Welcome to Top Sports News

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' boys came out of the holiday break hitting on all cylinders, knocking off Hayden 79-60 at Shawnee Heights Friday.

Junior Cam Ross led all scorers with 28 points in Friday's 79-60 Shawnee Heights boys win over Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

A game between two teams looking to improve their fortunes in the new year went the way of the T-Birds, who got 30 first-half points from the high-scoring tandem of junior Cam Ross and senior Ja’Veon Alston. The T-Birds jumped out to a 19-5 lead in the first four minutes. By halftime, Shawnee Heights had an 18-point lead, which it stretched to 23 points early in the third period.

“I feel like we came out pretty strong,” Ross said. “We were coming out after a loss (to Topeka West) and I feel like we played a little harder, rebounded a little more. We’re not a very tall team, so we’ve got to get to the rebound more and be team players instead of individuals. When everybody’s contributing, the team just plays well.”

Shawnee Heights got 28 points from Ross and 19 from Alston. JaiMarion Cook and Aiden Scott each contributed nine points, and Quincey Dixon added seven. The T-Birds hit 27-53 field goals and 15-19 free throws. But they scuffled enough in the second half to give coach Ken Darting plenty to work on.

“Anytime you talk about negatives, there’s a thousand positives,” Darting said. “As a coach, what I see is what needs fixin’. So, no matter what happens, I’m not totally happy. But all I’m saying is, if we don’t get it fixed, we won’t be as good as we can be.”

The T-Birds evened their record at 3-3. Each of the three losses – to Piper, Manhattan and Topeka West – was by a margin of five points or fewer.

“We’re doing things hard enough and good enough that we’ve gotta stop ‘almost’ beating (our opponents),” Darting said. “We’ve got to beat them. We’ve got ourselves in position (to win against good teams) and that’s quite an accomplishment. So, we’ve got a bunch of kids playing their rears off, but our margin of error is a lot smaller than a (Topeka) West or a Piper or a Seaman.”

Hayden dropped to 3-5 on the season. The Wildcats were led by Connor Hanika with 20 points, Mason Becker with 17 and Carter Compton with 11.

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS BOYS 79, HAYDEN 60

Hayden                 13 13 13 21 -- 60

Shawnee Heights 26 18 16 19 -- 79

Hayden (3-5) – Mitchell 1-7 5-7 7, Hanika 8-13 4-10 20, Mason Becker 5-9 4-5 17, Kidd 1-3 0-2 2, Compton 3-8 4-4 11, E. Tourtillott 0-3 0-0 0, Wolff 1-2 0-0 3, Masqueda 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony 0-0 0-0 0, Max Becker 0-0 0-0 0, B. Tourtillott 0-1 0-0 0, McDonald 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-45 17-28 60.

Shawnee Heights (3-3) – Alston 8-13 1-1 19, Cook 3-8 0-0 9, Ross 11-18 2-2 28, Scott 3-4 2-2 9, Dixon 0-5 7-11 7, Campbell 1-3 0-0 2, Lee 0-1 2-2 2, Doby 0-1 0-0 0, Halloran 1-1 1-1 3, Vega 0-0 0-0 0, Terrell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-53 15-19 79.

3-point goals – Hayden 5 (Becker 3, Compton 1, Wolff 1), Shawnee Heights 10 (Ross 4, Cook 3, Alston 2, Scott 1). Total fouls – Hayden 17, Shawnee Heights 21. Fouled out – Campbell. Technical fouls – None.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

With the eight Topeka high schools now spread out over four different leagues, traditional city rivals don't get as many opportunities to play each other.

Robbie Sanders' Topeka High team got that chance Friday night at Highland Park and the Trojans took full advantage, riding a hot start to a 74-55 non-league win over the Scots.

Topeka High senior Bryson McComas had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the Trojans' 74-55 win at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Topeka High senior Elisha Guest scored 15 points with three 3-pointers in Friday's 74-55 win over Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"I'm proud of these guys,'' said Sanders, a former Topeka High star. "This game means a lot to them and it means a lot to the community and it means a lot to the alumni of both schools and it means a lot to me and it means a lot to Nate (Wallace, Highland Park coach).

"I'm just really, really happy to get a win.''

Topeka High, now 3-3 on the season, blasted out of the gate for a 23-10 first-quarter advantage and never looked back.

The Trojans built a 42-23 halftime advantate and led 64-35 after three quarters before Highland Park (1-4) cut into its deficit with a 20-10 fourth quarter.

Senior Bryson McComas registered a double-double for the Trojans with 22 points and 10 rebounds while senior Elisha Guest added 15 points with three 3-pointers and freshman Jaxon Luarks chipped in with 10 points.

"I think we're making progress every day,'' Sanders said. "As long as we just keep chopping wood and we keep believing in each other and trusting each other, the sky's the limit for this team.

"We've got some talent, we've got some hungry guys and we're shooting the ball a lot better than I thought we would at this point. People had their eyes on this game and they wanted to see what we could do and they wanted to see what Highland Park could do. I'm just glad we played well.''

Junior JoJo Kingcannon paced Highland Park with 17 points while sophomore Davion Anderson added 10 points with three 3-pointers.

TOPEKA HIGH BOYS 74, HIGHLAND PARK 55

Topeka High    23 19 22 10  -- 74

Highland Park 10  13 12 20  -- 55

Topeka High (3-3) – Aldridge 3-11 0-1 8, Guest 4-8 4-4 15, McComas 9-14 4-4 22, McFadden 3 0-1 7, Ross 1-4 0-0 2, Arnold 0-1 0-0 0, Luarks 4-6 1-1 10, Villegas 0-0 0-0 0, Carter 4-6 0-0 8, Redmond 0-3 2-2 2, Ramirez 0-1 0-0 0, Humphrey 0-1 0-0 0, Harris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 11-13 74.

Highland Park (1-4) – Montgomery 1-6 0-0 3, Drew 3-8 1-2 8, Kingcannon 6-8 5-9 17, Anderson 3-12 1-4 10, Mitchell 1-3 0-0 2, L. McMillon 1-4 0-0 2, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Z. McMillon 6-6 1-2 13. Totals 21-47 8-17 55.

3-point goals – Topeka High 7 (Guest 3, Aldridge 2, McFadden, Luarks), Highland Park 5 (Anderson 3, Montgomery, Drew). Total fouls – Topeka High 18, Highland Park 16. Fouled out – Villegas.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After ending 2025 with three straight double-digit victories, Washburn University women's basketball will tip off 2026 on Saturday with a 1 p.m. home Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association contest against longtime rival Emporia State in the season's first edition of the Turnpike Tussle.

Washburn will ride a three-game win streak into Saturday's Turnpike Tussle matchup with Emporia State in Lee Arena. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn is 9-3 on the season and 2-1 in the MIAA while Emporia State enters the game 7-5 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA after a 70-61 road loss to Central Missouri on Thursday.

The Ichabods got a holiday break after a 78-49 win over Cameron on Dec. 20 before returning to practice on Monday.

"I've been very pleased,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said. "This group has some goals in mind and they came back ready to go and we've had really good practices. They've been excited to be here and that makes it fun.''

Westling got her first taste of the Washburn-Emporia State rivalry as a standout for the Ichabods from 2001-05 and said the Turnpike Tussle continues to be very important. 

"We're getting some of our new kids aware of what this game means to everybody in this community,'' Westling said. "We love this rivalry game. It's mattered since when the two schools started and it certainly mattered when I played here and it matters a lot as a coach.

"It's fun to have rivalries in college sports and it's one thing Division II still has and does really well.''

Senior Payton Sterk leads the Ichabods with a 12.6 scoring average with 22 3-pointers while also registering 1.8 steals. Sterk ranks seventh in the MIAA in steals and eighth in total 3-pointers made.

Senior Gabi Giovannetti is scoring 12.3 points per game on 43.3 percent shooting and a team-high 40.7% from deep with 22 3-pointers. Giovannetti also leads the team with 1.9 steals per game to go with 3.9 rebounds per game. The former Bishop Miege star is fourth in the MIAA in steals and ranks ninth in 3-pointers per game.

Senior Yiibari Nwidadah is averaging 11.9 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds despite missing one game and playing limited minutes the past two games after suffering an injury (concussion protocol) against Central Missouri. Nwidadah is shooting 56.7% from the floor. 

Newcomer Britany Kogbara, a junior, has given Washburn a big lift, averaging 8.9 points in just 16.9 minutes per game while shooting 57.1% from the floor and averaging 3.8 rebounds. 

Read more …