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Top-ranked Seaman girls improve to 9-0 with double-digit win over No. 6 Thunder
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
Seaman, the top-ranked team in Class 5A, hosted sixth-ranked St. James Academy Tuesday in a contest that had been rescheduled due to the snowstorm earlier this month.
Senior Anna Becker led the way with 20 points as Seaman improved to 9-0 with a 57-44 non-league win over St. James Academy Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Combining a fast start with clutch play down the stretch, the Vikings improved to 9-0 with a 57-44 victory over the Thunder.
Seaman started the game quickly with a flurry of baskets both inside and outside and led 18-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The Thunder responded with a 15-6 run to start the second quarter and cut the lead to 24-23 with 4:20 remaining in the first half. But the Lady Vikes outscored the Thunder 9-3 over the last 3:40, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by senior Kinley Wilhelm, to lead 33-26.
The first four minutes of the third quarter went back and forth and Seaman was able to extend its lead by the end of the quarter to 10 points, 45-35.
In the first three minutes of the final quarter, seniors Jaida Stallbaumer and Anna Becker hit two and three-point baskets, respectively, and along with a free throw by sophomore Maddie Gragg, the Lady Vikes led 51-40. The final five minutes of the contest became a battle of free throws and the Lady Vikes won their ninth straight game of the season.
Seaman Matt Tinsley was pleased with his team’s total performance.
“We guarded and played really well defensively,'' Tinsley said. "We controlled the boards, which was an emphasis before the game. Offensively, we moved the ball, kept our composure and got great shots.”
Prior to the game, Tinsley mentioned to the team that this would be a ‘big girl’ game and it would require toughness throughout.
“Ava Esser had some big shots in the third quarter, Kinley Wilhelm was tough on the boards, Maddie Gragg made tough plays and Jaida Stallbaumer had a couple of important drives for baskets in the fourth quarter,'' Tinsley said. "We needed to have a game like this where the girls had to rely on each other to get it done. The game honors toughness and we were tough tonight.”
WU women back on the road at Northwest Missouri after successful homestand
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After four games at home Washburn University women's basketball is back on the road for a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday MIAA battle at Northwest Missouri State.
Washburn junior Yibari Nwidadah was named the MIAA player of the week on Monday. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is 10-8 on the year overall and 4-4 in the MIAA after defeating Newman 77-66 to wrap up a 3-1 homestand last Saturday.
Northwest Missouri is 9-9 overall and 2-6 inside the MIAA after falling 84-60 to No. 7 Fort Hays State on the road on Saturday.
The Ichabods dropped a 66-61 overtime decision to Northwest on Jan. 11 in Lee Arena.
Wednesday's contest against Northwest Missouri will be the 80th all-time meeting between the two teams. Washburn leads the all-time series, 62-15.
Junior Yibari Nwidadah leads the Ichabod with 17.3 points and 7.8 rebounds while also shooting a team-high 66.7 percent from the field. The junior has started all 16 games she has played in, logging 27.1 minutes per game. She has shot at or above 50.0% in all but one game and has four double-doubles.
The Olathe North product has the best field goal percentage in the nation while ranking third in the MIAA in scoring average and fifth in rebounds. She has scored 15-plus points in 11 games this year and was named the MIAA Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week on Monday for the first time in her career.
With 193 career offensive rebounds Nwidadah is seventh in program history. She needs 24 offensive boards to move up to sixth. In overall rebounds she is 15th in Washburn history with 516. Her career field goal percentage of .582 is the second best in program history. In scoring she ranks 38th with 782 career points.
Junior Payton Sterk averages 15.5 points while starting all 18 contests and playing a team-high 30.2 minutes per gam. She is shooting 44.0 percent from the floor and a team-high 40.0 percent from deep while averages 2.4 assists and grabbing 3.7 rebounds.
T-Bird girls roll to 53-18 UKC win over Leavenworth
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights girls took the next step in the United Kansas Conference race Tuesday night by beating up on visiting Leavenworth, 53-18.
Junior Reianna Vega scored 13 first-half points for Shawnee Heights in Tuesday's 53-18 UKC romp past Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds improved to 5-3 in a league that features three of the top seven Class 5A teams in the state according to the most recent Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll in Seaman, Piper and De Soto.
Shawnee Heights left no doubt against the Pioneers, building a 14-0 lead before the visitors got on the board with 2:16 left in the first period. The second period followed the same script, with Leavenworth getting its second bucket with 2:30 left before halftime. At the break, the T-Birds led, 31-7.
“We wanted to come out of the gate and get a good start,” said Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells. “We’ve had some times where we struggled a little bit at the start, or that we’ve had a dead spot in the third quarter. We wanted to make sure we didn’t have those dead spots. And I thought the girls really responded.”
Leading the first half charge was junior Reianna Vega, who scored 13 points before the intermission. The 6-foot forward demonstrated the ability to face the basket, knock down perimeter shots, handle the ball and battle in the paint.
“I think I am growing as a player, watching myself improve each game,” Vega said. “I set goals for myself each game, and when I achieve them, I feel (I’m improving).”
“I think she can play an even bigger role,” Wells said of Vega. “We are looking to her to score and now she’s stepping forward in games and starting to put up some numbers like we think she’s capable of doing.
“For somebody that’s basically 6-feet tall who can handle the ball, who can shoot from the perimeter or go inside and battle with the bigs, that really helps us. With that size, she’s able to see over the defense and that makes a big difference looking at what’s going on with the offense.”
Sophomore KK Emmot scored a game-high 21 points in Tuesday's 53-18 home UKC win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Pacing Shawnee Heights for the game was sophomore KK Emmot with 21. The T-Birds were an efficient 21-42 from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line.
