Capital Classic: Derby snaps T-Birds' 10-game win streak with dominating performance
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Derby bested Shawnee Heights in every way, shape and form in Friday night's Capital City Classic semifinal at Topeka High, with the Panthers ending the T-Birds' 10-game winning streak with a dominating 80-44 victory.
Junior KK Emmot led Shawnee Heights with 11 points in Friday's 80-44 semifinal loss to Derby in the Capital City Classic. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Now the T-Birds want to flush that disappointing performance as quickly as possible with Shawnee Heights now set to face Garden City in Saturday's 1 p.m. third-place game.
"We've got to let it go and we've got to learn from it,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. "They just came out and they were more physically prepared and more mentally prepared than we were. Kudos to them. They gave it to us every which way they could and there wasn't a lot we could do about it for awhile.''
Wells said the key for the T-Birds now is to make sure they return to the form that has allowed them to post a glossy 11-4 record on the season.
"We can't turn one loss into two and tomorrow's an important game,'' Wells said. "There's a lot of big games coming towards the end of the season in this last month and it starts tomorrow.''
No. 3-ranked (Class 6A) Derby, now 13-2 on the season, ended the first quarter with a commanding 24-8 record and went to the locker room at the half with a 50-20 cushion after a 26-12 second quarter onslaught by the Panthers.
Derby led 68-36 at the end of the third quarter to force a running clock the rest of the way.
Senior Macayla Askew led Derby with a game-high 22 points while senior Karlie Demel had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and sophomore Sarai Graham also scored 11 points.
Junior KK Emmot led Shawnee Heights with 11 points while junior Pearmella Carter added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Derby will face Wichita Heights, a 57-42 semifinal winner over Garden City, in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. championship game.
Trojans hold off Lions for 75-72 Capital City Classic win
Topeka High girls basketball posted an 18-point road win over Lawrence on Jan. 6, but Trojan coach Ron Slaymaker fully expected Friday's rematch with the Lions in the Capital City Classic on High's home floor to be much tougher.
And it was, with the Lions leading at some point in each of the first three quarters, but the Trojans survived the test to advance to Saturday's 11:30 a.m. fifth-place game with a 75-72 win.
"They played (Shawnee) Heights yesterday and played them well until late,'' Slaymaker said. "They got beat late and I was like, 'Gosh, those girls are better.' We knew it wasn't going to be easy.
"We tried to make it easy and then we tried to make it hard. I wasn't sure what team was out there, but we found a way.''
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton led 6-7 Topeka High with 30 points, including five 3-pointers, while senior Keimara Marshall had 17 points and senior Sasha Gotru 12 points.
Junior post player Cami Nauholz registered a double-double for 6-7 Lawrence with 29 points and 15 rebounds while freshman Marley Doleman and sophomore Macyn Ramsay both added 19 points with five 3s apiece.
Topeka High will now face city rival Seaman at 11:30 a.m. in the fifth-place game.
3-point goals – Lawrence 12 (Doleman 5, Ramsay 5, Nauholz, Barber), Topeka High 6 (Rayton 5, Marshall). Total fouls – Lawrence 14, Topeka High 13. Fouled out – Barber. Technical fouls -- none.
Seaman gets back on track with 30-point win over Scots
Seaman snapped a three-game losing streak Friday in a 62-32 Capital Classic romp past city rival Highland Park.
"It was good to smile again,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "For a number of reasons we needed to win this game. It's been a tough week for us, so it was good to see the girls out having fun and smiling.
"We've just got to stick with what we're doing. We're still growing and the girls are still learning through it. It's going to be like that through this season, but I'm proud of them for coming back today.''
Now 7-5 on the season, Seaman jumped out in from 21-6 by the end of the first quarter and then hit the Scots (4-10) with a 17-3 second quarter to take a commanding 38-9 advantage at the half.
Seaman held a 52-21 lead after three quarters to force a running clock over the final eight minutes.
Junior Brynn Spencer, who was celebrating her birthday, led Seaman with 12 points on four first-quarter 3-pointers.
Spencer was the only double-figure scorer for the Vikings, but all 11 Seaman players who saw action cracked the scoring column.
Senior Koralee Jones scored a game-high 15 points for Highland Park (4-10).
Highland Park will play Lawrence at 10 a.m. Saturday in the seventh-place game of the Capital City Classic while Seaman will play Topeka High in the fifth-place game at 11:30 a.m.
3-point goals – Highland Park 4 (Cosey 2, Kincade 2), Seaman 7 (Spencer 4, Gragg, Frickey, Beaton). Total fouls – Highland Park 9, Seaman 11. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC
Friday's scores
Seaman 62, Highland Park 32
Topeka High 75, Lawrence 72
Wichita Heights 57, Garden City 42
Derby 80, Shawnee Heights 44
Saturday's games
10 a.m. -- Highland Park vs. Lawrence (seventh place)
11:30 -- Seaman vs. Topeka High (fifth place)
1 p.m. -- Garden City vs. Shawnee Heights (third place)
2:30 -- Wichita Heights vs. Derby (championship)
Rick Peterson
Washburn women to put four-game win streak on the line at No. 5 Fort Hays State
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After a week at home, Washburn University women's basketball now heads back on the road for two weeks beginning, with a 5:30 p.m. Thursday night MIAA clash with No. 5-ranked Fort Hays State.
Senior Payton Sterk is coming off a season-high 22-point performance in last Friday's 71-55 home win over Missouri Western. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn has reeled off four straight wins, including a 71-55 win over Missouri Western on Friday, to improve to 14-5 overall and 7-3 in the MIAA, while Fort Hays State is 18-1 and 9-1 in the conference after a 78-65 win over Central Oklahoma last time out for an 11th straight win since losing to the Ichabods 67-64 on Dec. 6.
Senior Yibari Nwidadah averages 12.8 points and 7.9 rebounds for Washburn while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor.
With 280 career offensive rebounds Nwidadah ranks third in program history and she is fifth with 765 career boards. Her career field goal percentage of .577 is the third-best in Washburn program history and she ranks 13th among all Ichabods with 1,222 career points. Nwidadah is also 11th in program history with 69 career blocked shots.
Senior Payton Sterk averages 12.2 point for the Ichabods and has drilled a team-high 33 3-pointers while Gabi Giovannetti averages 10.6 points with 29 3-pointers while leading WU with 1.8 steals per game.
Sterk's career free throw percentage of 85.8 percent is the best for any Ichabod.
Sterk scored a season-high 22 points in Friday's win over Missouri Western.
Talexa Weeter averages 27.9 points on 52.1-percent shooting overall and 42.9 percent from deep for Fort Hays State while also grabbing a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game. Weeter leads the nation in points per game, is second nationally in free throws made and is second in the conference in rebounding average.
No. 1-ranked Ichabods go on the road to face Fort Hays State
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 1-ranked Washburn University men's basketball team hits the road for a three-game stretch, beginning with Thursday's 7:30 p.m. MIAA tilt at Fort Hays State.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen and the 20-0 Washburn Ichabods will face Fort Hays State on the road Thursday night. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn, 20-0 overall and 10-0 in the MIAA, is one of just two remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division II along with Cal State East Bay after the Ichabods beat Missouri Western 90-78 last Friday.
Fort Hays State is 15-4 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA, having won its last five in a row after turning back Central Oklahoma 58-53 last time out.
The Ichabods defeated the Tigers on Dec. 6 in Topeka, 73-66, with the 73 points a season-low for Washburn this season.
Washburn has the No. 1-ranked scoring offense in the MIAA with 89.2 points per game while the Ichabods have the No. 2-ranked scoring defense at 61.8 points per game behind Fort Hays State's 59.9 average.
The Tigers are averaging 71.6 points, ranking 13th in the MIAA.
FHSU is 9-1 in home games this season, with the lone loss coming on Nov. 16 to Concordia-St. Paul in a 78-68 defeat. Since then the Tigers have won their last eight home games in a row.
The Ichabods have recorded 32 20-win seasons in program history and six under Ichabod coach Brett Ballard in his nine seasons.
Washburn leads the nation in scoring margin at plus 27.4 points per game and is ranked first in field goal percentage at 52.8 percent and second in rebound margin at plus 12.2.
Washburn has not been out-rebounded in a game this season and has only been tied twice (Lubbock Christian and Emporia State).
Ichabod sophomore standout Dillon Claussen is sixth in the nation in field goal percentage at 65.9, which also leads the MIAA.
Junior Jeremiah Jones leads the nation in total steals with 66 and is ranked third in steals per game at 3.30 per contest.
Junior Jack Bachelor is 12th in the nation in assist to turnover ration at 3.14 to 1.
The Ichabods' 20-game winning streak is the longest in the nation, ahead of Cal St. East Bay's 18-game winning streak.
The 20-game winning streak by the Ichabods is the third-longest in program history.
Senior Payton Sterk is coming off a season-high 22-point performance in last Friday's 71-55 home win over Missouri Western. [File photo/TSN]
