- Details
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Topeka High boys found themselves short-handed against Centennial League foe Manhattan and were unable to keep pace, falling 68-35 to the Indians at home Tuesday.
Topeka High junior Da'Mykel Hales (3) scored 11 points to lead the Trojans in Tuesday's loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Trojans were forced to go without senior point guard Isaiah Lyons, who suffered a high-ankle sprain the previous week. They were also working fellow senior guard Jalen Freeman back into the rotation following a leg injury.
“Being down Isaiah changes some things. He’s our primary ball handler, our best perimeter scorer,” said Trojan coach Geo Lyons. “We’re asking some guys to fill some roles that we haven’t prepared them to do. As a coaching staff, we’ve got to do our best to help them get ready.”
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West's boys had a lot of things go wrong in Tuesday's home United Kansas Conference game against Lansing.
But despite commiting 20 turnovers and hitting just 11 of 27 free throws, the Chargers rode a stifling defensive performance to a 52-41 win over the Lions.
Topeka West coach Rick Bloomquist talks to his team during Tuesday's 52-41 UKC win over Lansing at West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"You have to win ugly basketball games,'' Topeka West coach Rick Bloomquist said. "That's about the only positive thought I have -- you have to win ugly basketball games. You have to win when you're not playing well. You usually don't win when all five people aren't playing well, and we won. That's the bottom line.
"We've got things to work out, but the thing about these kids is that they're coachable. They want to be coached, they want to do the right thing. We just have too much slippage from a practice to a game and that's what's hurt us right now. We're trying to do too many drama plays instead of just play, but we'll get there.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Even though her Topeka West girls basketball team opened the 2023-2024 season with three straight losses, West coach Angie Ketterman has been pleased with her team's overall effort.
And the Chargers were able to turn their hard work into a positive outcome Tuesday night, with Topeka West rolling to a 54-34 United Kansas Conference win over Lansing at West.
Angie Ketterman (center) picked up her first win as Topeka West's girls basketball coach Tuesday night, a 54-34 UKC romp past Lansing. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I'm happy for the girls,'' Ketterman said. "They've been working hard. Our first two games of the season were against top teams (Basehor-Linwood and Seaman) and they played hard.
"Against Shawnee Heights we did not play hard. We kind of went back to our old ways, so our challenge tonight was to stick with the game plan and I felt like they did that tonight. We still had some errors, which that's going to happen. That's part of it, but they stuck with it.''
Topeka West, which had lost its first three games by an average of 32.3 points, trailed just once on the night en route to its first victory as five Chargers scored eight or more points.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball travels east for a mid-week MIAA matchup against Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.
Sophomore Yibari Nwidadah is averaging a double-double for Washburn, which is off to a 6-2 start on the season. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is coming off a 56-44 home win over Rogers State last Saturday and is now 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.
The Bearcats are off to an 8-1 start and are 3-1 in the MIAA, with the only loss coming to No. 18 Fort Hays State.
Sophomore Yibari Nwidadah is averaging a double-double for the Ichabods, averaging 13.1 points while also pulling down a team and MIAA-best 11.1 rebounds per game. Nwidadah is shooting 60.3 percent from the floor.
Senior Aubree Dewey is averaging 13.0 points on 47.1 percent shooting while playing a team high 31.9 minutes per game.
Dewey is also averaging an MIAA-best 6.5 assists and is second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game from the point guard position and has come away with 2.0 steals per contest as well.
Sophomore Gabi Giovannetti is averaging 11.0 points in just 19.8 minutes per game off the bench. She is shoot 52.6 percent from the floor and is shooting a team-high 48.1 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
Aniah Wayne is averaging double figures, scoring 11.0 points per game this season in 26.1 minutes per game with seven starts. She also pulls down 3.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 41.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc, leading the Ichabods with 19 triples.
WU is ninth in the nation in scoring margin as the Ichabods have outscored teams by an average of 22.5 points per game.
On the defensive end the Ichabods are fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense with opponents shooting a 32.2 percent. That ranks first in the MIAA.
Molly Hartnett leads the Bearcats scoring attack at 12.3 this season. She also leads the squad in assists at 3.4 per game and swipes 1.8 steals per contest.
The Ichabods stay in Missouri to take on Missouri Western State at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University men's basketball team will be back in action on Wednesday, going on the road to face Northwest Missouri in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Sophomore Sam Ungashick is Washburn's leading scorer at 15.4 points per game entering Wednesday's game at Northwest Missouri. [File photo/TSN]
Freshman Jack Bachelor is coming off a career-high 17-point game in last Saturday's 93-71 MIAA win over Rogers State. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn, 5-3 overall, 1-1 in the MIAA, evened its conference record with a 93-71 home win over Rogers State last Saturday, hitting 17 3-pointers in the win, one shy of the school record.
The Bearcats are 6-3 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA after topping Nebraska-Kearney 83-53 on the road Saturday, rebounding from a 57-49 loss at Fort Hays State last Thursday.
Washburn leads the all-time series with Northwest 63-55 and will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak against the Bearcats.
Sophomore Sam Ungashick leads the Ichabods with a 15.4 scoring average while adding 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Ungashick has reached double figures in each of the last seven game and has hit at least one 3-pointer in each game this season.
Junior Andrew Orr is averaging 14.6 points this season while going 27 of 28 from the free throw line, which ranks second in the nation in percentage at 96.4. Orr is shooting 60 percent from the field, hitting 45 of 75 attempts.
Washburn Rural product Jack Bachelor is scoring 9.4 points per game off the bench as a freshman, adding 2.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Bachelor is coming off a career-high 17 points against Rogers State last time out.
