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Lee Arena re-opens after 7 month-long, $8 million renovation project.

[Photo: Courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden sophomore, earned Centennial League Player of the Year.

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Ken Darting, Shawnee Heights boys basketball coach, begins the final season of his illustrious career.

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Highland Park senior, Tremaine Savage, is 1 of 3 players named as Meadownlark Conf. Tri-Defensive Players of the Year.

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Washburn senior, Austin Broadie, named MIAA Player of the Year.

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Jermaine Monroe, Highland Park football coach, name Meadowlark Conference Coach of the Year.

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Sarah Johnson, Silver Lake girls coach, named 3A Coach of the Year.

[Photo: Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN

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Rick Peterson
Rick Peterson

Washburn women set to open MIAA play at home against Lopers

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

 Washburn University women's basketball begins MIAA action at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Lee Arena, hosting Nebraska-Kearney.
 
Senior Payton Sterk is averaging a team-high points with 3-pointers for Washburn, which opens MIAA play at home Thursday against Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]Senior Payton Sterk (20) is averaging a team-high 14.3 points with 16- 3-pointers for Washburn, which opens MIAA play at home Thursday against Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]
 
Senior Yibari Nwidadah is averaging 12.3 points and a team-high rebounds for Washburn, which opens MIAA play at home Thursday against Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]Senior Yibari Nwidadah is averaging 12.2 points and a team-high 6.7  rebounds for Washburn, which opens MIAA play at home Thursday against Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is 4-2 on the season after being 2-4 at this point a year ago, but Ichabod coach Lora Westling knows there's still plenty of room for improvement for her team.
 
"Honesty, I just feel like we're making it a little harder than it needs to be right now,'' Westling said. "But that's part of the process, defining roles and having a little more consistency.
 
"I was proud of how we responded on Saturday (after a Friday loss) but we've got to figure out how to come out on top in those close games that we've lost.'' 
 
Washburn senior Yibari Nwidadah agreed.
 
"I think in our two losses there were definitely controllables, so we know what we need to work on to continue to be successful and continue on an upward trajectory,'' Nwidadah said. 
 
Nebraska-Kearney is 4-4 on the year and 0-0 in the MIAA after defeating Wayne State 69-59 last Saturday.
 

Senior Payton Sterk leads the Ichabods with a 14.3 scoring average while starting every game and playing a team-high 29.0 minutes per game. Sterk is averaging 2.2 steals and has made 16 3-pointers, which both also lead the team. She has scored 14-plus points in four games this season. Sterk ranks third in the MIAA and 34th nationally in 3-pointers, fifth in the MIAA in three-point percentage and fourth in steals.

Nwidadah averages 12.2 points in just 22.8 minutes per game and leads the team with 6.7 rebounds a game while also shooting 53.4 percent from the floor. She is first in the MIAA in field goal percentage. 

Senior Gabi Giovannetti averages 10.7 points and is shooting a team-high 44.4 percent from deep with 12 3-pointers, second most on the team. She also averages 4.5 rebounds and is second in the MIAA and 38th nationally in 3-point percentage and eighth in the conference in triples per game. 

Read more …

Rick Peterson
Rick Peterson

No. 2-ranked Washburn men's basketball to put 8-0 record on the line in MIAA opener

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The ultimate goal for Washburn University basketball this season is to make another run at an NCAA Division II championship after reaching the national semifinals a year ago.

But the immediate goal for Brett Ballard's Ichabods is to successfully defend their MIAA regular-season title, a quest that begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Lee Arena against Nebraska-Kearney.

BrettBallard2025RockhurstBrett Ballard's 8-0 Washburn Ichabods will open MIAA play Thursday at home against Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN] 

"I told our guys I don't know that the people outside of our circle appreciate it as much as we do, but winning the conference is a big, big deal for us,'' Ballard said. "It was a huge deal last year and we're going to fight like heck to do it again this year.

"If you can win this conference, that's a memory these guys will have forever, so a new season kind of starts (Thursday) and we need to try to take care of business at home.''

Washburn is 8-0 after topping the 100-point mark for the second game in a row in a 115-30 win over Ottawa last Saturday in Lee Arena, setting several school records in the process.

The Lopers enter the game with a 4-3 overall mark and have won their last three games in a row, including a 62-59 win over Wayne State (Neb.) last time out last Saturday in Kearney.

The Ichabods are 22-13 all-time in MIAA openers winning, last season's conference opener over the Lopers 87-52 in Kearney.

The Ichabods lead the nation in scoring margin in the NCAA D-II ranks at plus-35.4 points per game and third in field goal percentage at 55.1 percent.
 
Washburn is also ninth in assists per game (21.3), 10th in assist/turnover ration (1.84), seventh in effective field goal percentage (.619) and sixth in rebound margin (plus-15.3).
 
Washburn is also seventh in scoring defense (59.3 points per game), sixth in fastbreak points (23.4), eighth in defensive field goal percentage (35.7) and seventh in turnover margin (plus-7.6).
 
The Ichabods have not been out-rebounded in a game this season.

Washburn went over the 100-point mark for the 84th time in program history in its 115-30 win over Ottawa last time out.

Jack Bachelor is 11th in the nation in 3-pointers made with 22 and Dillon Claussen is eighth in the nation in field goal percentage at 71.4, leading the MIAA.
 
Bachelor and Claussen have scored in double figures in all eight games this season.
 
Jeremiah Jones is eighth in the nation in total steals with 21 and is ranked 16th in steals per game at 3.00 per contest.

The Ichabods have five Nebraska natives on their roster this season in Brady Christiansen (Lincoln), Claussen (Omaha), Marcus Glock (Wahoo), Kade Cook (Gretna) and Tayvin Zephier-Murphy (Omaha).

Tyson Ruud has scored a career-high 13 points in three of the last four games.

Read more …

Rick Peterson

Vikes ride Bonner's 37-point night to 83-75 season-opening win over No. 2 Piper

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman boys basketball had no problem getting fired up for Tuesday's 2025-2026 season-opener against Piper.

Seamanboysjube2025 6Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner (33), who scored 37 points, celebrates Tuesday's 83-75 season-opening win over No. 2 Piper with his Viking teammates. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

First of all, the Vikings got the chance to play in front of their home fans, with a big, spirited crowd showing up for the United Kansas Conference matchup.

Secondly, Seaman dropped both of its games against the Pirates last season, giving the Vikings some added incentive.

And finally, Piper entered the season with a lofty No. 2 state ranking after finishing third in Class 5A a year ago and second in 2024.

No. 9-ranked Seaman used all of those factors and a huge 37-point performance from senior star KaeVon Bonner to its advantage, rallying from an early deficit to take an 83-75 UKC decision over the Pirates.

"We were definitely fired up,'' Bonner said. "We went 0-2 against them last year and knew they were a good team and they only lost one player, so it was a good warmup game against a very good team, top in the league.

"We heard that they're ranked (second), so we wanted to take that spot and make them respect us. This a good start. We know that we can beat any team now.''

KaeVonBonner2025Piper 2Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner puts up a shot in Tuesday's 83-75 season-opening win over No. 2 Piper. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Bonner, who had scored 32 points in his last time out against Piper, was even better Tuesday, hitting 10 of 18 shot from the field with three 3-pointers and going 14 of 17 at free throw line. 

And Bonner also got plenty of help from his teammates, with senior Griffin Zuniga adding 19 points and seniors Landon Wiltz and Cameron Brian 10 points each.

Piper jumped out to 6-0, 12-3 and 15-6 leads in the early going, but the Vikings didn't lose contact, rallying to within 17-15 by the end of the opening quarter and taking a 41-40 lead at the half on a buzzer-beating bucket from Bonner.

The game remained tight through most of the third stanza before Seaman closed the quarter with an 8-2 run to take a 63-56 lead into the final period.

Seaman opened the final eight minutes with a Zuniga 3-pointer and a Bonner hoop to open up a 12-point cushion at 68-56 and the Pirates got no closer than four the rest of the way.

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