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Washburn women's gutsy effort falls short in 66-61 loss to Lopers
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Despite a 31-point night from Payton Sherk and a gutsy effort, the short-handed Washburn women's basketball team came up short in its conference opener Thursday evening, falling 66-61 on the road to Nebraska-Kearney.
Washburn junior Payton Sterk scored 31 points and hit five 3-pointers in Thursday's 66-61 MIAA loss at Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods played without injured starters Yibari Nwidadah and Madelyn Amekporfor, but were still within one possession of the Lopers until the final seconds.
The Lopers (7-2 overall, 1-0 MIAA) scored the first five points of the contest as Washburn (4-5, 0-1) was held scoreless until Emporia Rebecca Snyder got free for a layup at the 7:10 mark of the first quarter.
A pair of 3-pointers, first from Aniah Wayne and then Sterk, put the Ichabods in front 10-7 with 4:03 to play in the quarter.
In the final minutes Nebraska Kearney finished on a 10-2 run to lead 17-12 after one.
The first four points of the second quarter came from Washburn to pull within one.
WU was able to tie the game up at 19 after Snyder connected on a triple.
The Ichabods briefly went up in the final minute before half as Sterk scored two of her 15 first-half points on a jumper. A late bucket from the Lopers tied the game at 31 going into the break.
After Washburn scored the first two points out of the break the next nine went to Nebraska Kearney.
The lead reached as high as nine points as the Lopers shot 8-15 (53.3 percent) in the quarter before Sterk had the final seven points of the quarter for the Ichabods as they trailed 51-43 with 10 minutes to go.
Washburn was scoreless for the first two minutes of the first quarter but quickly went on a 10-2 run and tied the game at 53 after Sterk knocked down a triple with 5:48 to play.
Brooke Gomez connected on a pair of free throws to tie things back up under the five-minute mark but the next five points went to the Lopers.
Defense created opportunities, as UNK shot just 3-13 in the quarter, and Sterk drained two more 3-pointers in the final three minutes to pull within two each time.
Nebraska-Kearney was able to respond each time, as the Lopers held onto the lead, shooting 8-12 at the line in the quarter to take the five-point victory.
Hayden, Seaman headline 2024 TopSports.news All-Shawnee County football team
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden, which advanced to the Class 3A state championship game for the second straight season, and 5A quarterfinalist and United Kansas Conference champion Seaman combined for 10 Top 22 spots to lead the TopSports.news' 2024 All-Shawnee County football team.
Hayden, which posted a 11-2 record this fall, is represented on the Top 22 by senior three-time honoree Jensen Schrickel along with seniors Broderick Desch, Treyton Tetuan and Jett Wahlmeier and juniors Jude Krentz and Kade while Seaman, 8-3 on the year, put seniors Briar Finley, Max Huston and Kaden Jordan and junior Cameron Brian on the Top 22.
Seaman quarterback Huston and wide receiver Finley were named the Shawnee County co-offensive players of the year while Jordan, a nose tackle, was named the county defensive player of the year and Brian was selected as the defensive newcomer of the year.
Hayden's Schrickel was selected as the Shawnee County all-purpose athlete of the year while Wildcat coach Bill Arnold, now 222-68 as a head coach, was named the county coach of the year.
Shawnee Heights junior quarterback Aiden Scott was a Top 22 pick and selected as the county offensive newcomer of the year after throwing for more than 3,100 yards.
Washburn Rural senior safety Kingston Leonard joins Schrickel and Huston as All-Shawnee County Top 22 repeat selections while the Junior Blues are also represented on the Top 22 by senior linemen Caden Estrada and Jacob Hawks.
Shawnee Heights also put junior Tyren Parker on the all-county Top 22, while 1A semifinalist Rossville is represented by senior Tayson Horak and junior Conner Bush, Silver Lake by senior Braden Strausbaugh and junior Dayne Johnson, Highland Park by seniors Ricky Crawford and Jamon Wilson and Topeka High by senior Jayden Norman.
All 10 Shawnee County high schools have representatives on either the Top 22, Second 22 or honorable mention list. Five county teams won at least six games this fall, with four winning at least one playoff contest.
TopSports.news selected the 2024 All-Shawnee County team after receiving input from county head coaches.
All-Shawnee County Top 22 capsules:
Ichabod volleyball to kick off 18th NCAA tournament appearance against familiar foe Nebraska-Kearney
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University volleyball will begin its 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed in the Central Region, facing No. 3 seed and MIAA rival Nebraska-Kearney at 11 a.m. Thursday in St. Cloud, Minn. in a tournament quarterfinal.
Washburn volleyball will take a 20-7 record into its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance on Thursday in St. Cloud, Minn. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods begin the national tournament with a 20-7 record while Nebraska-Kearney is 30-2.
Thursday's match will be the third of the season between WU and UNK, with the Lopers taking a 3-0 win at home and a 3-2 win over the Ichabods in Lee Arena.
Washburn was knocked out of the MIAA Championship Tournament with a 3-1 quarterfinal round loss to Northwest Missouri on Nov. 21 while the Lopers went 15-1 in the MIAA regular season and came up short in the MIAA Championship Tournament final, falling to Central Oklahoma 3-1 on Nov. 23.
Washburn, which had made all 18 of its NCAA tournament appearances under coach Chris Herron, is 20-17 all-time in the national tournament and 8-9 in the opening round.
With a win in the first round the Ichabods would take on the quarterfinal winner between No. 2 seed Central Oklahoma and No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State at 4 p.m. on Friday.
