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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University men's basketball continued its perfect start to the 2025-2026 season on Tuesday in San Antonio, taking a 78-66 win over then-No. 4 Lubbock Christian in the Ichabods' first of two games in the River City Classic.

Senior Brady Christiansen scored a career-high 21 points Tuesday as Washburn rolled to a 78-66 win over Lubbock Christian. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Moments after Tuesday's win over the Chapparals, 12-0 Washburn jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 in the national rankings. The Ichabods had been ranked No. 2 in every poll this season, but moved up to the top spot after Nova Southeastern fell to Palm Beach Atlantic last time out.

The Ichabods have been ranked in the top 10 in the last 19 polls dating back to last year and in the top five in the last 17 consecutive polls.

Washburn seized control early against Lubbock Christian behind hot perimeter shooting and strong work on the glass, shooting 58.6 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from 3-point range in the opening half.

A pair of late 3-pointers helped Washburn turn a tight contest into a 43-34 halftime lead.

Washburn pushed the advantage to as many as 15 points early in the second half, using a 9-0 run capped by a fast-break finish and a second-chance three to take firm control at 53-38 with 15:43 remaining.

Lubbock Christian (9-2) trimmed the margin to four midway through the half, but the Ichabods responded by closing out the game on a 19-11 spurt, jump-started by a 3-pointer from Marcus Glock with 6:33 to play.

For the game, Washburn shot 46.6 percent from the field and an efficient 44.4 percent from beyond the arc, knocking down 12 3-pointers.

The Ichabods also capitalized at the foul line, hitting 12 of 16 free throws, while also earning an advantage in fastbreak points (16–5) and second-chance points (11–0).

Washburn finished with 32 rebounds and forced 14 turnovers, converting those miscues into 14 points.

Senior Brady Christiansen led the way for Washburn with a career-high 21 points on 6 of 12 shooting, including three triples, while going a perfect 6 for 6 at the free throw line and adding five rebounds.

Junior Jack Bachelor is now two points away from 1,000 career points after scoring 20 in Tuesday's 78-66 Washburn win over Lubbock Christian. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]  

Junior Jack Bachelor added 20 points and drilled 5 of 8 attempts from 3-point range while also contributing four assists and three steals. Bachelor moved within two points of becoming the 28th member of the Washburn 1,000 point, lifting his career total to 998 points in 76 career games.

Sophomore Dillon Claussen posted 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting while adding six rebounds and three assists.

Junior Jeremiah Jones had eight points, a career-high nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Lubbock Christian was led by Antonio Pusateri with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Amondo Miller Jr. added 16 points and nine boards.

On Wednesday, the Ichabods will face No. 4-ranked West Texas A&M at 1 p.m. in their second game in the River City Classic.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Rossville head football coach Derick Hammes has been named an East assistant coach for the the 2026 Kansas Shrine Bowl, which will be played in Emporia.

Rossville football coach Derick Hammes has been selected to coach in his fourth Kansas Shrine Bowl in 2026. [File photo/TSN]

Hammes, who led Rossville to an 11-2 record and a runnerup finish in Class 1A this past season, will be coaching in his fourth Shrine Bowl, serving as the East head coach in 2017 and as an assistant in 2016 and 2022.

Hammes, who has a career coaching record of 154-85, also played in the game in 1989.

“I'm excited to get to coach the "best of the best" as I have another opportunity to be involved in the Kansas Shrine Bowl,'' Hammes said in a Shrine Bowl release. "Most importantly, I'm honored to get the chance to help the Shrine Bowl achieve its mission of helping children in need.” 

The East team will be led by Mike Berg (Wellsville), who was announced earlier this summer as the 2026 head coach.

In addition to Hammes, other East assistants include Kurt Webster (Shawnee Mission Northwest), Rod Stallbaumer (Basehor-Linwood), Bradley Argabright (Labette County), Greg Slade (Santa Fe Trail) and Andrew Gantenbein (Osage City).

The West team will be led by head coach Daniel Myears (Mulvane) and his staff will include Randall Zimmerman (Junction City), Erin Beck (Great Bend), Dawson Elliott (Augusta), Brent Hoelting (Pratt), Todd Rice (Garden Plain) and Brent Schneider (Sterling).

“We’re always grateful for the sacrifice these coaches make by taking time away from their own programs and their families to be a part of the Kansas Shrine Bowl experience,” said Brice Kesler, executive director of the Kansas Shrine Bowl. “We certainly couldn’t have the quality of football game that we get without this outstanding coaching talent, but these men also provide tremendous leadership to the players and serve as great ambassadors for the mission of the Kansas Shrine Bowl.”

The 53rd Kansas Shrine Bowl will be played at Welch Stadium on the campus of Emporia State University at 7 p.m. on June 27.

The initial rosters for the game will be announced during the annual Kansas Shrine Bowl Player Selection Show, which is set to air at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11th, 2026. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

There was very little that Washburn University women's basketball coach Lora Westling was happy about at halftime of Tuesday's home non-conference game against Truman State and Westling imparted that displeasure to her team in no uncertain terms.

Junior Britany Kogbara scored a team-high 18 points in her first Washburn start, helping lead the Ichabods to a 68-52 win over Truman State. {Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

And although Westling didn't get everything she was looking for out of her team in the second half, the Ichabods did plenty enough to take control on the way to a 68-52 victory in Lee Arena while improving to 7-3 on the season.

"It's sad that with the experienced group that we have, with that many seniors, that I have to raise my voice like that to get any sort of response,'' Westling said. "It's disappointing, but I'm glad it worked. Aniah (Wayne) came out and had a great second half with effort and I thought Britany (Kogbara) wanted the ball a little more, but we still didn't get as much as we needed.

"We had a great opportunity for some players to step up and show some things tonight and that level of effort and execution is just not to the standard that we've set here.''   

Early offense built a lead in the opening minutes for Washburn as the Ichabods led 9-6 after Kogbara, a junior, got a layup to go.

But the next six points went to the Bulldogs (4-6) to go in front. The Ichabods finished the opening quarter on a 5-0 run and led 16-14 after a 3-pointer by Wayne, a senior, with 32 seconds left in the quarter.  

Washburn extended its lead to 21-14 after senior Gabi Giovannetti connected from deep, but the Ichabod offense went cold and was held scoreless for the next five minutes as Truman State pulled within two.

The lead went back to the Bulldogs in the final minute before half as they went into the locker room leading 28-27 after both teams shot under 30 percent in the half. 

Washburn shot 28.6 percent in the second quarter while committing 12 first-half turnovers and giving up 18 first-half points to Truman State's Emajin McCallop, a former Ichabod. 

But Washburn came out of the break with the first five points to go in front and the lead quickly grew to double-digits with a triple by junior Madelyn Amekporfor at the 3:26 mark of the third quarter as part of a 15-0 run.

The Ichabods hit 8 of 15 shots in the third while holding the Bulldogs to 25 percent shooting and led 47-35 heading to the fourth quarter.  

The Washburn offense continued to churn in the fourth as the Ichabod lead reached 24 points before Truman State cut its final deficit to 16 points.

"I think we're very capable of bouncing back from adversity,'' Wayne said. "I think we kind of were shocked in the first half, but I think as a team we made sure to get in tight huddles and just know that we could do it and play our game.

"We had a big bounce back in the third quarter and that really set the tone for the rest of the game.''  

After a 41-point second half the Ichabods shot 43.5 percent for the game while holding the Bulldogs to 18-57 (31.6 percent) shooting overall. 

The rebounding battle was won 44-29 by Washburn, which led 42-24 in paint scoring as well.

Kogbara, making her first start for the Ichabods in the absence of injured senior star Yibari Nwidadah, led four players in double figures for the Ichabods with 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting while also adding five rebounds and two blocks.

"I wasn't nervous coming in,'' Kogbara said. "I've been in this position before and just knew I had to be aggressive.

"Me and Yibari, we've been competing since Day 1 in practice and we're different players, but we're kind of similar in many ways. I really love how she's been competing with me and she pretty much prepared me for this moment.'' 

Amekporfor had 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting while Giovannetti chippped in 12 points and senior Payton Sterk finished with 10.

Senior Aniah Wayne grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds with 7 points and four steals in Tuesday's 68-52 Washburn win over Truman State. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Wayne scored seven points while adding a career and game-high 10 rebounds and registering four steals. 

"We've emphasized rebounding in practice and we know it can be a game changer,'' Wayne said. "Rebounding was big in this game and I think taking on that role was very important and just knowing that I could do it.''

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