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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Slowly but surely, Washburn University men’s basketball coach Brett Ballard is starting to get more company on the Ichabod sidelines.
Ballard has played just seven players for the bulk of Washburn’s last two games due to injury and illness, but he could have more weapons at his disposal in the very near future, perhaps as early as Saturday’s 3 p.m. MIAA game at Central Missouri.
The Ichabods have played their last seven games without 6-foot-9 junior Jonny Clausing (foot injury) and have also been without 6-7 junior Will McKee (knee), but both appear to be close to returning to action.
"We're close,'' Ballard said of about the return of Clausing and McKee. "I think Jonny's really close and I would imagine that if things go well he'll play Saturday and Will's knee is feeling better. I don't know if he'll be ready Saturday or not but those guys dressed out (Tuesday) and warmed up so we're inching closer and it was nice looking over and seeing them.
"It kind of made me want to put them in, but they weren't quite ready yet. But we're getting there and I think with that depth we could be very dangerous down the stretch here.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's boys basketball team bounced back from a disappointing loss with its best offensive performance of the season Friday night, taking control early in a 67-48 Centennial League romp past Topeka High at Rural.
Washburn Rural, which improved to 10-5 overall and 9-3 in the league, had scored just 47 points in a 9-point loss to Seaman in its previous game, but eclipsed that total in the third quarter en route to opening up a commanding 59-28 advantage. A running clock was used throughout the fourth quarter due to the 30-point rule.
"We just have to come together as a group and I think today was a step to it,'' Rural senior Jack Hutchinson said. "We just have to keep playing better. We have four more (regular-season) games left and we play (Topeka) West on Monday, which will be a big one for us, and just keep rolling through sub-state.''
Washburn Rural's Jack Hutchinson (15) handles the ball as Topeka High's Jalen Smith defends. Hutchinson had 23 points and 7 3-pointers in Rural's 67-48 win while Smith scored a game-high 29 points with 4 3s. [Photo by Doug Walker]
Hutchinson and fellow senior Joe Berry combined for a total of 47 points to key Rural's rout Friday night, with Hutchinson finishing with 23 points, just 1 point behind Berry's 24-point night.
Hutchinson hit his first 7 3-point attempts of the night and his first eight shots overall before finally missing.
"It just felt good off the hand,'' Hutchinson said.
Berry, meanwhile, scored both inside and outside against the Trojans, banking in a 3-pointer on his final shot to edge Hutchinson for game-high honors.
Joe Berry led Washburn Rural with 24 points in Friday's 67-48 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Doug Walker]
Washburn Rural opened up a 21-8 first-quarter lead and led 38-15 at halftime.
Senior Jalen Smith had a big night for Topeka High (2-14, 2-11), scoring a game-high 29 points with 4 3-pointers and a 9 of 10 performance at the free throw line. Freshman BJ Canady added 8 points for the Trojans.
Washburn Rural will be at home against league-leading Topeka West on Monday, with the Junior Blues hosting the Chargers in a girls-boys twinbill.
Topeka High will host Seaman on Tuesday.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 67, TOPEKA HIGH 48
Topeka High 8 7 13 20 -- 48
Washburn Rural 21 17 21 8 -- 67
Topeka High (2-14, 2-11) -- Smith 8-13 9-10 29, McMillon 1-1 0-0 3, Walker 0-2 0-0 0, Leesman 3-5 0-1 6, Canady 4-10 0-0 8, Phillips 1-1 0-0 2, Kincade 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-32 9-11 48.
Washburn Rural (10-5, 9-3) -- Bachelor 1-3 0-0 2, Williams 1-4 2-2 5, Berry 10-12 3-4 24, Hutchinson 8-9 0-0 23, Patterson 1-4 0-0 2, Brady 1-5 1-2 3, Howard 1-2 0-0 2, Kidd 2-4 0-0 6, Bunck 0-0 0-0 0, Morrow 0-0 0-0 0, Hanks 0-0 0-0 0, Conklin 0-0 0-0 0, Wech 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-45 6-8 67.
3-point goals -- Topeka High 5 (Smith 4, McMillon), Washburn Rural 11 (Hutchinson 7, Kidd 2, Williams, Berry). Total fouls -- Topeka High 7, Washburn Rural 8. Fouled out -- none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the second time this season, top-ranked Topeka High stared defeat in the face against Washburn Rural and somehow found a way to continue the state's longest girls basketball winning streak Friday night, rallying from a 15-point deficit in the first half and 7 down in the fourth quarter to take a 59-53 overtime Centennial League victory at Rural.
"They clawed their way back in it. It wasn't pretty, but I'm proud of the girls for just always giving it their all,'' Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander said. "What I told them was I would bet on them any day, any time because when you count them out and you think they're done they'll show you they're not.
"That just shows the grittiness, the grind that they have, the fight that they have, and I wouldn't want to meet these girls on the floor because yeah, they might give you a few, but they're going to come right back at you.''
Topeka High junior star NiJaree Canady scored 19 points and grabbed 22 rebounds as the Trojans rallied for a 59-53 overtime win over Washburn Rural Friday night. [Photo by Doug Walker]
Topeka High, which won for the 39th straight time dating back to a loss to Rural in the 2019 Class 6A state championship game, had rallied in the final seconds of regulation for a 4-point win over the Junior Blues in the first meeting between the two 6A powers, and the deck was stacked against the Trojans again Friday after No. 3-ranked Rural took a 53-47 lead on two Emma Krueger free throws with just 40 seconds remaining in regulation.
But junior Tae Thomas banked in a 3-pointer to cut Rural's lead to 3 points with 12.5 seconds left and Topeka High junior star NiJaree Canady got her hands on the Junior Blues' inbounds pass to force a turnover.
The Trojans eventually got the ball to sophomore reserve Faith Shields, who drained a 3-pointer as time ran down to give Topeka High new life in overtime.
The Trojans, who improved to 16-0 overall and 13-0 in the league, took advantage of that opportunity, shutting out Washburn Rural in the extra session to take the victory.
"When we needed her she came through, right off the bench,'' Canady said of Shields. "She wasn't warm at all. She just came out and knew what she needed to do and she knocked it down.''
Canady, who finished with game-high totals of 19 points and 22 rebounds, blocked a shot on Rural's first possession of the OT and then scored at the 2:48 mark to give the Trojans their first lead since scoring the first 2 points of the night, also by Canady.
Senior Lilly Smith hit a pair of free throws with 58.4 seconds remaining and then scored the final points of the night with 30 ticks left on the scoreboard.
Senior Ja'Neysha Hendricks backed Canady with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while L. Smith scored all 9 of her points in the second half and OT and Thomas added 7 points, all in the fourth quarter.
Washburn Rural opened up a 16-4 first-quarter lead behind freshman Jada Ingram's 10 points before Topeka High cut its deficit to 30-24 at the half and 41-38 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Washburn Rural freshman Jada Ingram puts up a shot Friday night against Topeka High. Ingram had 14 points in the Junior Blues' 59-53 overtime loss to the Trojans. [Photo by Doug Walker]
"We knew we couldn't keep trading points at that point, we had to come back,'' Canady said. "And it took us a little while, but we finally did it.''
Sophomore Brooklyn DeLeye led Rural with 15 points and 8 rebounds while Ingram had 14 points, junior Emma Krueger 11 points and 8 rebounds and freshman Zoe Canfield 10 points, including a pair of 3s.
But Washburn Rural turned the ball over 15 times, including several crucial turnovers in the late going, and also missed 11 free throws.
"It's my fault because I'm not coaching them well enough to handle those situations in practice,'' Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "This game's on me as a coach. It ain't on them. I thought they gave great effort. We needed to take care of the ball a little bit better and maintain our composure better and kind of understand that when we're trying to run a little bit of clock that doesn't mean that we can't be in attack mode still.''
The Trojans and Junior Blues could square off for a third time this season next month, with both teams assigned to the same 6A sub-state.
"I know that we have more in us,'' Bordewick said. "We're looking forward to seeing them again.''
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 59, WASHBURN RURAL 53 (OT)
Topeka High 4 20 14 15 6 -- 59
Washburn Rural 16 14 11 12 0 -- 53
Topeka High (16-0, 13-0) -- L. Smith 3-7 2-2 9, Thomas 3-10 0-0 7, K. Smith 2-11 0-0 5, Hendricks 4-10 0-0 10, Canady 8-17 3-7 19, Lyons 3-3 0-0 6, Caryl 0-0 0-0 0, Shields1-3 0-0 3, Wiley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 5-9 59.
Washburn Rural (13-2, 10-2) -- Bagshaw 0-1 0-0 0, Lutz 1-5 0-2 3, Kruger 4-10 3-5 11, Ingram 6-7 2-6 14, DeLeye 4-10 6-7 15, Canfield 3-5 2-4 10, Hurtig 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-38 13-24 53.
3-point goals -- Topeka High 6 (Hendricks 2, L. Smith, Thomas, K. Smith, Shields), Washburn Rural 4 (Canfield 2, Lutz, DeLeye). Total fouls -- Topeka High 23, Washburn Rural 13. Fouled out -- Lyons.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Dagen Clouse and Nathen Trachta both earned four gold medals to lead the way as Washburn Rural successfully defended its Centennial League swimming and diving championship Thursday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium.
Clouse won individual titles in the 50 freestyle (22.08 seconds) and the 100 free (49.76) while Trachta was the individual champion in the 100 butterfly (54.47) and the 100 backstroke (56.54).
Both Clouse and Trachta also swam on Washburn Rural's winning 200 freestyle (1:31.48) and 400 free (3:22.39) relays along with Keats Larson and Yeager Larson, with the Junior Blues setting a league record in the 200 free relay.
Washburn Rural won the team title by a 386-353 margin over Manhattan while Seaman was third with 350 points.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2020-21 high school wrestling season will be remembered for all the COVID-19-related obstacles teams have had to overcome and the adjustment they've had to make just to have the opportunity to compete.
But Washburn Rural coach Damon Parker and Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks will also remember the year for the way their teams have handled every challenge they've faced while putting together outstanding seasons.
Damon Parker's Washburn Rural boys and girls wrestling teams are both top-ranked in the state heading into postseason.
Parker's Junior Blues swept the girls and boys Centennial League team titles and both teams are currently ranked No. 1 in Class 6A by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association while Parks' T-Birds swept the United Kansas Conference crowns and Heights' girls are ranked No. 6 in Division I and the boys No. 7 in 5A.
