By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
It was the first game of the season for both teams Wednesday night as the Highland Park Lady Scots would host the Topeka West Lady Chargers in a city rivalry.
Senior Addaline Hall scored 22 points with four 3-pointers in Wednesday's 68-45 win over Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Last season the Chargers and Scott each beat each other once.
But this year there are changes with both teams as the leading scorers for both the Chargers and Scot transferred to Shawnee Heights, leaving both teams looking for new faces to lead them this season.
Wednesday's game would get under way with it needing two jump balls as both teams where full of excitement to get underway.
The Chargers would get the first basket of the season and take an early 4-0 lead but the Scots would bounce back and hit a layup and then a 3-pointer and take a 5-4 lead before West answered with a 7-0 run to go up 11-5 to end the first quarter with a 11-8 lead.
The Scots would answer the call to start the second quarter and go up 12-11, but that would be all it wrote for the Lady Scots as they would go cold and be held scoreless for the final 2 minutes before halftime as the Chargers would take 30-24 halftime lead.
The Chargers would come out of the locker room at halftime with urgency as they would play defense and force the Lady Scots to commit turnovers and take bad shots.
West would hold the Lady Scots scoreless until the 3-minute mark in the third, outscoring them 18-5 in the third quarter to take a 48-29 lead into the fourth.
“We talked about it at halftime, turning the defensive pressure back up, and the girls came out ready,'' West coach Angie Ketterman said. "They all stuck together as a team. They didn’t care when we were subbing in and out. It was a family team atmosphere and it looked good.”
The Lady Scots would try to chase the Chargers down in the fourth but could never get close as the Chargers would get the win, 68-45.
“They all came together as a team,'' Ketterman said. "We had freshman playing, we had sophomores, juniors and seniors all playing. And they all contributed to everything we did tonight. That’s what was so good about tonight.”
The Chargers got a huge night from 5-foot-10 senior Addaline Hall as she would lead all scorers on the night with 22 points with four 3-pointers.
“She’s tough, she’s not tall but she is tough, she can hang with the big girls on the inside.” Ketterman said.
“The adrenaline was really going for our first game, so every possession after we got going was helpful,'' Hall said. "The freshmen really came in and helped a lot as well.”
“It was the Chipotle before the game.”
The Chargers returned three seniors with plenty of varsity experience in Hall, Teairra Gonzalez and Breonnah Keeling. Keeling was already scheduled for surgery on her left knee and would fall hard on her right knee and would come out of the game and is most likely done for the season.
Teairra Gonzales scored 10 points in Wednesday's 68-45 Topeka West win over Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Teairra Gonzalez would put 10 points on the board for the Chargers.
“She is always looking for someone else, always giving them the possessions before she thinks of herself, and then she’s always getting down the court quick and being there for defense,” Hall said about Gonzalez.
“It’s mostly built off of family and how we’ve been practicing together and just building up that love and trust with one another. I like to look out for others, I feel more confident in my other players when I kind of play, so just looking for them, setting up the play, reading the floor, that’s something my dad’s always taught me, just knowing where everybody is to get the best available shot rather then just being selfish.”
TOPEKA WEST GIRLS 68, HIGHLAND PARK 45
Topeka West 11 19 18 20 -- 68
Highland Park 8 16 5 16 -- 45
Topeka West (1-0) -- Hall 5-13 8-14 22, Saniya Brooks 3-6 5-10 11, Gonzalez 3-7 3-4 10, Allen 4-8 0-0 8, McGlory 2-4 0-0 4, Ogles 2-5 0-0 4, VanDyke 1-2 1-10 3, Sa’mya Brooks 0-2 2-2 2, Keeling 0-0 0-0 0, Traylor 0-5 0-0 0, Kutina 0-3 0-0 0, Fox 0-1 0-0 0, Perkins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 19-40 68.
Highland Park (0-1) -- Kincaid 4-13 0-1 10, Cosey 3-9 2-4 10, Grace 3-6 1-4, Jones 2-8 3-8 7, Hooper 1-6 1-2 3, Inyard 1-1 1-2 3, Sanders 1-2 0-0 2, Atkins 0-0 1-2 1, Barnett 0-3 1-2 1, Cameron 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-49 10-25 45.
3-point goals -- Topeka West 6 (Hall 4, Gonzalez 2), Highland Park 4 (Cosey 2, Kincaid 1, Grace 1). Fouled out -- McGlory.
