Welcome to Top Sports News
Rural girls get back on track with 56-14 Centennial League romp past Junction City
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Coming off back-to-back double-digit Centennial League road losses, Washburn Rural girls basketball got back on track in a big way Friday night, going wire to wire at home for a 56-14 league rout over Junction City.
Senior Ella Hirschi scored a game-high 12 points on four 3-pointers in Friday's 56-14 Centennial League win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Now 12-6 overall and 3-3 in the league, Rural completed a regular-season sweep over the Blue Jays, who fell to 2-15 overall and 0-6 in the league. The Junior Blues took a 36-point win (68-32) win at Junction City in their Centennial opener.
"I thought we were a lot better defensively this time,'' Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "I thought everybody that played did a really good job on defense.
"We're trying to work on some things like stopping drives a little bit better. I still think we can box out better (on rebounds). We're not as strong as we need to be and getting a low base and keeping them away and getting on them a little bit faster.''
Washburn Rural led 15-7 at the end of the opening quarter and then put the Blue Jays away with a 16-2 second quarter.
The Junior Blues continued to roll in the third quarter, outscoring Junction City 15-5 to open up a 46-14 lead and force a running clock over the final eight minutes.
Washburn Rural pitched a 10-0 shutout in the fourth quarter to close out the 42-point win.
Washburn Rural freshman Brynn Anderson (15) and senior Josie Carlgren (23) celebrate a big play in Friday's 56-14 Centennial League win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Hallie Walker (10) scored nine points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds in Friday's 56-14 Centennial League win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Senior Ella Hirschi connected on four 3-pointers to score a game-high 12 points for Washburn Rural while freshman Brynn Anderson also cracked double figures with 10 points, senior Hallie Walker finished with nine points and seven rebounds and senior Josie Carlgren and freshman Kamryn Smith chipped in with eight points apiece.
"It was pretty even across the board,'' Bordewick said.
Ballard stars late as Rural boys snap three-game losing streak with 56-40 win over Blue Jays
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After Junction City cut a 16-point Washburn Rural lead to just three points midway through the fourth quarter Friday night, the host Junior Blues were in need of a big play to stem the tide.
Sophomore Brooks Ballard scored a game-high 17 points with five 3-pointers in Friday's 56-40 Washburn Rural win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Sophomore Brooks Ballard came through with three of them, draining back-to-back 3-pointers and three treys over the final 3:54 as Washburn Rural pulled away to snap a three-game losing streak with a 56-40 Centennial League victory over the Blue Jays.
"Just from practice, and all the reps we've gone through, I just trust our offense and trust that guys are going to get open and make plays,'' said Ballard, who scored a game-high 17 points on five 3s. "My guys got me open.''
And in a situation like Friday, when Ballard has the opportunity to come through for his team, he relies on his shooter's mentality.
"I always think it's going in, I'm not ever doubting myself,'' he said.
Ballard was just happy to be able to help close out what was a much-needed win for the Junior Blues, who had dropped three straight single-digit games, including a pair of one-point heartbreakers.
"This was a huge one for us, coming off some tough losses,'' Ballard said. "This was a big one to get us back on track.''
Washburn Rural coach Alex Hutchins wasn't surprised that his 6-foot-2 guard came through in the clutch.
"He is a really good shooter,'' Hutchins said. "I think the thing that stands out with him though is just the decision-making as a sophomore. He has some sophomore moments here or there and we have to have some conversations, but not very many considering he's a sophomore and we basically put the responsibility and the load on his shoulders of a senior.''
After digging itself out of an 11-0 hole to start the game and a 13-3 deficit at the start of the second quarter, Washburn Rural (10-8 overall, 3-3 in the league) battled back to take a 17-16 halftime advantage before using a 20-5 run to go up 37-21 with 2:37 left in the third stanza.
The Junior Blues took a 12-point lead (39-27) into the fourth quarter before the Blue Jays fought back to make it a one-possession game at 43-40.
Washburn Rural senior John Hoytal returned from an injury to score 12 points in Friday's 56-40 win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
But like it had early in the game, Washburn Rural showed its resiliency in being able to close out the victory while getting a big lift from senior John Hoytal, who returned to score 12 points off the bench after missing three straight games with an injury.
"We've been close in a lot of games lately and we just haven't finished the job off, so I'd by lying if I said there weren't some moments where it was like, 'Man, here we go again,' '' Hutchins said. "John was on limited minutes tonight but having him back in the fold changes things incredibly.
"He's just a steadying force for us. Whether the numbers show it or not, he doesn't always have to put up numbers to kind of steady us on both ends of the floor. And I felt like we had lots of guys who had really, really solid nights tonight.''
Washburn Rural senior Simon Rowley scored 10 points in Friday's 56-40 win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Senior Simon Rowley, who is also rounding back into form after missing multiple games with an injury, added 10 points, including a key stretch of three straight baskets in the third quarter to give Rural its 16-point cushion.
No. 4-ranked Topeka West boys outlast Leavenworth, 66-57
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The second-best boys team in the United Kansas Conference standings was pushed all night Friday by the second-worst team in the standings. But Topeka West, ranked fourth in the state in Class 5A, held off a feisty Leavenworth team to win 66-57 at West. The win kept the Chargers in the conference title hunt.
Senior Malakyah Duncan tied for team-high scoring honors with 16 points in Friday's 66-57 Topeka West win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Leavenworth rallied to take a lead midway through the second period. That ignited a fire in the Chargers. Topeka West ripped off a 10-0 run to lead 32-23. But that fire burned out quickly. The Pioneers repeatedly clawed back from double-digit deficits throughout the second half.
Having trailed by as much as 13 points, Leavenworth scored seven-straight points late in the fourth period to put a scare in the home team. Pioneer senior Kentravion Tolbert drove to the bucket with 1:46 remaining and was knocked to the deck in the process of scoring in traffic. His free throw made the score 58-55 – way too close for comfort in a game that was supposed to be one-sided.
The Chargers responded by outscoring Leavenworth 8-2 down the stretch. But there wasn’t much to celebrate after the victory.
“Leavenworth is a team that has nothing to lose,” said Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker. “They’re going to come out and play hard, because a lot of those guys are playing for playing time next year.
“For us, we were a little sluggish. We’ve got to start a little better. That’s kind of been our motto the last couple of games, we’ve got to start with a better tempo. That’s on me as the coach. I’ve got to get them going early on.”
It seemed every time the Chargers started to pull away, they lost the momentum.
“I think (in those moments) we had a little bit of a loss of concentration. Maybe just getting complacent,” Ulsaker said. “We’ve got to learn how to continue those runs, make them a little bit longer. And be more sound on defense.”
Seniors Keimani Paul and Malakyah Duncan scored 16 points apiece to lead the Chargers. Paul, who connected on 7-10 shots from the field, found some positives from the game, particularly the Chargers’ full-court pressure.
“We didn’t let them just run over us. We came out trying to play defense, trying to score,” Paul said. “We like to speed things up. (The Pioneers) couldn’t handle the pressure, so we just stayed up, got the ball back every time we turned it over.”
