to score on in the beginning with Manhattan holding a 15-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Following the quarter break, Indians guard Tate Brown hit two tough contested 3-point shots to spark the Indian offense, which outscored Hayden 14-5 in the second quarter to take a 29-15 halftime lead.
“We are a talented team, but that first half we didn’t show any toughness. It was uncharacteristic of us,” Paul said.
Hayden had offensive struggles throughout the entirety of the first half. Hayden shot 27 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line.
“I told the guys during halftime, at the end of the day it’s going to come down to heart and fight,” Paul said.
Hayden rallied from a 16-point deficit to give Dwayne Paul his first win as the Wildcats' coach Friday, 50-48 over Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden seemed to be a bit gun-shy in the first half, but was the complete opposite in the second half. Trent Duffey, Jake Muller, and Patrick Gorman took chances with the 3-point shots right out of the gate. That created some momentum, even down by 16 at one point.
“We settled down. We took the adversity head on,” said Paul.
- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
On Friday night Hayden girls basketball fans got a glimpse of a future star for the Wildcats, with freshman Brylee Meier collecting 21 points off of the bench, including 13 points in the third quarter, as the Wildcats improved to 2-0 with a 48-41 home Centennial League win over Class 6A Manhattan.
“She showed us in practice that she can be a special player. She had a great game,” said Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson.
Carvel Reynoldson's Hayden girls improved to 2-0 Friday night with a 48-41 win over Manhattan. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Meier went eight of nine from the free throw line, which was an impressive feat for one of the youngest girls on the Hayden team.
“I’m most proud of her (Meier) free throws down the stretch. That’s huge pressure for a freshman. She didn’t even draw iron, they were all a swish,” said Reynoldson.
- Details
By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Two teams on the boys side with high expectations in the Centennial league met Friday night as 2-0 Highland Park visited 1-1 Washburn Rural.
Michael Williams' Scots squad brought energy to the matchup to earn a 55-40 road victory, led by a star-like performance from junior Ketraleus Aldridge, who had 29 points and multiple high-flying blocks.
“It’s kind of a rivalry game because I kinda used to go to this school, so I knew there was going to be a lot of haters and a lot of supporters, but my mindset was mainly just getting the win and I happened to have a great night,” Aldridge said.
Ketraleus Aldridge led the way with a game-high 29 points as Highland Park claimed a 55-40 Centennial League road win at Highland Park. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Highland Park win moved the Scots to a perfect 3-0 on the season, while the Junior Blues dropped to 1-2.
Washburn Rural jumped out to a 6-2 lead early but Highland Park locked in defensively, holding the Junior Blues to just eight points in the quarter. On the other end Aldridge scored seven early points to help the Scots take a 9-8 lead after one.
- Details
By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Two girls teams starting the season in opposite directions were in action Friday night as 0-2 Highland Park visited 2-0 Washburn Rural.
A second-half shutdown on defense secured a third straight win for the Junior Blues.
“We were really trying to emphasize playing a little more harder, a little more intensely and being a little bit more physical and I thought we did that,” said Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick.
Brooklyn DeLeye
Jada Ingram
On the other side, the 54-12 game represented the third straight loss to open the season for the Scots.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It took Topeka High's powerhouse girls basketball team a little while to get going Friday night, but once the Trojans did get on track there was no stopping that train, with High rolling to an 85-31 Centennial League rout over Topeka West at West.
Topeka High heated up towards the end of the first quarter to take a 24-10 lead and then the Trojans hit the Chargers with a 34-8 second quarter to open up a commanding 58-18 advantage. The Trojans doubled up the Chargers 22-11 in the third quarter to take an 80-29 advantage and a running clock was used throughout the fourth quarter.
"I thought the girls did a great job working on some things,'' Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander said. "At the beginning of the game we kind of struggled to hit some of those shots that we normally hit, so I told them to let us talk through our defense and we started getting some steals in our fullcourt trap and I think that kind of loosened them up a little bit.
"We just looked a little tight in the beginning, so it was good to see them get involved and let the defense talk rather than worrying about the offense and then things started flowing once they did that.''
Junior Kiki Smith scored 32 points in Topeka High's 85-31 romp past Topeka West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High senior Tae Thomas scored 23 points in the Trojans' 85-31 win over Topeka West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High, No. 8-ranked in Class 6A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, improved to 3-0 overall and in the league as Trojan standouts Kiki Smith and Tae Thomas combined for 55 points.
Smith, a junior, scored a game-high 32 points with four 3-pointers while Thomas added 23 points with a pair of 3s. Both players did their damage in three quarters as neither player played in the fourth quarter.
Junior Adisyn Caryl also cracked double figures for the Trojans with 10 points.
Junior Azaryah Duncan led Topeka West (0-3, 0-3) with nine points while senior Whitley Benson and sophomore Rebecca Bearman scored seven points apiece and sophomore Zoe Clark added 6.
Topeka High will travel to Emporia on Tuesday for a Centennial League contest while West will play a non-league contest at Shawnee Heights.
