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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
A highly anticipated United Kansas Conference battle took place Friday night at Seaman High School, with the No. 2-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman Lady Vikings playing host to the No. 6 De Soto Wildcats.
Junior Anna Becker led the way with 17 points in Seaman's 50-47 UKC win over De Soto Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
Friday's game also had an impact on post season seeding as Seaman entered the game as the top seed in 5A East and De Soto the No. 2 seed.
In a thrilling, back-and-forth game, Seaman edged DeSoto, 50-47, improving to 13-1 overall and a perfect 10-0 in the UKC.
The game began with a quick start by the Lady Vikes, who led 7-2 with 3:38 left in the first quarter.
De Soto had to use a second timeout with 1:47 remaining in the quarter, trailing 12-2. But the Wildcats closed the quarter on a 5-2 run to close the gap to 14-7.
The second quarter started exactly the same, but the roles were reversed. De Soto’s Amanda Tower hit two 3-point baskets in the first 1:20 of the quarter to cut the Seaman lead to 14-13.
The Wildcat run continued until there was 3:53 remaining in the half, with De Soto leading 23-17. The Wildcats shot 7-10 from the field in the quarter and led 27-21 at the half.
“We knew coming into this game that it would be a battle,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "DeSoto is a good team and they can really shoot the ball. Basketball is a game of runs. We hit them with a run to start the game and then they went on a run. I want us to learn that when a team goes on a 6-0 run that we really need to be patient and run our offense. It felt like we tried to answer back too quick with guarded shots.”
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
It was a packed house for Winter Royalty at Hayden High School Friday night and the Hayden boys jumped out early to a 21-12 first- quarter lead and a 34-30 halftime advantage over Class 6A Manhattan before the Indians rallied in the second half to pull out a 68-56 win.
Hayden senior Dom Ridley scored 16 points in Friday's 68-56 Centennial League loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Jacob Padilla, who had 14 points, drives to the hoop in Friday's 68-56 Centennial League loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“We did a great job of sharing the ball early, with different guys making some big shots for us,'' Hayden coach Trey Brown said. "Dom (Ridley) and Cooper (Colboch) got off to a hot start we had a lot of energy, unselfishness and taking care of the ball and turnovers hurt us in the second half.”
The second half would be a completely different story for the Wildcats as the Indians would tie it up right away at 34 and lead the rest of the way.
“Theyre a really good team and all credit to them,'' Brown said of the Indians. "They made some good shots and we have to get better defensively. We struggle to guard at times and that's the biggest thing and credit to them, they made some big-time shots and we have to limit our turnovers whether that's taking bad shots or actually turning it over. (Turnovers) have killed us all year.
"The final score does not indicate how close the game actually was and our guys played hard,'' Brown said. "We just have to figure out how to win again and get over the hump.”
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
There was plenty to celebrate for No. 2-ranked (Class 3A) Hayden girls basketball Friday night.
It was Hayden coach Carvel Reynaldson’s birthday, and after the Wildcats survived a 57-54 Centennial League dog fight with 6A Manhattan, senior standout Lauren Sandstrom was named Hayden's Queen of Court in front of a packed house at the Bueltel Activity Center.
Hayden junior Brylee Meier led the way with 17 points as the Wildcats improved to 12-1 with Friday's 57-54 Centennial League win over Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Amelia Ramsey scored 11 points for Hayden in Friday's 57-54 Centennial League win over Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The game went back and forth with the Indians having the biggest lead at 28-21 three minutes before halftime and taking a 30-27 lead at the break.
But Hayden came out of halftime on fire, led by two Brylee Meier 3-pointers and five straight points from transfer Amelia Ramsey to take a 38-34 lead.
The Wildcats never trailed the rest of the way, scratching and claw their way to the three-point win.
“We came out in the second half and we didn't get beat down the court like we did in the first half,'' Reynoldson said. "We played harder and definitely played more as a team offensively.”
“Having Amelia added to our roster allows us to really spread out our offense,'' said Meier, a 6-foot junior who led Hayden with 17 points. "Spreading our offense is allowing me to get more shots on the perimeter. So, having Amelia gives us a crazy advantage.”
The Wildcats got double-figure scoring nights from four players, with juniors Norma Greco, Ramsey and Kaliya Fulton all adding 11 points.
“I love the balance of scoring tonight,'' Reynoldson said. "Brylee got loose with some 3-pointers that were really crucial in our run and balance carried us the rest of the way.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m really on a hot streak right now, I just show up for my team when they need it,'' Meier said. "We all play really good together already and they help me get open shots, too.''
Senior Lauren Sandstrom (left) and junior Brylee Meier celebrate a big play in Hayden's 57-54 win over Manhattan Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“We know how to win,'' Reynoldson said. "We really struggled from the free throw line up until the fourth quarter and then when the chips were down we hit them and that's what we have done the last couple years in the fourth quarter.
"We say greatness happens in the fourth quarter and our girls stepped up tonight.”
The Wildcats have a huge week coming up with league two road games -- Tuesday night at 11-1 Emporia and Friday at Washburn Rural.
Emporia’s lone loss was a 50-45 decision to Hayden in a December tournament at White Auditorium in Emporia.
“We still are preparing for Emporia on Tuesday,'' Meier said. I think moving the ball and being more physical with them will give us a good advantage against them. We already have such good players, so we just need to be physical and we will take care of business on Tuesday.”
HAYDEN 57, MANHATTAN 54
Manhattan 17 13 11 13-- 54
Hayden 14 13 15 15-- 57
Manhattan (8-6, 2-2) – Doering 4-10 5-6 14, Larson 3-11 4-4 12, Ball 3-10 0-0 8, Hilgers 2-5 1-2 6, Peabody 3-4 0-0 6, Ruliffson 2-4 0-0 4, Busch 1-2 0-0 2, Parcell 1-1 0-0 2, Dodds 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 19-49 10-14 54.
Hayden (13-1, 4-1) – Meier 4-7 6-6 17, Ramsey 4-8 3-3 11, Greco 3-8 3-6 11, Fulton 3-4 3-6 11, Sandstrom 2-4 0-2 4, Grunert 1-6 0-0 2, Reid 0-0 1-2 1, Huscher 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-38 16-25 57.
3-Point goals– Manhattan 6 (Larson 2, Ball 2, Doering 1, Hilgers 1), Hayden 7 (Meier 3, Greco 2, Fulton 2). Total Fouls – Manhattan 20, Hayden 10.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Despite playing its third game of the week and on back-to-back nights, Topeka West's boys came out with plenty of energy Friday night, pressing all over the floor with great success and scoring at will in an 81-30 home United Kansas Conference romp past Kansas City-Turner.
Sophomore Keimani Paul (13) scored 22 points with four 3-pointers in Topeka West's 81-30 win over Turner Friday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Jalen Foy (22 right) scored 20 points in Topeka West's 81-30 home UKC win over Turner Friday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Of course, veteran Charger coach Rick Bloomquist had an explanation for the unbridled enthusiasm of his team, which was coming off a 25-point loss at Piper Thursday night that ended West's five-game win streak.
"We actually had played two in four days but participated in a third,'' Bloomquist cracked, alluding to the Piper loss. "Our legs were rested. We didn't play well the night before, we played the complete opposite so we had plenty of energy for Friday.
"I didn't tell them to save their energy at all, it wasn't by plan. They just happened to do it but we had plenty of energy tonight.''
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Seaman earned bragging rights in Friday's inaugural Topeka Shawnee County Bowling Championships at Gage Bowl, with the Vikings capturing three of the four titles.
Seaman's girls bowling team won the city team title on Friday at Gage Bowl by a 2,987-2,933margin over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman's boys rallied in the Baker games to claim the city championship Friday at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman's girls won the team title by a 2,987-2,933 margin over Washburn Rural, including the four Baker format games, as freshman Paige Snyder won the individual championship with a 606 series to lead a one-two-three finish for the Vikings while Seaman took the boys team title by a 3,417-3,358 margin over Shawnee Heights, including the Baker games.
Washburn Rural junior Logan Glinka won the city boys individual title with a 729 series. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Logan Glinka claimed the fourth city championship of the day, riding a first-game 279 to a 729 series and the boys individual title by a 22-pin margin over Seaman's Riley Parkhurst, who also topped the 700 mark with a 707.
"The first game I shot 279 and that felt really nice and I kept throwing good shots the rest of the series,'' Glinka said. "Seaman bowled great, Shawnee Heights had some really high scores so it feels nice to get the 'W'.''
Glinka, who finished seventh in Class 6A in 2023, said he feels like his game is where it needs to be heading into the biggest tournaments of the season.
"My first couple of meets didn't go fantastic but the past three meets I've shot over 700 so it's been going great,'' Glinka said.
