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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

A night after suffering their first loss of the season, the No. 2-ranked Topeka West boys bounced back Tuesday with a 74-47 United Kansas Conference road win at Leavenworth.

Senior Gad Munganga scored a career-high 26 points with eight 3-pointers in Tuesday's 74-47 UKC win at Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN] 

The Chargers, who dropped a 53-49 road decision at Lawrence Free State on Monday, led by just a 30-22 margin at halftime, but put the game out of reach with a 31-15 third-quarter blitz and closed out the 27-point victory with a 13-10 edge over the final eight minutes.

Senior guard Gad Munganga had a career night for the Chargers (6-1 overall, 5-0 in the UKC), scoring 26 points with eight 3-pointers.

Senior Malakyah Duncan and junior Prince Lassiter both added 13 points for West while senior Keimani Paul scored nine points.

Topeka West will return to action Friday with a UKC contest at Basehor-Linwood.

Pioneers top Lady Chargers, 49-35

Topeka West's girls dropped a 49-35 United Kansas Conference decision at Leavenworth Tuesday night, falling to 1-6 on the season and remaining winless in league play.

The Chargers will be back on the road Friday, traveling to Basehor-Linwood.

Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 29 points for Topeka High in Tuesday's 65-47 victory at Lawrence [File photo/TSN]

Topeka High girls post third straight win

Topeka High's girls stretched their winning streak to three games Tuesday night with their third straight double-digit victory, a 65-47 non-league road decision at Lawrence.

Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton led the Trojans with 29 points while Keimara Marshall added 15 points and Trish Short 13 while Hailey Caryl had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.

Topeka High, now 3-4 on the season, will be back at home on Friday, hosting Manhattan in a Centennial League game.

Trojan boys top Lawrence in nailbiter

Topeka High's boys took a tight 66-65 non-league road win at Lawrence Tuesday night, improving to 4-3 on the season.

The Trojans will open their Centennial League season on Friday, hosting Manhattan.

Junior Blue boys improve to 6-2

Defending Centennial League boys champion Washburn Rural opened defense of its league title with a 50-45 road win Tuesday night at Junction City.

Senior Kieffer O'Connor led the Junior Blues with 16 points while senior Simon Rowley added 11 points. Senior John Hoytal led Washburn Rural with seven rebounds.

The Junior Blues led 17-11 at the end of the first quarter and 29-25 at halftime. The game remained close the rest of the way, with Rural outscoring the 4-3 Blue Jays 21-20 in the second half to stretch its winning streak to five games.

Washburn will be back at home on Friday, hosting Hayden in a league game.

Lady Blues get back on track with 68-32 rout

Washburn Rural, which dropped a 50-25 non-league game to Olathe North on Monday, got back on track in a big way Tuesday night, rolling to a 68-32 road win over Junction City in the Junior Blues' Centennial League opener.

Now 5-2 on the season, Rural will be back at home Friday to host Hayden in a Centennial League contest.

Senior Cameron Miller scored 26 points in Rossville's 73-42 win over Jefferson West Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]

Miller powers Bulldawg boys to 73-42 win over Jeff West

Senior Cameron Miller scored 26 points Tuesday night as Rossville improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big East League with a 73-42 road win at Jefferson West.

Senior Jack Donovan backed Miller with 16 points while Jakoby McDonnell scored 13 points and Cael Horgan 11.

Rossville will travel to Hiawatha Friday for a Big East matchup.

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Sometimes talent isn’t as important as chemistry. Shawnee Heights girls basketball coach Bob Wells could see his team had talent. But he had to wonder about the chemistry when Heights added three newcomers this winter who were most likely to start and play big roles for the T-Birds.

Pearmella Carter, Shawnee Heights

Imani McGlory, Shawnee Heights

Sami Baum, Shawnee Heights

The T-Birds made a run at the Class 5A State Tournament last season that came up just short, a loss to Piper in the sub-state finals. Wells wanted to build on that success, which was spearheaded by then-sophomore guard KK Emmot.

Emmot returned, as did versatile forward Reianna Vega, but the T-Birds lost Kaydence Torrez to graduation and Tayler Hanshaw, a current senior who is out with an injury, in addition to a couple of other key graduates. Wells would need to find athleticism, size, scoring and leadership if the T-Birds were to continue their run of success.

Into the gym this November walked three new players who brought those qualities, plus experience. An added benefit was that the three were a known commodity. For the most part, they knew each other and the returning T-Birds knew them.

Joining the T-Birds were senior Imani McGlory, a sharpshooting transfer from Topeka West, junior Pearmela Carter, a skilled scorer from Highland Park, and junior Sami Baum, a long wing who played for the NEK homeschool team.

Wells liked what he saw, but couldn’t be sure how well the group would work together.

“Without a doubt I wondered, ‘How are they going to jell together?’” Wells said after Tuesday’s 64-46 T-Bird win over De Soto. “They all knew each other when they were young kids, but that was when they were playing ‘bitty ball.’ Now they’re playing high-speed ball.”

Wells said after the T-Birds’first home game that the new T-Birds faced a tough learning curve but were growing. He said the team’s returners were helping to smooth the transition.

One month later – in its eighth game of the season – the new crew was called upon to step up under adversity. Facing De Soto Tuesday, Emmot was sent to the bench with early fouls. Averaging 18 points per game for the season, the junior spent much of the night on the sideline and managed just two points in the game. Someone would have to take up the slack.

The pressure was on the trio of newcomers, and they rose to the occassion. Carter, a powerful forward with a soft touch around the goal, scored 19 to lead the T-Birds. Baum knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. McGlory tossed in 14. The trio hit 16-29 shots from the field and 11-13 from the line.

The result was the T-Birds' fourth straight win as Heights improved to 5-3 on the season.

“We needed them to step up, and they did it within the execution of the team,” Wells said. “That’s what I was most impressed with. They were getting the shots we want them to get. It was really fun seeing them all step up and hit shots and rebound and play solid on defense.”

Was it the natural progression of players becoming more comfortable in the system that caused the trio to bloom Tuesday, or was it the absence of their scoring leader?

“It was probably a little bit of both,” Wells said. “They realized KK was not (in the game), I’ve got to step up a little bit here, and they did. And now they know they can do it.

“We’ve had so many games and so little practice time where they can get out there and really work together and start to feel like they know what’s going on. They’re starting to play without thinking instead of having to think about what they’re doing out there.”

Vega said familiarity with the new girls was key. Once they were in the program, it was a matter of embracing roles.

“We had seen them come from different places and we know what they are best at,” said Vega, who scored 13 points against De Soto. “So, we just fit them into the roster and let them do what they had to do. If they didn’t get it right, we explained to them how we do certain things. Eventually we were all on the same page and we are all learning together now at this point.”

Carter came to the T-Birds with the most familiarity. She knew both McGlory and Baum, who didn’t know each other. She also was friends with most of the returning T-Birds. Carter had shouldered a heavy load at Highland Park as a sophomore, serving as the Scots’ primary scoring option.

“I actually like (my role here) because the whole team is playing together and the whole team is scoring,” Carter said. “It’s like a group effort. Everybody’s cheering for each other, not getting jealous of each other. I went to Shawnee Heights Middle School, so it’s kind of like playing with old friends.”

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Details

Created: 05 January 2026

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

As we wade into the first full week of a new year, it's natural to get excited about the future.

But while we look ahead to 2026, it’s also important that we don't forget those we lost in 2025.

In '25 we said goodbye to Bob Uecker (baseball). George Foreman (boxing), D. Wayne Lukas (horse racing), Dave Parker (baseball), Ryne Sandberg (baseball), Davey Johnson (baseball), Ken Dryden (hockey), Bob Trumpy (football), Lenny Wilkens (basketball), Fuzzy Zoeller (golf) and Greg Biffle (auto racing), but the losses were also felt close to home.

Longtime local radio broadaster and TopSports.news founder Bill Griffin passed away at the age of 69 just 20 days into 2025 while WIBW, Kansas state and University of Nebraska broadcaster Greg Sharpe passed away on Feb. 14 at the age of 61.

The year was also marked by the passing of Hayden Hall of Famer Rick Strecker on June 28 at 67 years old, Washburn University basketball Hall of Famer Ryan Murphy on July 9 at 45 years old and Hayden Hall of Famer Tom Stringer on Nov. 28 at the age of 64 .

Here’s a brief look at the legacy the five Topeka sports figures left:

BILL GRIFFIN

TopSports.news founder and longtime local radio broadcaster Bill Griffin passed away on Jan. 20, 2025 at the age of 69 after a 10-month battle with esophageal cancer.

Bill Griffin, who passed away Monday at the age of 69, was recognized during a 2022 Washburn University football game in Yager Stadium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Griffin grew up in the greater Kansas City area and played baseball and football at the University of Kansas before carving out a long multi-faceted business career in Topeka, including a stint as the general manager of the Heartland Park Topeka racing facility.  

It was Griffin's brainchild in 2020 to launch TopSports.news, a website dedicated to Shawnee County high school and Washburn University sports, and he was the heart and soul of the organization from its debut on Jan. 1, 2021.

Griffin also put together a 30-year career broadcasting high school sports with Hall of Famer Mike Manns, with Griffin continuing to broadcast games during his cancer fight, working his final high school basketball doubleheader six days prior to his death.

Manns said his longtime broadcast partner was a perfectionist in everything he did.

"Even if he made a little mistake he just knocked himself out, feeling bad about making a mistake and making sure he never ever made that mistake again,'' Manns said. "He told me one time, 'This is something I really enjoy, I love doing games and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else with my life right now than doing games.' '' 

GREG SHARPE

RICK STRECKER

Rick Strecker, a member of Hayden Catholic High School's first class of inductees into the school's Hall of Fame in 2021, passed away on June 28 at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Rick Strecker, who led Hayden to five state titles and served his alma mater in a variety of roles, passed away on June 28 after a battle with cancer. [File photo/TSN]

A 1976 Hayden graduate, Strecker served his alma mater as a physics and chemistry teacher, state championship coach, athletic director, principal and the school's president for nearly two decades before moving on to Blue Valley West in 2016.

Strecker, the student council president and athlete of the year as a senior at Hayden, led the Wildcats to three Class 4A  state championships in girls basketball and two in track during his coaching career at the school.

Strecker continued to teach and coach in multiple sports at Blue Valley West, including serving as the Jaguars' head girls basketball coach, until being forced to step away after receiving his cancer diagnosis early in 2025.

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