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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University women's basketball makes its return to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed in the Central Region, where the Ichabods will square off with the No. 4 seed Central Missouri for a fourth time this season and the second straight game at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Mankato, Minn.

Washburn is back in the NCAA Tournament field for the 18th time in program history and the first time since the 2012-2013 season.

Washburn women's basketball celebrates its MIAA Tournament championship with a team dogpile after Sunday's 53-44 win over top seed Central Missouri. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

Friday's Washburn-Central Missouri game is a rematch of Sunday's MIAA Tournament championship game, won by the Ichabods, 53-44.

And while playing the Jennies again in just five days is not a ideal situation, Washburn junior Madelyn Amekporfor said the Ichabods will be trying to duplicate the performance they put together on Sunday.

"I think when we played them on Sunday in the championship, that was one of the best defensive games we've had all year and it was fun honestly, playing together, playing for each other,'' Amekporfor said. "It was so fun, so I know that it's not ideal but we're excited for that challenge and excited to go out and do it again and hopefully execute our game plan even better than we did on Sunday because I know we're ready for it.''

Washburn, now 24-7, won its 10th MIAA Tournament championship in program history.

Central Missouri heads to the NCAA Tournament with a 25-6 record overall after going 17-2 inside the MIAA. The Jennies' loss to Washburn snapped a 13-game UCM winning streak.

Sunday's win came after the Jennies had topped Washburn twice in the regular season and Amekporfor knows Friday will be another battle.

"We definitely know what's at stake and we're wanting to succeed so much for our seniors because they've done so much for this program,'' Amekporfor said. "They just give it their all every day, so I know making it to the national tournament was big for them, big for us and big for our program.

"I think UCM is going to be a great first game for us just because we have our heads up from this weekend and we know what we have to do to beat them. We know we have to execute and give it our all, so I think we're very confident now.'' 

Washburn coach Lora Westling said the Ichabods' goals this weekend would be the same no matter who they drew in the regional.

"We've told our players it doesn't matter who you play, it's about you and how well you execute and perform, how ready you can be for the day at hand,'' Westling said. "That's no different if its Central Missouri or whoever else we would have gotten lined up with. The approach is no different.

"I think that's what we've been focusing on is just it's business as usual for how we're preparing.''  

The Ichabods are 26-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 23-12 in the Central Region Tournament. Washburn is 9-3 in the opening round game of the regional. 

The NCAA Central Region Tournament will be held between Friday and Sunday in the Taylor Center. The championship game is set for 7 p.m. on Monday, March 16.

With a win on Friday, the Ichabods would face the winner of the quarterfinal game between No. 1 seed Minnesota State and No. 8 Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.

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By NATHAN SWAFFAR

Topsports.news

WICHITA – For the second straight season, Rossville once again found itself with an opportunity to advance within only two victories of a state title. 

Senior Jakoby McDonnell led Rossville with 14 points in Wednesday's Class 2A quarterfinal loss to Berean Academy. [File photo/TSN]

Unfortunately for the Bulldawgs, the 2026 season ended in the same place it did in 2025.

Rossville’s 17-8 season concluded in the Class 2A boys state quarterfinals once again on Wednesday as Berean Academy took home a 55-38 victory at Friends University. 

As a team, the Bulldawgs shot 40 percent from the field, but their offense struggled to reach the levels it had during the regular season.

Berean (23-2) zeroed in on Rossville senior standout Jack Donovan, allowing him little space and even fewer scoring opportunities. All in all, the Warriors held Donovan scoreless on only eight shot attempts throughout the quarterfinal contest.   

“It’s hard to beat a good team that talk and they did both, kudos to them,” Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell said. “We didn’t make an adjustment on our side and we kind of got flustered. Once you get flustered, it’s human nature; it’s kind of hard to dig yourself out of a hole.” 

The defensive slugfest got going immediately, as the Bulldawgs and Warriors refused to give up an inch of space. However, thanks to a last-second shot at the buzzer from Wyatt Friesen, the Warriors took a 9-7 lead into the second quarter. 

Turnovers became a nagging problem for Rossville over the next eight-minute period. Carelessness and the Warriors’ relentless defense culminated in seven giveaways by the Bulldawgs, directly leading to seven points from those turnovers. They finished the half with nine giveaways and ended the game with 11 total. 

McDonnell said the turnover issues were as much a credit to the Warriors’ defense as they were to careless ball security from the Bulldawgs.  

“This is state, the butterflies are different, the thought process is different, the environment is different,” McDonnell said. “When you mix all that together, you're going to have some slippage. And our problem is that we had too much of the slippage, and then they converted off of it.”   

And Rossville’s struggles on the offensive side were no better, ending the second quarter with only five points with a 22.2 shooting percentage. However, Berean couldn’t take full advantage as it dealt with its own offensive struggles, but still took a 20-12 advantage into the locker room.

Even though both teams shot under 30 percent in the first half, the Warriors had far more offensive opportunities, outshooting the Bulldawgs by 10 attempts.  

Out of halftime, both teams found a better offensive rhythm. Rossville finished the third quarter with a much improved 67.7% mark from the floor, but Berean wasn’t far behind, shooting over 50%.

In addition, the Warriors inflicted greater damage thanks to multiple made 3s and seven made free throws. That extended their lead to double-digits with a 35-24 advantage with one quarter to go. 

Over the final eight minutes, the Bulldawgs struggled to find a way back into the affair. The Warriors kept them at a distance and closed things out to advance to Friday night’s semifinals. 

Jakoby McDonnell led the Bulldawgs with 14 points to go along with three rebounds and assists. Cameron Miller also finished in double figures with 10 points.

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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

WICHITA -- The Topeka High Lady Trojans were experiencing the state tournament for the first time since 2022 Tuesday, but they certainly didn’t look like a team new to the stage.

Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton led Topeka High with 17 points in Tuesday's 61-58 state tournament loss to Derby. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Topeka High gave No. 2 Derby a battle to the very end in the Class 6A quarterfinal at Koch Arena, dropping a 61-58 heartbreaker to finish its season 17-8.

The Trojans lost to Derby (22-3) for the second time on the season after dropping a 65-57 decision to the Panthers in the Capital City Classic back in January.

Both teams came out of the gate Tuesday struggling to find the basket.

Derby opened the scoring with a free throw to make it 1-0, but that would be the only point scored for nearly two minutes.

Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker called a 30-second timeout and the Trojans responded immediately.

Sophomore Hailey Caryl scored 15 points in Tuesday's 61-58 Topeka High state tournament loss to Derby. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Hailey Caryl scored inside, drew the foul, and completed the three-point play to give High an early 3-1 lead.

The teams traded baskets through the rest of the quarter. Derby tied the game at 10-10 with a shot at the rim before Caryl answered with another basket.

Topeka High’s leading scorer, Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton, had been held scoreless for most of the opening period, but with 43 seconds left she knocked down a shot to give the Trojans a 16-12 lead.

At the end of the first quarter, Topeka High held a narrow 16-15 advantage.

Derby opened the second quarter with three quick points to take the lead, but Rayton responded with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 19-19.

Late in the quarter, with the Trojans trailing 30-26, Topeka High went on a run.

Sasha Gotru scored inside, Rayton added a basket and Caryl knocked down two free throws. Gotru then scored again with just 0.3 seconds left before halftime, capping an 8-0 run that gave the Trojans a 34-30 lead at the break.

Derby came out of the locker room on fire, opening the third quarter with a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead at 36-34.

Senior Keimara Marshall had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 61-58 Topeka High state tournament loss to Derby. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

High's Keimara Marshall answered with a basket in the paint to tie the game. The Trojans then responded with a 7-0 run to push their lead to 41-36.

Derby star Macayla Askew went to work, scoring five quick points to cut into the deficit.

Topeka High held on to a slim 48-46 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Derby opened the final period with five straight points to take a 51-48 lead.

The Trojans tied the game at 51-51 before Askew hit a 3-pointer to give the Panthers another advantage.

With 43.5 seconds remaining, Caryl attacked the rim and was fouled. She calmly sank both free throws to cut the deficit to 59-58.

Topeka High was forced to foul, and Derby knocked down both free throws to extend the lead to three, 61-58.

The Trojans still had one last chance. Marshall brought the ball up the floor but didn’t have a clean look and passed to Trisha Short.

Short swung the ball to Rayton, who appeared ready to launch a potential game-tying three.

However, the buzzer sounded just before she could get the shot off, ending the Trojans’ season as Derby advanced to Thursday's semifinals.

Topeka High relied heavily on its starters throughout the game. Marshall and Caryl each played all 32 minutes, while Rayton and Short played 30 minutes apiece. Despite the heavy workload, they still had energy in the final moments.

“We have asked a lot of those five all year,” Slaymaker said. “They’ve had to play major minutes in every game because we are not deep.

"I'm very, very proud of their effort. I’ve been proud of them for 11 games in a row. We damn near got this one.”

Slaymaker reflected on the team’s journey throughout the season.

“We dug a hole early. We were 0-4 to begin the season, and Caryl had a pretty bad ankle sprain,” Slaymaker said. “A lot of teams start 0-4 and end up 0-8, thinking their season is over. But we didn’t think that way.

"After our tournament in January we had a meeting -- not a chewing type meeting -- just telling them we could still do this. And then we went on that 11-game run against some pretty good competition.''

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