By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After dropping a tough decision in its season-opener to Spring Hill, Shawnee Heights' girls basketball team picked up its first victory on Friday, riding its balance to a 49-45 road win at Ottawa.
"A hard fought battle and a great win,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. "We had to overcome adversity and did a great job of maintaining our composure to get the win against a solid Ottawa team.''
Shawnee Heights had six players with between six and nine points and rallied from 17-13 first-quarter and 28-27 halftime deficits to pull out the win, outscoring the Cyclones 22-17 in the second half.
After allowing 17 points in the first quarter the T-Birds gave up no more than 11 points in any of the last three quarters and limited the Cyclones to 17 points in the second half.
Junior Riley Showalter led Shawnee Heights with nine points, while juniors Emari Doby and Taylor Rantz scored eight points apiece, senior Zoe Oczko and junior Haydin Hill seven each and sophomore Breezy Canady six points.
Shawnee Heights will host Topeka West in a non-league girls/boys doubleheader on Tuesday.
Brennon Dodge scored 29 points with seven 3-pointers as Shawnee Heights improved to 3-0 with a 62-27 road win at Ottawa Friday night. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS BOYS 62, OTTAWA 27 -- T-Bird sophomore Brennon Dodge scored 29 points to outscore Ottawa by himself as Shawnee Heights improved to 3-0 with a 62-27 non-league road romp past the Cyclones.
Dodge, who had a 33-point outing in Heights' season-opener, had seven 3-pointers on the night, including four in the first half, as the T-Birds opened up a commanding 30-14 advantage.
Senior Nate Pewe added nine points while five T-Birds had at least five points.
Freshman Jaret Sanchez scored six points for Heights while seniors Carter Olson and Jarin Sanders had five apiece.
Olson and sophomore Jayden Holly grabbed five rebounds each for the T-Birds.
Senior Ty Henry led the way with 22 points as Seaman improved to 2-1 with a 72-52 Centennial victory at Emporia. [File photo/TSN]
SEAMAN BOYS 72, EMPORIA 52 -- Seaman posted its second straight double-digit Centennial League win, romping to a 72-52 road win at Emporia.
The Vikings opened up a 22-12 first-quarter advantage over the Spartans and pushed their margin to 38-18 at the half before cruising the rest of the way.
Senior Ty Henry paced the 2-1 Vikings with 22 points while senior Mateo Hyman added 19 points and junior Kaeden Bonner 15.
The Vikings will face another key league game on Tuesday, going back on the road to face 3-0 Highland Park.
EMPORIA GIRLS 32, SEAMAN 27 -- Seaman suffered its first loss of the season after back-to-back lopsided Centennial League wins, dropping a 32-27 road decision to the state-ranked Spartans.
Friday's game was a rematch of last season's Class 5A sub-state final, won by Seaman, with Emporia evening the score in a tight contest as senior Gracie Gilpin led the way with 15 points.
Freshman Anna Becker contined to play well in the early going for Seaman, leading the Vikings with 11 points.
SILVER LAKE BOYS 52, RILEY COUNTY 41 -- Silver Lake used a 16-5 second quarter to take control en route to a 52-41 Mid-East League victory over Riley County.
The Eagles led 24-12 at halftime and played the Falcons to a virtual standoff in the second half, with Riley County outscoring Silver Lake, 29-28.
"Hard fought game versus a good team,'' Silver Lake coach Johnny Roberts said. "Team battled. Big win for us in the league.''
Silver Lake had six players with at least six points, led by senior Troy Heiman with 12 points.
Junior Kamryn Kaniper added 10 points for the Eagles while senior Sam Kaff had eight points (8 of 10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter), senior Carson Johnson eight points and Luke Womack and Dylan VandeVelde six points apiece.
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 55, RILEY COUNTY 27 -- Silver Lake continued its outstanding early-season play, rolling to a Mid-East League win over the Falcons as three Eagles cracked double figures.
Sophomore MaKenzie McDaniel paced the Eagles with 20 points and 12 rebounds while junior Taylor Ross and sophomore McKinley Kruger added 12 points.
Kruger was also credited with five assists while sophomore Kaylee Deiter had 12 rebounds and seven assists.
ROSSVILLE GIRLS 59, SACRED HEART 45 -- Rossville improved to 2-0 on the season with Friday's 59-45 win over Sacred Heart, taking control with a 21-11 first quarter in a second-round game in the Irish Classic at Chapman.
The Bulldawgs led Sacred Heart 37-23 at the half and both teams scored 22 points in the second half.
Senior Briar Gillum led Rossville with 15 points while freshman Shyanne Haehn added 12 points, sophomore Emma Mitchell 11 and senior Caylee Douglas 10 points.
SACRED HEART BOYS 53, ROSSVILLE 27 -- Rossville was within 10 points at halftime (22-12), but Sacred Heart put the Bulldawgs away with a 31-15 second half on the way to a 53-27 win.
Junior Francesco Patrizi led Rossville with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while senior Brody Lietz and junior Kade Perine added six points apiece for the Bulldawgs.
