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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Shawnee Heights girls relied on some new contributors to lead them past De Soto 64-46 at home Tuesday to improve to 4-1 in the United Kansas Conference.

Junior Pearmella Carter scored a game-high 19 points in Tuesday's 64-46 Shawnee Heights UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

With one minute remaining in the first period, the sluggish T-Birds found themselves in a 9-4 hole. But Reianna Vega dropped a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, which sparked a 22-point run over the next seven minutes. By halftime, the T-Birds had built a commanding 32-14 lead.

Shawnee Heights made that run with its usual scoring leader on the bench. KK Emmot, who averages 18 points per game, tallied just one bucket in the first half before being sidelined with two personal fouls. She returned in the second half, but did not score again.

Senior Imani McGlory and juniors Pearmela Carter and Sami Baum, none of whom played at Shawnee Heights last year, picked up the slack. Carter led the T-Birds with 19 points while Baum and McGlory added 15 and 14 apiece.

“We needed them to step up, and they did it within the execution of the team,” Shawnee Heights coach Bob 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.”

One of the team’s three senior returners, Vega chipped in 13 points. She said the team responded when Emmot left early in the second period.

“I think all of us, with KK being out, we made sure we were spreading the floor and then each of us was able to drive the lane and do what we’re good at,” Vega said. “In practice, we’ve really worked on spreading out of offense because we tend to get really tight.”

The T-Bird offense had a very efficient night, hitting 23-51 field goal attempts and 12-15 free throws. Baum contributed three of the team’s six three-pointers.

“It helped that our girls were mentally prepared that (De Soto) was going to come out and try to be physical and try to hang on to us when we were cutting and doing things like that,” Wells said. “It didn’t get to us. We played through it and kept playing hard.”

After dropping three tough games in the first two weeks of the season, the T-Birds have won four straight.

“I feel like the season is getting better,” Vega said. “I feel like we’re on the rise and we’re going to keep going from there.”

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS 64, DE SOTO 46

De Soto                 9 5  13 19 -- 46

Shawnee Heights 7 25 18 14 -- 64

De Soto (2-4, 1-2) – C. Leis 1-5 0-4 2, O’Brien 4-7 1-3 10, Cinotto 0-0 2-2 2, M. Leis 3-10 7-7 14, Chappel 3-6 1-1 8, Bush 1-3 0-0 3, Gulley 1-2 0-0 2, Stapp 1-1 0-0 2, Green 1-1 0-0 3, Major 0-2 0-0 0, Reiswig 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-37 11-17 46.

Shawnee Heights (5-3, 4-1) – Emmot 1-9 0-0 2, McGlory 5-8 2-2 14, Carter 6-12 7-9 19, Baum 5-9 2-2 15, Vega 6-12 0-0 13, Hamilton 0-1 0-0 0, Schmidt 0-0 1-2 1, Brees 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-51 12-15 64.

3-point goals – De Soto 5 (O’Brien 1, M. Leis 1, Chappel 1, Bush 1, Green 1), Shawnee Heights 6 (McGlory 2, Baun 3, Vega 1). Total fouls – De Soto 16, Shawnee Heights 15. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None. 

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Foul trouble and two long scoreless stretches foiled the Shawnee Heights boys’ attempt at a comeback win over De Soto Tuesday at Shawnee Heights. The T-Birds fell to the Wildcats, 51-50.

Ken Darting's Shawnee Heights boys came up just short in Tuesday's comeback bid, falling 51-50 to De Soto. [File photo/TSN]

Shuffling due to foul trouble and going to young, inexperienced players, coach Ken Darting nearly led the T-Birds to a come-from-behind win. But a last-second desperation shot produced by wild full-court pressure came up just short.

“It was a great game between two pretty good teams. But we were always playing uphill,” Darting said. “We did a poor job of getting the right people shooting. We got back in the game with defense, but then we became a 3-point shooting team instead of getting the ball in.”

Shawnee Heights trailed by just one point, 34-33, at halftime. But the T-Birds did not score for the first four minutes of the third period. After a five-point T-Bird run tied the game at 38-38, Shawnee Heights went back into a funk. They went another six minutes – three minutes into the fourth period – without scoring.

The T-Birds trailed 47-38 with five minutes remaining in the game. They cranked up the full-court pressure and came roaring back, outscoring the visitors 9-2 over the next three minutes. Freshman Quincy Dixon dropped a 3-pointer to cut the Wildcat lead to 49-47 with 2:10 left. Then Aiden Scott tied the game at 50-50 with a 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining.

But the T-Birds were unable to capitalize on the momentum. They fouled Wildcat senior Brayan Salas with 15 seconds left. He hit one of his two foul attempts, leaving the T-Birds to scramble for a final shot. A designed play failed. Shawnee Heights recovered a loose ball but a desperate heave at the buzzer just missed.

“We had two or three opportunities to take the lead, make them have to make the decision. We just about pulled it off,” Darting said.

Leading the T-Birds was Cam Ross with 12 points, followed by Dixon’s 11. Starters Scott, Ja’Veon Alston and Dae’Veon Cook each scored eight points apiece.

Pacing the Wildcats was Salas, who hit 5-9 field goal attempts, including four 3-pointers.

De Soto’s starting five was a mixed bag, but the Wildcats got key buckets from their reserves. Players off the De Soto bench hit 4-7 shots and 6-8 free throws to contribute 17 points. Darting got good effort from his reserves, but just three points.

“Our margin of error is small, and until we get everybody going in the right direction, we’re gonna keep coming up short,” Darting said. “We’re going to be in every game, but against the top echelon, it’s gonna be like this.”

DE SOTO BOYS 51, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 50

De Soto                 24 10 9 8 -- 51

Shawnee Heights 17 16 5 12 -- 50

De Soto (3-3, 1-2) – Patterson 2-10 0-0 4, Dickerson 2-10 3-4 7, Morayah 1-1 0-0 2, Waite 2-6 1-3 5, Salas 5-9 2-4 16, Krier 0-1 2-2 2, Rapp 1-2 0-0 3, Brady 1-2 4-6 7, Morton 2-2 0-0 5. Totals: 16-43 12-19 51.

Shawnee Heights (3-4, 2-3) – Alston 3-6 2-2 8, Cook 3-8 1-2 8, Ross 4-16 4-6 12, Scott 3-5 0-0 8, Dixon 5-8 0-1 11, Becker 1-2 1-2 3, Terrell 0-1 0-0 0, Vega 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 8-13 50.

3-point goals – De Soto 7 (Salas 4, Rapp 1, Brady 1, Morton 1), Shawnee Heights 4 (Scott 2, Cook 1, Dixon 1). Total fouls – De Soto 15, Shawnee Heights 23. Fouled out – Scott. Technical fouls – Alston. 

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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