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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Washburn Rural girls lost their regular-season finale Friday night at home to Manhattan, 61-46, which ensured the Indians would share the Centennial League crown with Topeka High.
Freshman Brynn Anderson led Washburn Rural with 13 points in Friday's 61-46 loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
After tying the game at 20, the Junior Blues fell off the pace late in the second period. They trailed 30-24 at the half and 44-33 after three periods. Washburn Rural crawled back to within seven, 49-42, midway through the final period, but ran out of gas at that point.
The Indians needed a win to split the league title with Topeka High, which finished its season on Tuesday. Both teams finished the season with 8-2 league marks.
“Manhattan is a really good team. I told (Indians coach Scott Mall) I’m not sure that’s not his best team since they won state in 2017,” Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. “We were just kind of off balance all night. We didn’t help ourselves turning the ball over so much, especially in the first quarter. But they are really, really good.
“We had our chances. We were able to keep it close, but we didn’t execute very well under pressure when they did apply the pressure they did, and that was a little disheartening.”
Washburn Rural freshman Brynn Anderson knocked down all four field goals she attempted – all three-pointers – to lead the team with 13 points. Senior Hallie Walker hit all three of her field goal attempts as well. But the rest of the Junior Blues struggled mightily from the field, connecting on just eight of 33 shots from the field.
Senior Ella Hirschi added 10 points for Rural with a pair of 3-pointers.
Still feeling her way back from ACL surgery, junior Maddie Vickery missed all nine of her shots and scored just six points, all from the free throw line.
Despite the loss to close the regular season 15-8, 5-5 in the league, Bordewick was upbeat about the overall direction of the Junior Blues. Washburn Rural played three freshmen in critical points in the game Friday, and in just the last eight days began working Vickery back into the rotation.
“With this group doing what they’ve done so far this year, it seems to me somewhat miraculous,” Bordewick said. “Just the way they’ve come together and played together. And we’re still getting Maddie mixed in a little bit, too. So, it’ll take a little bit. It takes a little while to get used to a new player, even though she’s a two-year starter.”
Washburn Rural now awaits the Class 6A sub-state schedule to find out where it will play on Tuesday. While the regular season didn’t end like they wanted, the Junior Blues are getting a lift by the addition of Vickery – a Kansas State basketball commit – at playoff time.
“I tell you what, she’s looked so good in practice this week. I saw really great things from her in practice,” Bordewick said of Vickery. “Now, she wasn’t shooting it well tonight. But she knows what to do to correct that. So, I’m not too worried about her.”
MANHATTAN GIRLS 61, WASHBURN RURAL 46
Manhattan 16 14 14 17 -- 61
Washburn Rural 8 16 9 13 -- 46
Manhattan (18-5, 8-2) – Larson 3-5 0-0 7, Depusoir 2-2 1-2 5, Ball 4-6 5-6 14, Busch 5-7 5-8 17, Banks 6-12 1-2 16, Ingram 0-5 0-0 0, Becket 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-38 12-18 61.
Washburn Rural (15-8, 5-5) – Rutherford 0-2 0-0 0, Hirschi 4-12 0-0 10, Walker 3-3 1-3 7, Anderson 4-4 1-2 13, Carlgren 3-6 0-0 7, Vickery 0-9 6-7 6, Smith 1-3 0-0 3, Hinck 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-40 8-12 46.
3-point goals – Manhattan 7 (Banks 3, Busch 2, Ball, Larson), Washburn Rural 8 (Anderson 4, Hirschi 2, Carlgren, Smith). Total fouls – Manhattan 14, Washburn Rural 17. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
The No. 1 seeded Cair Paravel boys are off to the semifinal round in the Class 2A sub-state bracket, taking down Horton at home Friday night, 68-28.
Chase Hastert paced Cair Paravel with 16 points in Friday's 68-28 win over Horton. [File photo/TSN]
“I love our home crowd, it’s such a cool little atmosphere man,'' Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer said. "We have a special community here. Love the student section. We're really grateful that we have another opportunity to pack The Den.”
CPLS got out to a 4-2 lead but the Chargers went on a mini 5-0 run to lead 7-4 before sophomore Chase Hastert rattled off two 3-pointers to put the Lions back in front 10-9 and the hosts would lead 14-11 heading into the second quarter.
“We weren’t particularly strong with the ball against their zone,'' Kueffer said. "They’ve pretty much run it all this season and we knew it was coming. When we did get it to the spots that we wanted to, we caught it and were hesitant and played on our heels, we jumped passes and floated some shots.
“I think we did a much better job of turning defense into offense in the second half than turning them over because in the halfcourt we were not very good at all.''
Cair Paravel opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run as senior Caleb Cleverdon started it with a trey, as the Lions got the lead to 21-11.
The Lions had it going from distance, as Cleverdon and Hastert would hit one three apiece, extending the lead to 13 (27-14).
Horton’s Talon Hooper drilled one from way beyond the arc right before the buzzer as CPLS took a 33-22 lead into the half.
To begin the third quarter, the Lions started out on fire, beginning with a 6-0 run and forcing the Chargers into a timeout just over a minute into the quarter. After that, CPLS had the fullcourt press on and created turnover after turnover, turning into easy buckets and the lead just kept growing.
“We definitely like to be able to get to that fast start in the first two minutes of the game as opposed to the first two minutes of the third quarter, but that’s something we like to do,” Drew Fay said.
“We knew from film that they were a scrappy team and they play really hard and have given teams a lot of trouble and we came out and struggled.''
Kueffer credited Fay, who finished with 13 points, on that hot start to begin the second half.
“He’s so consistent for us. He showed up ready to play today and he always does, but I just think it's misunderstood how much value he brings to our team,'' Kueffer said. "He’s super composed and a high IQ kind of guy and when he’s the guy who puts the ball in the hoop it's great because everyone puts eyes on him.
"I’m excited for him to get those transition finishes because he’s one of those guys who you love to see make plays.''
Hastert got it to 20 (42-22) off a floater and senior Fay converted an and-one, pushing the advantage to 25 (47-22). It eventually got to 34 points at the end of the quarter, 58-24.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn seniors Gabi Giovannetti, Yibari Nwidadah, Payton Sterk and Aniah Wayne will be honored before Saturday's 3 p.m. game against Missouri Southern in Lee Arena. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]Four Washburn players finished in double figures in Wednesday's win over Pittsburg State. Wayne led the way with 11 points on 3-4 shooting from 3-point range while Giovannetti had 10 along with seven rebounds, junior Britany Kogbara had 10 with two blocks and sophomore Brooke Gomez added 10 points as well.
Washburn leads the all-time series with Missouri Southern, 54-37. The Ichabods are 30-14 against Missouri Southern in Topeka.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Brady Christiansen is the unquestioned elder statesman for Washburn University men's basketball, taking the court in 120 games while helping the Ichabods celebrate a pair of MIAA regular-season championships as a well as a trip to the NCAA Division II Final Four last season.
Washburn senior Brady Christiansen cuts down the nets in Lee Arena Wednesday night, celebrating Washburn's second straight MIAA regular-season title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But to Christiansen, a 6-foot-7 senior forward who is one of four Washburn seniors who will be honored Saturday when the No. 3-ranked Ichabods, 27-1 overall, 17-1 MIAA, will face Missouri Southern (16-11, 10-8) in a 1 p.m. game on Senior Day, it sometimes seems like he just arrived on campus.
"I'm not going to lie, it feels like I was just a freshman not too long ago,'' Christiansen said. "It went by that fast and I blinked and it's Senior Day. It's really hard to believe its here.''
Christiansen has been a solid contributor since he arrived on campus and is proud of what he and the Ichabods have been able to accomplish over the past four seasons.
"I'm grateful for my time here, what I put in, but also getting the program put in the right hands,'' he said. "My ultimate goal is just to leave the program better than when I got here and I couldn't be more grateful for my teammates, everybody else and we're not done yet.''
Christiansen has helped Washburn win back-to-back MIAA regular-season championships in addition to last season's regional championship and Final Four appearance and said he knows he'll appreciate the Ichabods' accomplishments more and more as time goes on.
"In the moment it really feels good, but five, 10 years down the road when you're looking at the ring, that's when you're really going to be like, 'Wow, that team was special, what we did was special,' and hopefully we just keep this going and we've got three things left to do (MIAA Tournament, regionals and nationals).''
Christiansen will be honored Saturday along with fellow seniors Sam Ungashick, Bryson Smith and Isaiah Saams-Hoy.
Ungashick is in his third season with the Ichabods after playing his freshman year at Benedictine while Smith and Saams-Hoy are in their first seasons at Washburn.
Washburn is coming off a dominant 88-49 MIAA win over Pittsburg State on Wednesday night in Lee Arena, improving to 27-1 and 17-1 in the conference with their 28th straight home victory.
The Ichabods put up 44 points in each half while holding the Gorillas to 34 percent shooting, winning their 11th game in a row over Pitt State.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen led Washburn with a game-high 23 points on 9 of 15 shooting while adding five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Junior Jack Bachelor scored 13 points with eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals against the Gorillas while sophomore Marcus Glock finished with 15 points off the bench, hitting five 3-pointers.
Junior Jeremiah Jones set Washburn's single-season steals record in Wednesday's 88-49 win over Pittsburg State in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Jeremiah Jones scored eight points with three steals, breaking the Washburn single-season steals record of 82 set by Will McNeill during the 2012-13 season.
The Ichabods will wrap up the regular season on Saturday against the Lions, with the men's game followed by a 3 o'clock women's game between the Ichabods and Missouri Southern.
Missiouri Southern's men are coming off a 95-69 MIAA loss at Central Missouri on Wednesday night.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod softball team used a big third inning and a steady performance in the pitching circle to top Augustana 4-1 on Thursday afternoon in Shawnee, improving to 18-3 on the season.
Dalaney Anderson hit a three-run home run to power Washburn softball to a 4-1 win over Augustana Thursday in the Midwest College Classic. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn will continue playing in the Midwest College Classic on Friday with two more games, followed by two more on Saturday.
Augustana struck first in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of a Washburn error to plate an unearned run and grab a 1-0 lead.
But the Ichabods answered in the second. After Madi Moore was hit by a pitch and replaced by pinch runner Ashlyn Gaughan, the junior came around to score when Kate Ediger advanced to second on a wild pitch, knotting the score at 1-1.
Washburn then broke the game open in the third. Makenzie Sais singled and Taylor Brees worked a walk to set the table for Dalaney Anderson.
Anderson delivered the decisive swing of the afternoon, launching a three-run home run to center to score Sais and Brees and give the Ichabods a 4-1 advantage.
Anderson finished 1 for 4 with three RBI as her team-leading blast proved to be the difference.
Aspen Burgardt added a strong day at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a walk, while Ediger and Moore each collected a hit.
Sais reached base twice with a single and a walk and scored once, and Brees drew two walks and crossed the plate on the go-ahead homer.
In the circle, Sadie Walker improved to 9-1 while going the distance, scattering four hits over seven innings and allowing just one unearned run.
She walked three and struck out three, inducing 10 ground-ball outs and stranding runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings to secure her ninth win of the season.
For the game, Washburn tallied four runs, six hits and two errors, while Augustana finished with one run, four hits and one error.
