By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The No. 6-ranked Topeka High girls basketball team keeps on rolling, remaining undefeated on the season with an 86-16 Centennial League romp past Highland Park Friday night at High.
The 5-0 Trojans went into the holiday break with an exclamation point, which is exactly what High coach Hannah Alexander wanted.
“Last game we didn’t really play our best basketball,'' Alexander said. "We didn’t run our offense great and we were very stagnant. Tonight we wanted to get back on track. We wanted to run our offense and our press much better before the break. We have a tough one coming up when we get back (Washburn Rural).”
Topeka High junior Kiki Smith led the way with 30 points as the Trojans improved to 5-0 with an 86-16 Centennial League win over Highland Park Friday night. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
High junior veteran Kiki Smith came up huge for the Trojans on Friday night, scoring 30 points in the 70-point win.
“She’s been phenomenal,'' Alexander said of Smith. "She has grown up with us and has been the perfect leader on and off the floor. How she gets everyone involved is really nice.
"She’s so unselfish out there. Whether it’s assists, steals, rebounds, points, she just does what’s best for the team.''
The Trojans' overall complete performance started in the first quarter, which High would begin with a 13-2 run.
Smith would wind up scoring 13 points in the quarter as the Trojans built a 26-7 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Trojans ran away with the game in the second stanza.
Ladaysha Baird, Ayana Leesman, and Smith would put on a shooting clinic that Highland Park couldn’t keep up with. Baird and Leesman combined for 13 points total off the bench in Friday night’s contest.
The effective Trojan shooting would give Topeka High a 52-10 advantage over Highland Park at the half.
High’s starting five’s third quarter was all about making a statement. DayShauna Wiley, Faith Shields, Adisyn Caryl, Tae Thomas, and Smith would combine to score 20 points out of the 28 in the third quarter.
Thomas, a senior, added 13 points on the night as she and Smith combine for 50 percent of the team’s total points.
“Our emphasis coming back from the break will be defense,'' Alexander said. "We have to tighten things up. I thought we did much better tonight. We need to get better at rebounding. We are a smaller team, so we have to make sure we put a body on somebody.''
Senior Aisya Taylor led Highland Park with nine points.
The next time the undefeated No. 6 ranked Topeka High Trojans compete, they will travel to No. 2-ranked Washburn Rural Lady Blues (5-0). Highland Park’s girls (0-5) will host Sumner Academy (0-2) in the Scots' first game of the next year.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 86, HIGHLAND PARK 16
Topeka High 26 26 28 6 -- 86
Highland Park 7 3 2 4 -- 16
Highland Park (0-5, 0-5) – Taylor 2 4-8 9, Ramsey 1 2-3 4, Mitchell 1 0-3 2, Reed 0 1-2 1.
Topeka High (5-0, 5-0) – Smith 11 7-8 30, Thomas 6 0-0, 13, Shields 5 0-0 12, Baird 4 1-2 10, Leesman 3 2-2, 9, Caryl 2 0-0 4, Jones 0 3-6 3, Wiley 1 0-0 2, Zimmerman 1 0-0,2, Benning 0 1-2 1.
3 point goals – Topeka High 6 (Shields 2, Smith, Thomas, Baird, Leesman), Highland Park 1 (Taylor). Fouls – Topeka High 19, Highland Park 12.
