By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
The Topeka West girls basketball team earned its first win of the 2024-2025 season with a 67-37 United Kansas Conference victory over Kansas City-Turner on Friday at West.
Junior Imani McGlory scored 16 points Friday in Topeka West's 67-337 UKC win over KC-Turner, pacing four Chargers in double figures. [File photo/TSN]
The Chargers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, using defensive pressure to force turnovers from the Golden Bears.
Imani McGlory earned the first points of the contest by knocking down a shot from beyond the 33-point arc, while Addaline Hall added two layups to force a Turner timeout.
The strong Charger defense held the Golden Bears at bay for most of the first quarter, with the visitors only mustering one made field goal in the frame, giving Topeka West a 14-3 lead.
The Turner offense improved in the second quarter, scoring the first basket of the period on their way to a 10-point frame, but the Chargers’ Breonnah Keeling scored eight of her 13 points in the quarter to give the hosts a 28-13 halftime advantage.
Topeka West opened up the contest in the third quarter, out-scoring the Golden Bears 23-10 in the period.
McGlory started the second-half, scoring with a layup off an assist from Hall, while Teairra Gonzales knocked down two 3-pointers to extend the Charger lead.
Turner put together its best eight minutes of offense in the fourth quarter, with Kahlis Jones giving the Golden Bears the first field goal of the period.
Jones would go on to knock down a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter, but McGlory and Hall would add long-range shots of their own to help prevent a comeback attempt from the visitors.
Izzy Kutina chipped in a pair of free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory for the Chargers.
McGlory led Topeka West with 16 points on 6-11 shooting.
Gonzales added 15 points, while Hall and Keeling reached double figures with 13 points each.
Jerzey Hanna paced Turner with 16 points on 3-9 shooting, while going 9-18 from the free-throw line. Jones added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Bears.
Topeka West returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 21 with a trip to Basehor-Linwood.
TOPEKA WEST GIRLS 67, KC-TURNER 37
Turner 3 10 10 14 -- 37
Topeka West 14 14 23 16 -- 67
Turner (0-6, 0-5) -- Boyd 1-3 0-0 3, Chavez 0-0 0-0 0, Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, Lopez 2-4 0-2 4, Ollie 2-7 0-0 4, Hanna 3-9 9-18 16, Jones 4-13 0-0 10, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0, Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-37 9-20 37.
Topeka West (1-6, 1-6) -- Allen 0-2 0-2 0, Traylor 0-0 0-0 0, I. McGlory 6-11 0-0 16, VanDyke 1-4 1-4 3, Keeling 6-11 1-2 13, Hall 5-15 2-6 13, Gonzales 6-13 1-2 15, A. McGlory 2-8 0-0 5, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Kutina 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 26-65 7-18 67.
3-point goals -- Turner 4 (Jones 2, Boyd, Hanna), Topeka West 8 (I. McGlory 4, Gonzales 2, Hall, A. McGlory). Total fouls -- Turner 14, Topeka West 14. Fouled out -- VanDyke. Technical fouls - none.
