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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Despite snow swirling outside the gym, senior Brennon Dodge came out of the holiday break red hot, scoring Shawnee Heights’ first 12 points. Dodge and the T-Birds ran away from Lansing 76-51 to start the new year with a home victory to improve to 4-2.
Shawnee Heights senior Brennon Dodge scored 25 points in Friday's 76-51 UKC romp past Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Dodge staked Shawnee Heights to a 12-3 lead and the T-Birds led 23-8 at the close of the first period. He tallied 19 points in the first half.
“Having him is a great luxury,” Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said of Dodge. “If you ask me who we need to be great, it’s (Brennon). But sometimes I don’t give him credit because I take him for granted. I’m not saying ‘(Brennon) had a great game,’ because he had it the time before, and the time before that. Sometimes I don’t give him his just due.”
“It was just a great feeling helping my team,” said Dodge, who led all scorers with 25. “I’ve been practicing getting my shot down, staying consistent, and keeping mentally prepared.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights girls basketball picked up where it left off at the end of 2023, starting the new year with a 54-26 United Kansas Conference blowout of visiting Lansing Friday.
Shawnee Heights freshman KK Emmot hit three 3-pointers for nine points in the T-Birds' 54-26 UKC win over Lansing Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Rachel Swift takes the ball inside in Friday's 54-26 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds won four in a row prior to the holidays. Things were going so well, in fact, coach Bob Wells regretted taking a break.
“The kids were really locked in and really working in practice with a common goal in mind,” Wells said. “You could see that they were really playing well, and things were just starting to happen. So, it felt sort of unfortunate that we had to have a break. But that’s just how it is.”
The T-Birds needed eight minutes to shake off the rust. They scuffled to an 8-5 lead after one period. But then the home team reeled off 18 straight points to stretch the lead to 26-5. The T-Birds went to the half up 31-8 and forced a running clock for the fourth period.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural boys basketball Alex Hutchins felt like despite six straight losses to open the 2023-2024 season, his Junior Blues had been knocking at the door for a victory.
The Junior Blues knocked that door down Friday night, rolling to a dominating 62-29 Centennial League win over Hayden at the Bueltel Activity Center.
Washburn Rural junior Amare Jones scored a game-high 20 points Friday as Rural picked up its first win of the season, 62-29 over Hayden. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
"We've kind of said from the start that we did not feel like a team that had lost all our games thus far,'' Hutchins said. "Our schedule was very good, but all of our games were competitive all the way until the final horn and this was the first night we've had all our pieces.
"We've had at least one guy who's in the rotation out every game until tonight. It was fun to see the puzzle all the way together.''
Washburn Rural, which improved to 1-6 overall and 1-1 in the league, went wire to wire after scoring the first five points of the game.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
By her own admission, Hayden standout Lauren Sandstrom has struggled offensively in the early part of the 2023-2024 basketball season.
But that changed in a hurry Friday night, with Sandstrom scoring a game-high 22 points to lead the way as Hayden bounced back from a 14-point Tuesday night Centennial League loss to Emporia with a 46-38 win over defending league champ Washburn Rural at the Bueltel Activity Center.
Hayden senior Lauren Sandstrom (5) scored a game-high 22 points as Wildcats top Washburn Rural, 46-38. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Sandstrom, a 6-foot senior, hit 8 of 10 shots from the field and 6 of 8 free throw attempts in Friday's breakout performance as Hayden ended a 12-game, eight-year-plus losing streak against Washburn Rural dating back to 2015.
"I have been struggling to score from the start of the season,'' said Sandstrom, a Rockhurst signee. "I think my season-high has been like 10 or something and I kind of just told myself, 'It's got to be this game, I've got to start now.'
"I was hyped before the game, my teammates hyped me up, and we got it done.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A game-by-game glance at all of Friday night's Shawnee County girls basketball games:
FRIDAY
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS (5-1 overall, 1-0 Centennial) at HAYDEN (5-1 overall, 0-1 Centennial)
Washburn Rural and Hayden will both be playing their second Centennial League games of the week after the Junior Blues and Wildcats were the first Shawnee County teams to open 2024 with Tuesday night games. Washburn Rural rolled to a 58-31 win at Junction City while Hayden dropped a 54-40 home decision to Emporia. Senior Zoe Canfield and freshman Maddie Vickery scored 17 points apiece in just a half against Junction City while junior Brylee Meier led Hayden with 14 points and senior Avery Grunert added 12 points against Emporia.
Highland Park junior Amelia Ramsey is the city leader in scoring and rebounding, averaging 22 points and 15 rebounds. [File photo/TSN]
POSTPONED: ATCHISON GIRLS (3-3 overall, 2-0 Meadowlark) at HIGHLAND PARK (3-0 overall, 1-0 Meadowlark)
Friday's Atchison at Highland Park games have been postponed due to weather concerns and will be made up at a later date. Highland Park opened Meadowlark Conference play with an 87-17 win over Kansas City-Wyandotte in its final game before the holiday break while Atchison improved to 2-0 in the conference with a 47-36 win over Wyandotte in its 2023 finale. Highand Park
