By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the season with an impressive performance 24 hours later, rolling to a 72-32 Centennial League victory Friday night at Junction City.
The Junior Blues, who dropped a tough 4-point decision at unbeaten Topeka High Thursday night, led by just a 17-14 margin at the end of the first quarter, but used a 24-4 second quarter to take control, leading 41-18 at the half.
Brooklyn DeLeye
Rural, 6-1 overall and in the league, outscored the Blue Jays 31-14 in the second half, forcing a running clock in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Brooklyn DeLeye scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Junior Blues while freshman Zoe Canfield added 14 points with 3 3-pointers and junior Emma Krueger had 12 points.
Mellana Davis led Junction City (2-6, 1-5) with 12 points.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 61, JUNCTION CITY 42
Senior Joe Berry scored a season- and game-high 29 points, 21 in the first half, and sophomore Jack Bachelor added 11 points and 3 3rd-quarter 3-pointers, as Washburn Rural pulled away in the second half for a 61-42 Centennial League victory at Junction City.
Joe Berry
The Junior Blues, 5-1 overall and in the Centennial League, led by only a 30-25 margin at halftime despite Berry's huge half, but Bachelor helped Rural put the Blue Jays away with a 21-10 third quarter and the visitors outscored Junction City 10-7 in the fourth.
Senior Jack Hutchinson added 9 points for the Junior Blues while Howard Johnson scored 19 points for Junction City (4-3, 3-3).
EMPORIA GIRLS 50, HAYDEN 33
Emporia jumped out in front 14-2 at the end of the first quarter and 30-10 at the half on the way to a home 50-33 Centennial League win over Hayden.
Gracie Gilpin led Emporia, 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the league, with a game-high 17 points and hit 3 3-pointers while Macey Adams buried 4 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.
Junior Carly Stuke led Hayden (4-4, 4-4) with 15 points, including 3 3-pointers, while senior Rhen Calhoon added 10 points.
EMPORIA BOYS 44, HAYDEN 37
Emporia, 4-3 overall and 3-3 in the Centennial League, built a 24-14 halftime advantage and held off the the Wildcats the rest of the way, extending Hayden's losing streak to five games.
Senior Charles Snyder led Emporia with 13 points, going 9 of 12 at the free throw line, while Chance Gilpin added 10 points.
Senior Vacario Triplett paced Hayden (2-5, 2-5) with a game-high 16 points.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 68, JUNCTION CITY 35
Sophomore Kiki Smith scored a game-high 29 points and junior NiJaree Canady added 20 as Topeka High, 7-0 overall and in the Centennial League, romped to a 68-35 win at Junction City on Saturday.
The win was the Trojans' 30th straight dating back to 2019, while Junction City, which played league powers Washburn Rural and Topeka High on back to back days, fell to 2-7, 1-6.
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS 72, JUNCTION CITY 32
Washburn Rural 17 24 23 8 -- 72
Junction City 14 4 8 6 -- 32
Washburn Rural (6-1, 6-1) -- Bagshaw 0 0-0 0, Lutz 0 0-0 0, Krueger 4 4-7 12, Hurtig 2 0-0 4, DeLeye 11 4-5 27, Ladson 2 0-0 6, Whitmore 1 0-0 2, Carlgren 0 0-0 0, Canfield 3 5-5 14, Brogan 3 0-0 7, Schuler 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 12-13 72.
Junction City (2-6, 1-5) -- Robinson 1 2-2 4, Nabus 0 0-0 0, Harris 0 0-0 0, M. Davis 5 2-5 12, Deguzman 0 0-0 0, Rivera 3 0-1 7, A. Davis 4 0-2 9. Totals 13 4-10 32.
3-point goals -- Washburn Rural 7 (Canfield 3, Ladson 2, Brogan, DeLeye), Junction City 2 (Robinson, Rivera). Total fouls -- Washburn Rural 11, Junction City 15. Fouled out -- none.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 61, JUNCTION CITY 42
Washburn Rural 15 15 21 10 -- 61
Junction City 10 15 10 7 -- 42
Washburn Rural (5-1, 5-1) -- Bachelor 3 2-2 11, Kidd 1 0-1 2, Berry 10 7-8 29, Hutchinson 3 1-2 9, Howard 1 0-2 2, Morrow 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0, Brady 0 0-0 0, Heim 0 0-0 0, Bunck 0 0-0 0, Patterson 2 0-1 4. Totals 22 10-17 61.
Junction City (4-3, 3-3) -- Dixon 3 0-1 7, Tedder 1 0-0 2, Smith 2 2-3 6, Clark 0 0-1 0, Johnson 4 9-10 19, George 1 0-0 2, Rowell 1 4-5 6, Butler-Lawson 0 0-0 0, Baker 0 0-0 0, Fadiga 0 0-0 0, Felton 0 0-0 0, Clarke-Boyd 0 0-2 0. Totals 12 15-22 42.
3-point goals -- Washburn Rural 7 (Bachelor 3, Berry 2, Hutchinson 2), Junction City 3 (Johnson 2, Dixon). Total fouls -- Washburn Rural 18, Junction City 13. Fouled out -- Brady.
EMPORIA GIRLS 50, HAYDEN 33
Hayden 2 8 5 18 -- 33
Emporia 14 16 13 7 -- 50
Hayden (4-4, 4-4) -- Cruz 1 0-1 3, Calhoon 3 3-3 10, Moore 1 0-0 2, Stuke 4 4-5 15, Schmidtlein 1 0-0 3, Grunert 0 0-0 0, Sandstrom 0 0-0 0, Lenherr 0 0-0 0, Anguiano 0 0-0 0, Gill 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 7-9 33.
Emporia (6-2, 3-2) -- Gilpin 7 0-0 17, Kirmer 1 0-0 2, Cooper 0 0-1 0, Christensen 0 2-2 2, Adams 5 0-0 14, Snyder 2 1-2 5, Peak 1 0-0 2, Wiltz 1 0-0 2, Baker 1 3-4 6, Herkens 0 0-2 0, Stewart 0 0-0 0, Gutierrez 0 0-0 0, Garcia 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-11 50.
3-point goals — Hayden 6 (Stuke 3, Cruz, Calhoon, Schmidtlein); Emporia 8 (Adams 4, Gilpin 3, Baker). Total fouls — Hayden 11, Emporia 12. Fouled out — none.
EMPORIA BOYS 44, HAYDEN 37
Hayden 5 9 11 12 -- 37
Emporia 8 16 11 9 -- 44
Hayden (2-5, 2-5) -- Williams 3 0-0 7, Muller 2 0-1 5, Triplett 6 2-2 16, Pivarnik 1 1-1 3, Otting 1 0-0 3, Rochford 0 0-0 0, Duffey 1 0-0 3, Rice 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 3-4 37.
Emporia (4-3, 3-3) -- Kirmer 1 0-0 2, Ortega 2 0-0 5, Gilpin 1 7-10 10, Leeds 3 0-0 9, Snyder 2 9-12 13, Stewart 0 1-4 1, Hines 2 0-0 4, Cordon 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 17-26 44.
3-point goals -- Hayden Emporia 5 (Leeds 3, Gilpin, Ortega). Total fouls -- Hayden , Emporia 12. Fouled out -- Williams. Technical fouls -- Williams 2, Triplett.