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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
When the Hayden boys left the door open at the end of the fourth period Thursday night, Eudora took advantage, sending the meeting at Hayden into overtime. When Eudora returned the favor, the Wildcats stole the game 58-53 to close the regular season 12-8.
Hayden junior Connor Hanika put the Wildcats ahead in OT in Thursday's 58-53 win ovr Eudora. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Leading 53-52 in overtime, Eudora hoisted an ill-advised 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining. Hayden senior Connor Hanika drove aggressively the full length of the floor, got to the rim, and converted an old-fashioned three-point play.
“I got the rebound and started pushing it up the floor,” Hanika said. “I had two (teammates) in the corner like we do on every transition, and I saw the defender playing to the right side of the box. I figured I could take him. I decided to go up and it fell for me, and I got the and-one.”
The Wildcats trapped a Eudora dribbler on the ensuing possession, forcing a turnover with 10 seconds left, effectively ending the game.
“It’s a game of possessions. Sometimes the possession works and sometimes it doesn’t,” said Hayden coach Dwayne Anthony. “I’m just thankful we were able to take advantage.”
Hanika sat much of the first period as the Wildcats started other seniors. He was held scoreless in the first two periods, but he notched 10 points after halftime, including the one to put Hayden over the top.
“It feels great,” Hanika said. “Seniors came out really phenomenal. They wanted a chance to prove themselves and they did. Going to (the playoffs) is going to be really fun. This is a great group of guys.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
A meeting of two of the top girls teams in the 4A classification went the way of the Hayden Wildcats Thursday. The Wildcats blew out Eudora 53-30 in the final regular season game, a match with plenty of postseason implications.
Millie Ramsey led Hayden with 17 points in Thursday's 53-30 Night win over Eudora. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The final rankings by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association had Hayden ranked second, one spot ahead of Eudora. The regular season clash at Hayden was important because five of the top six teams in 4A are in the East bracket, with Eudora tentatively seeded first prior to Thursday night.
“We will be seeded first now, because we’re both 18-2 and the tiebreaker is head-to-head,” said Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson. “I think this is going to give us a confidence boost because we haven’t played many 4A teams. So, to beat (Eudora) pretty good, that’s got to give us confidence moving forward.”
Hayden slowly pulled away from the visitors in the first half, sparked by 11 points from senior point guard Norma Greco.
An 8-0 run by the Cardinals in the third period re-invigorated their hopes. But with the Hayden lead shaved to just 34-28, the Wildcats clamped down. They ran off 11 unanswered points to finish the period leading 45-28. The Wildcats then milked the clock, outscoring Eudora 8-2 in the final quarter.
“We played really good help defense. Hailey Schmidtlein did a great job on their best player,” Reynoldson said. “The thing about Eudora is they are very well coached. They have great scouting reports, and they guard the scouting reports really well. I thought if we hit some shots, it would be a great night for us. But I knew it was going to be tough. I have a lot of respect for (Eudora).”
Senior Norma Greco scored 11 points in Hayden's 53-30 win over Eudora Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Amelia Ramsey was held to five points in the first half. But she hit all five of her field goal attempts in the second to finish with 17. Greco and Schmidtlein added 11.
“We’re feeling great. It was emotional, being senior night,” Greco said. “We wanted this one bad, especially since we lost to them last year.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 4-ranked Washburn Ichabods notched their 10th game in a row over Pittsburg State in a 71-61 win on Wednesday in PSU's John Lance Arena.
Senior Jacob Hanna led the way with 18 points Wednesday as Washburn improved to 25-2 with a 71-61 road win at Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]
MIAA regular-season champion Washburn (25-2 overall, 16-2 MIAA) led from start to finish in the win, topping the Gorillas for the second time this season after an 89-71 non-conference win in Topeka on Nov. 19.
The Ichabods jumped out to a 10-3 lead kept the Gorillas at arms-length the rest of the half, building a margin of eight points with 7:25 to play in the frame.
Pitt State did cut the lead to one at 29-28 with 2:19 in the half before the Ichabods scored 6 of the last 8 points of the half, taking a 34-30 lead into the break.
Washburn shot 2 of 13 from the 3-point line in the first half, while the Gorillas hit 7 of 15 overall.
The Ichabods came back with an 8-2 run to start the second half, building a lead of 10 at 42-32 before the Gorillas (16-11, 12-6) scored eight points to pull within two with 15:08 to play.
But a 17-4 run by the Ichabods over the next 7:34 of the game put Washburn up by 15 and the Gorillas would not get closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Senior Jacob Hanna led the Ichabods with a game-high 18 points, adding five boards in the win and scoring 11 in the first half. Sophomore Brayden Shorter finished with 16, hitting four 3-pointers, while sophomore Jack Bachelor scored 13 with four assists and freshman Dillon Claussen scored nine off the bench.
Senior Michael Keegan scored five with five rebounds and four steals, giving him 158 for his career and placing him in second place on the Ichabod all-time chart.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After spotting No. 2-ranked Piper a 15-point lead out of the gate and trailing by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, the No. 8 Seaman boys put together a spirited second-half comeback in Wednesday's United Kansas Conference makeup game.
Seaman junior KaeVon Bonner (facing) scored 32 points in Wednesday's 70-69 UKC loss to Piper. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But the Vikings (13-6 overall, 10-5 in the UKC) could never quite get over the hump, dropping a 70-69 decision at Seaman.
"Nobody likes to lose, but I expect them to walk out of here with their head up and understand that people appreciate the effort,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "And for us to battle a team of that quality and get ourselves back into it when we were on the brink a number of times to going the other way, from that standpoint it is a positive.
"But if we make a few more plays maybe it goes the other way.''
Piper (16-3, 13-2), last season's Class 5A runnerup, opened up a 20-5 lead with 30 seconds left in the opening quarter and went in front 33-17 late in the first half before taking a 35-23 advantage at the break.
But Seaman turned the tables on the Pirates in the second half, getting as close as two twice late in the third quarter before Piper junior Derrick Johnson was fouled on a 3-point shot with 1.1 seconds left in the quarter and canned three free throws to push the Pirates' advantage back to 48-43 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Piper pushed its lead back to 11 twice in the fourth, but Seaman clawed its way back to within two (68-66) with 9.0 seconds left before junior Johnny Vogel canned a pair of free throws to clinch the Pirates' win.
Seaman sophomore Conner Scholes banked in a 3-pointer as time ran out to account for the final score.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Top-ranked Seaman's 24-game winning streak appeared to be in serious jeopardy for much of Wednesday's United Kansas Conference makeup game against No. 5 Piper.
Junior Maddie Gragg hit a follow shot at the buzzer to give Seaman a 48-47 win over Piper Wednesday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Maddie Gragg and the Vikings found a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, with the junior standout hitting a follow shot at the buzzer to give Seaman a 48-47 victory and the outright UKC title.
"Just find a way to win,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "We have some tough kids in that locker room, oh my goodness, and (Piper) got us out of our comfort zone.
"But these girls are just so tough and they battled and we got back in it. We made it interesting by missing free throws late, but we had kids step up and I don't have enough time here to talk about everything that these kids did to contribute but it was definitely a team effort against a great team. We're happy with the win, especially playing back-to-back games. This has been a tough week.''
Seaman, which improved to 19-0 overall and 15-0 in the conference with their 25th straight win, trailed the Pirates (15-4, 12-3) by four points at the end of the opening quarter, by as many as seven points in the second and third quarters and by five in the fourth stanza, but the Vikings never lost contact.
After trailing by five (43-38) with less than three and a half minutes left, Seaman used an 8-2 run to take its first lead of the second half (46-45) with just 30.8 seconds remaining on two Gragg free throws.
Piper senior star Grace McCallop answered at the other end with 16 seconds left to put the Pirates back in front 47-46 before Seaman called a timeout with 14.1 seconds remaining to set up its final play.
Viking senior star Anna Becker drove the length of the court and missed a shot, but after players from both teams got their hands on the ball, Gragg scooped up the loose ball and scored just before the final buzzer.
