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Washburn, ESU women set to do battle in Turnpike Tussle rematch
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball and rival Emporia State will square off for the second time in as many weeks when the Ichabods hosts the Hornets at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday inside Lee Arena.
Junior Yibari Nwidadah leads Washburn in scoring, rebounds, field goal percentage and blocked shots entering Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. against Emporia State. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is 8-8 on the year and 2-4 in the MIAA after losing for the first time at home this season in a 66-61 overtime loss to Northwest Missouri on Saturday while Emporia State is 7-8 overall and 2-4 in the MIAA after dropping a 79-68 decision to Nebraska-Kearney in Emporia on Saturday.
Wednesday's contest against Emporia State will be the 116th all-time meeting between the two teams.
Washburn rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit to defeat Emporia State 64-61 inside of White Auditorium in the opening game of 2025.
Junior Yibari Nwidadah leads Washburn with a 16.6 scoring average while also shooting a team-high 66.0 percent from the field and grabbing a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game. Nwidadah has started all 14 games she has played in while logging 26.9 mpg. She has shot at or above 50.0 perceent in all but one game and has three double-doubles.
The Olathe North product has the best field goal percentage in the nation while ranking fifth in the MIAA in points per game and sixth in rebounding average. She has 15-plus points in nine games this year.
With 187 career offensive rebounds Nwidadah is eighth in program history and is five boards away from moving up to No. 7. In overall rebounds she is 19th in Washburn history with 496. Last time out she passed head coach Lora Westling on the all-time chart
Nwidadah's career field goal percentage of .576 is the third best in program history. In scoring she ranks 39th with 737 career points.
Top-ranked Seaman girls stay unbeaten with 71-29 UKC romp past Topeka West
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Ranked atop Class 5A, the Seaman girls are doing everything they can to stay sharp despite the long holiday, snow and ice, and an up-and-down schedule.
Senior Ava Esser led a balanced Seaman attack with 15 points in Tuesday's 71-29 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Tuesday night the Vikings put their foot on the gas in the second half to run away from Topeka West 71-29 at Seaman.
The Chargers were within 16 points early in the second half. But Seaman turned it on and ran its record to 7-0, with all seven wins coming in the United Kansas Conference.
The defending state champs know what it takes to reach the pinnacle, and coach Matt Tinsley isn’t letting the team take its focus off the ultimate goal.
“We don’t talk about the number one ranking or anything like that, because really that doesn’t matter,” Tinsley said. “We’ve only got 20 practices before sub-state. We’ve got to make those 20 practices where we’re getting better. We can’t afford to take two steps forward and two steps back.”
The Christmas vacation, compounded by snow days, threatened to throw the plan off schedule.
“We haven’t had a lot of conditioning,” the coach said. “Just over Christmas break when I thought we were getting in shape, we had to take five days off.”
The Vikings shook off some of the rust Tuesday, getting balanced scoring up and down the lineup. Nine Vikings scored, with five players contributing nine or more points.
Leading the way with 15 points was senior post Ava Esser, who helped lead Seaman to 5A state runners-up in volleyball in the fall.
“She’s a weapon inside, who we’ve got to throw the ball to,” Tinsley said. “She showed us what she can do when she gets it down there.”
“I’m pleased by how I’ve developed, and I definitely give credit to my coaches for all that they’ve done for me and for pushing me to be the player I can be,” said Esser, who will play volleyball at Johnson County Community College upon graduation. “I try to be there for when my teammates need me. I’m more (focused) on rebounds and helping my teammates get their shots. We’re more of a guard-team, so I just try to do my part.”
Duncan free throws cap Topeka West's 59-57 comeback win over Vikings
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The boys basketball teams from Topeka West and Seaman couldn’t be much more evenly matched, judging by their two United Kansas Conferencee meetings this season.
Junior Malakyah Duncan (12) hit the game-winning free throws with 8.5 seconds remaining, giving Topeka West a 59-57 UKC win at Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Avenging a 60-57 loss at Topeka West in mid-December, the Chargers went to Seaman Tuesday night and won in the final seconds, 59-57.
After falling into a huge hole early, the Chargers crept back, taking their first lead of the night with 1:20 left in the third period. The teams swapped leads until Seaman junior sharpshooter Landon Wiltz dropped in a shot from about 35 feet from the basket to tie it at 57-57 with 50 seconds remaining.
Topeka West junior playmaker Malakyah Duncan attacked the goal and drew a foul with 8.5 seconds left. He nailed both free throws to give the Chargers the come-from-behind win.
The win lifted Topeka West to 4-2 on the season and also in the UKC. Seaman dropped to 5-2 overall and in the conference. Seaman was ranked seventh in the latest Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A rankings, while the Chargers were eighth.
“This was huge, not just for the UKC standings but also sub-state,” first-year Topeka West coach Christan Ulsaker said. “Anytime you can notch a win against the team that you’re kind of battling for a home court (playoff) game, it’s a plus.”
A team can’t start a game much hotter than Seaman did Tuesday. The Vikings hit 10 of 13 attempts in the first period, including five 3-pointers. They bolted to a 26-12 lead that could have demoralized the visiting Chargers.
“I wanted to start hot, but that wasn’t the case,” Ulsaker said. “I told them at the end of the first quarter that basketball is a game of runs. They’ve heard it a thousand times from me that if you can withstand their runs, we’d make our own.
“Seaman is so well coached. They got some great players in (KaeVon) Bonner and (Bryer) Finley and our guys really stepped up and took it to them throughout the game.”
