By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
It’s not always the case that a game between teams that are 17-2 and 2-17 has a lot at stake.
That was the case on Friday night when the second-ranked Class 6A Topeka High Trojans girls team faced Topeka West on Senior Night at High to wrap up the regular season for both teams.
After a slow start, the Trojans used a 47-point effort in the second and third quarters to claim a 72-26 win and sole possession of the 2021-22 Centennial League title.
“Bouncing back after a tough loss (to Bishop Miege) can be crucial, and I think the girls tried to do their best and keep their composure,” said Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander. “I was very pleased with that in the second and third and fourth quarter.”
With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-18 on the season and 2-14 in league play with the regular season complete.
The win for Topeka High marks the last time the group of seniors will play in The Dungeon as the team moves to 18-2 overall and 15-1 in league play.
Topeka High senior Tae Thomas scored 13 points in the Trojans' 72-26 Senior Night victory over Topeka West Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
“Overall this senior group is something like 87-7 overall for four years, so they have built a legacy here,” Alexander said. “They are great leaders on and off the court, they get it done in the classroom and are going on and doing big things after high school.”
“It meant a lot to play here,” said senior Tae Thomas. “There are a lot of career-defining moments that have happened and life-changing moments that have happened so I am genuinely grateful for everything this program has done for me and all of the people I have met and all of the coaches that I have had.”
Aside from early turnovers, the Chargers played as strong of a first quarter as they have all season, led by junior Azaryah Duncan’s two made 3-pointers. Even with the fast start the Trojans had a balanced offensive attack and capitalized on the turnovers to lead 13-10 after one.
“With it being Senior Night it felt like we definitely needed that reminder at the quarter ending to, ‘Hey get our heads together,’ and get that motivation to finish it off strong,'' Thomas said.
Topeka High picked up its intensity right away in the second quarter, going on a 9-0 run in the first 90 seconds, led by seven points from junior Kiki Smith.
The full-court press of the Trojans defined the game, and Smith and Thomas continued to score out of it, combining for 21 points in the quarter to build a 36-16 lead at halftime.
Out of the break Duncan continued to lead Topeka West, scoring five early points before the offense was shut off.
Topeka High quickly reeled off a 15-0 run, started by three 3-pointers, two from Smith and one from Thomas.
“I think we have struggled the last few games, getting those shots and knocking them down, so I think that was really huge for us tonight,” Alexander said. “We just got to carry that over into post-season play.”
The burst moved the lead above 30 as the quarter ended with a score of 60-25.
A 7-0 run for the Trojans began the fourth quarter, capped off by a Smith 3-pointer, ended the day for the starters with just over five minutes remaining.
Only six combined points were scored the rest of the game as the trio of seniors were subbed in and back out in the final seconds.
“I feel like as a team our chemistry has definitely grown over the past few weeks with everything that is going on and I am just really confident in what we are going to do in the future,” Thomas said.
Junior Kiki Smith scored 29 points with five 3-pointers in the Topeka High's 72-26 Centennial League win Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
Smith had 29 points on 12 of 15 shooting with five 3-pointers to lead all scorers. Thomas and fellow senior DayShauna Wiley added 13 and eight, respectively, in their final regular-season home game.
Both teams will await official assignments Saturday for the 6A and 5A sub-state tournaments.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 72, TOPEKA WEST 26
Topeka High 13 23 24 12 -- 72
Topeka West 10 6 9 1 -- 26
Topeka High (18-2, 15-1) – Leesman 1-8 0-0 2, Baird 2-4 2-2 7, Zimmerman 0-0 0-0 0, Wiley 4-7 0-0 8, Caryl 2-3 0-0 4, Thomas 6-9 0-0 13, Fulton 0-1 0-0 0, Shields 3-5 1-4 7, Sharpe 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 12-15 29 Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Verser 0-0 0-0 0, Benning 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 30-53 5-8 72.
Topeka West (2-18, 2-14) – Hopper 0-0 0-0 0, Valenzuela 0-0 0-0 0, Sanchez 0-5 0-0 0, Mays 0-2 0-0 0, Foster 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Duncan 5-8 0-0 13, Benson 1-1 1-2 4, Clark 1-4 2-4 5, Ford 1-4 0-0 2, Bearman 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 9-26 3-6 26.
3-point goals – Topeka West 5 (Duncan 3, Clark, Benson). Topeka High 7 (Smith 5, Thomas, Baird). Total fouls – Topeka West 12, Topeka High 8. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
