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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball hits the road for the second straight weekend to the Quincy Classic, where the Ichabods will take on McKendree at 5 p.m. on Friday and Quincy at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Junior newcomer Payton Sterk leads Washburn with a 16-point scoring average through two games entering this weekend's Quincy Classic. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn is 0-2 on the year after falling 63-51 on the road to St. Cloud State last Saturday at the Central Region Crossover but Ichabod coach Lora Westling said she saw plenty of positives last weekend and feels like her team is ready to take steps forward.
"I really do believe in this group, I like this group,'' Westling said. "We just have a little ways to go when it comes to some of these fundamental things that kept us from winning the two games last weekend. We'll get there. What I like about them is they're hungry to get better, so we're just going to keep grinding away.''
"I feel like we've got a lot of room to grow,'' WU junior Gabi Giovannetti said. "We're just really positive this week because it is so early in the season. We're 0-2 and we need to bounce back and we will, but we can only be positive and watch film and work on what we need to work on.''
The Ichabods are coming off a 13-16 season in 2023-24, finishing 10th in the MIAA with an 8-14 record and advancing to the first round of the MIAA Tournament.
Both Washburn opponents enter the weekend undefeated, with McKendree coming in at 1-0 and Quincy 2-0.
The 2024 Quincy Classic will take place in Quincy, Ill. on the campus of Quincy University inside the Pepsi Arena.
The Ichabods are scoring 61.5 points on 41.4 percent shooting overall and 33.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
Washburn's matchup with McKendree will be the second in program history while the Ichabods will face Quincy for the sixth time.
Junior Payton Sterk paces Washburn in scoring at 16.0 points per game while shooting 41.9 percent overall and 37.5 percent on 3-pointers. She is averaging a team-high 35.0 minutes and also adds 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. The transfer is dishing out a team-best 4.0 assists as well. She is the only WU player to score in double figures of both games this season.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 10-ranked Washburn University men's basketball returns to the greater Kansas City, Mo. area for the third time this season when the Ichabods will have their first true road game of the season at Rockhurst on Friday night in Mason-Halpin Arena (7 p.m. tipoff).
Sophomore Brayden Shorter scored a game and career-high 26 points in Washburn's 97-57 win over Ottawa on Tuesday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods are 3-0 this season after a 97-57 win over Ottawa on Tuesday in their home opener. The win gave the Ichabods their 500th all-time win in Lee Arena.
Sophomore Brayden Shorter finished with a career-high 26 points against the Braves, pacing four Ichabods in double figures on 10 of 19 shooting, including 4 of 9 from deep.
Senior Andrew Orr had 14 points on a perfect shooting night and added four steals while senior Jacob Hanna had 13 points followed by senior Michael Keegan's 12 points, game-high nine rebounds and five steals
Sophomore Jack Bachelor had a career-high 10 assists while adding nine points.
Even though Washburn has won its first three games by an average of 25 points, including a win over the defending national champions, Ichabod coach Brett Ballard said his team needs to be wary of the Hawks.
"They're dangerous,'' Ballard said. "We've struggled over there. We've taken some good teams over there and struggled. It's a small gym. They've got a new coach, they'll be well-coached and I know they've got guys that will play hard and have a chip on their shoulder, Kansas City kids that are playing other Kansas City kids, so it will be a battle.''
Rockhurst is 2-0 this season with wins over Davenport (64-54) and Purdue University Northwest (80-75) and Friday's game with the Ichabods will be the home-opener for the Hawks.
The Ichabods lead the all-time series 33-31 with Rockhurst but will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak to the Hawks in Kansas City. Washburn's last win against the Hawks on Rockhurst's home court came on Dec. 4, 2003 in a 69-54 win.
Washburn won the last meeting played in Topeka last season, 82-66, and is 21-9 in meetings in Topeka but has gone 10-21 in games played in Kansas City against the Hawks.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 24-ranked Washburn University volleyball embarks on its final weekend of the regular season with a road trip to face No. 10 Central Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on Friday and the first-ever MIAA matchup between the Ichabods and Arkansas-Fort Smith at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Chris Herron's No. 24-ranked Washburn volleyball team will close out its regular season with a pair of weekend road matches. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Ichabods are 19-5 on the year overall and 10-4 in the MIAA. Washburn wrapped up its home schedule with a 3-0 sweep over Fort Hays State on Senior Day last Saturday.
Senior Jalyn Stevenson is Washburn's team leader with 268 kills while hitting .202 across her 24 starts. She is also second on the squad in digs with 278 and in service aces with 31. Stevenson is ninth in the MIAA in total kills, 16th in total digs and ranks fifth in total aces. She is top-20 in both kills and aces per set as well. Stevenson has 10 double-doubles on the year.
Stevenson ranks 14th in program history with 1,259 career kills. She will move into 13th with 35 more kills. She is also seventh on the program charts in aces and 19th in digs. She needs three aces to move up to 5th.
Alex Dvorak leads the Washburn defense with 118 blocks on the year while starting all 24 matches. She sits third on the team in kills with 190 and leads the team with a .371 hitting percentage. The junior is second in the MIAA in both total blocks and blocks per set. She ranks 13th and 20th in each category nationally, respectively. She is also 29th in the nation and third in the conference in hitting percentage.
Shawnee Heights product Taylor Rottinghaus has a team-high 461 digs across 24 matches. She has chipped in 74 assists and served 23 aces. The sophomore is 35th in the nation and seventh in the MIAA in digs per set while ranking sixth among conference players in total digs. She has 20-plus digs in five of the last seven matches, including a career-high 40 against Nebraska-Kearney.
Corinna McMullen paces Washburn with 567 assists through 24 matches with 22 starts. She is also third on the team with 213 digs while serving a team-high 38 aces. The junior is third in the MIAA in aces per set while ranking eighth in both assists per set and total assists. She has 12 double-doubles on the year, including each of the last five matches.
McMullen is 11th in program history in total assists with 1,997. She is tied for 12th in program history in service aces with 120. She needs three more aces to move into 10th.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)
Seaman junior Kaden McKinney (9) has rushed for 932 yards and 12 TDs on 153 attempts for the 8-2 Vikings. [File photo/TSN]
Class 5A
SEAMAN (No. 3 West: 8-2) at EISENHOWER (No. 2 West: 8-2)
Seaman advanced to the Class 5A quarterfinals with a 43-15 win over Valley Center last Friday while Eisenhower moved on with a 37-26 win over Maize South. Seaman senior Max Huston has completed 138 of 219 passes for 2,352 yards and 27 touchdowns and has rushed for 740 yards and 13 TDs on 103 attempts. Senior Bryer Finley has 72 receptions for 1,499 yards and 21 TDs while junior Kaden McKinney has carried the ball 153 times for 932 yards and 12 TDs. Junior Cameron Brian leads the Vikings with 108 tackles (60 solo) with 10 tackles for loss. Eisenhower senior Derek Morgan has completed 129 of 189 passes for 2416 yards and 34 TDs. Senior Carter Pabst has caught 63 passes for 1,522 yards and 26 TDs. Junior Brayden Pappas has carried the ball 177 times for 1,082 yards and four TDs. The Seaman-Eisenhower winner will advance to the sub-state round to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 9 West seed Hays (6-4) at No. 4 seed Hutchinson (8-2).
Hayden senior Jensen Schrickel has 489 receiving yards, 398 rushing yards and has scored 14 touchdowns for the 9-1 Wildcats. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Class 3A
PERRY-LECOMPTON (No. 10 East: 5-5) at HAYDEN (No. 3 East: 9-1)
Hayden, second in Class 3A last fall, advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 3A playoffs with a 49-0 rout over Girard last Friday, while Perry-Lecompton upset No. 2 seed Frontenac on the road, 28-22. Hayden took a 50-16 district win over Perry-Lecompton on Oct. 18. Hayden senior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier has completed 102 of 149 passes for 1,531 yards and 17 touchdowns while junior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 83 times for 689 yards, caught 24 passes for 408 yards and scored 23 total touchdowns. Senior Jensen Schrickel has caught 32 passes for 489 yards, rushed for 398 yards on 31 attempts and scored 14 total TDs. Junior Jude Krentz
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 16-ranked Washburn University women's soccer team fell to Central Oklahoma 1-0 on Thursday afternoon in the MIAA Tournament semifinals at Stryker Sports Complex.
Washburn soccer will find out its NCAA Tournament pairing next week after being eliminated from the MIAA Tournament on Thursday in the semifinals. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will now await selection for the NCAA Tournament, with the selection show scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m.
Much like the first contest between the two teams, which ended in a scoreless tie, Thursday's first half was a defensive battle, with both sides struggling to produce quality chances.
The Ichabods' best chance came in the 22nd minute, when Khloe Schuckman's shot was stopped on the left side of the goal by Broncho goalkeeper Avery Bass.
Central Oklahoma had an opportunity to take the lead in the 28th minute, but Washburn goalkeeper Alli Harrington tipped a shot attempt from Harmony Turner into the air, allowing the Ichabods to clear the ball away from the goal.
The teams entered the halftime break with the score remaining 0-0.
