By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High girls basketball took control early Tuesday night and never looked back, avenging an earlier 11-point Centennial League loss to Hayden with a 59-47 league romp past the Wildcats at The Dungeon.
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored a game-high 23 points in Tuesday's 59-47 Topeka High win over Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Trojans, who topped the .500 mark for the first time this season, only trailed once on the night, at 3-2, and there was just one tie, at 6-6, before Topeka High, now 9-8 overall and 4-2 in the league, scored the final eight points of the opening quarter to go up 14-6.
Topeka High went on to open up a 14-point advantage (27-13) before Hayden (13-5, 4-2) scored the final seven points of the half to cut its deficit to 27-20.
But the Trojans scored the first four points of the third quarter to go back in front by double-digits and led by 14 twice before taking an 11-point (45-34) advantage at the end of the third quarter and led by as many as 17 early in the fourth.
"It's always nice to get a good start,'' Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said. "Every coach would say that, but if you don't you don't fold your tent, but it's nice to get it and I thought we played with energy and all the things you want to play with in any game.
"And we just kept it going, pretty much through the whole game.''
Sophomore Hailey Caryl (40) scored 15 points Tuesday as Topeka High improved to 9-8 with a 59-47 win over Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton paced the Trojans with a game-high 23 points while sophomore Hailey Caryl added 15 points and all seven Topeka High players that saw action cracked the scoring column as High won its third straight game.
"They're playing really well right now,'' Slaymaker said.
Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein led Hayden with 14 points in Tuesday's 59-47 loss at Topeka High. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein overcame a slow start to lead the Wildcats with 14 points while senior Ella Foster and sophomore Blakely Walter added 11 each.
Foster helped keep the Wildcats in the hunt with three 3-pointers while Schmidtlein and Walter both connected on two treys.
Topeka High will go on the road Thursday for a non-league game against Seaman, which handed the Trojans a 75-60 loss in the final round of the Capital City Classic on Jan. 31.
Hayden will return to action Friday with a Centennial League game at Emporia.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 59, HAYDEN 47
Hayden 6 14 14 13 -- 47
Topeka High 14 13 18 14 -- 59
Hayden (13-5, 4-2) – Walter 4-9 1-2 11, Schmidtlein 5-12 2-2 14, Foster 3-5 2-2 11, Huscher 0-2 0-0 0, Watts 0-1 0-0 0, Wichman 1-1 0-0 2, Mitchell 0-4 1-2 1, Borjon 1-3 0-0 3, Connell 2-7 1-2 5. Totals 16-44 7-10 47.
Topeka High (9-8, 4-2) – Short 3-4 0-0 6, Marshall 1-3 0-0 2, Rayton 8-21 6-7 23, Caryl 6-7 2-4 15, Gotru 2-3 2-2 6, Triplett 1-2 1-1 3, Whayne 1-2 1-2 4. Totals 22-42 12-16 59.
3-point goals – Hayden 8 (Foster 3, Walter 2, Schmidtlein 2, Borjon), Topeka High 4 (Rayton 2, Marshall, Short). Total fouls – Hayden 6, Topeka High 9. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
