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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Washburn Rural girls lost their regular-season finale Friday night at home to Manhattan, 61-46, which ensured the Indians would share the Centennial League crown with Topeka High.

Freshman Brynn Anderson led Washburn Rural with 13 points in Friday's 61-46 loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

After tying the game at 20, the Junior Blues fell off the pace late in the second period. They trailed 30-24 at the half and 44-33 after three periods. Washburn Rural crawled back to within seven, 49-42, midway through the final period, but ran out of gas at that point.

The Indians needed a win to split the league title with Topeka High, which finished its season on Tuesday. Both teams finished the season with 8-2 league marks.

“Manhattan is a really good team. I told (Indians coach Scott Mall) I’m not sure that’s not his best team since they won state in 2017,” Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. “We were just kind of off balance all night. We didn’t help ourselves turning the ball over so much, especially in the first quarter. But they are really, really good.

“We had our chances. We were able to keep it close, but we didn’t execute very well under pressure when they did apply the pressure they did, and that was a little disheartening.”

Washburn Rural freshman Brynn Anderson knocked down all four field goals she attempted – all three-pointers – to lead the team with 13 points. Senior Hallie Walker hit all three of her field goal attempts as well. But the rest of the Junior Blues struggled mightily from the field, connecting on just eight of 33 shots from the field.

Senior Ella Hirschi added 10 points for Rural with a pair of 3-pointers.

Still feeling her way back from ACL surgery, junior Maddie Vickery missed all nine of her shots and scored just six points, all from the free throw line.

Despite the loss to close the regular season 15-8, 5-5 in the league, Bordewick was upbeat about the overall direction of the Junior Blues. Washburn Rural played three freshmen in critical points in the game Friday, and in just the last eight days began working Vickery back into the rotation.

“With this group doing what they’ve done so far this year, it seems to me somewhat miraculous,” Bordewick said. “Just the way they’ve come together and played together. And we’re still getting Maddie mixed in a little bit, too. So, it’ll take a little bit. It takes a little while to get used to a new player, even though she’s a two-year starter.”

Washburn Rural now awaits the Class 6A sub-state schedule to find out where it will play on Tuesday. While the regular season didn’t end like they wanted, the Junior Blues are getting a lift by the addition of Vickery – a Kansas State basketball commit – at playoff time.

“I tell you what, she’s looked so good in practice this week. I saw really great things from her in practice,” Bordewick said of Vickery. “Now, she wasn’t shooting it well tonight. But she knows what to do to correct that. So, I’m not too worried about her.”

MANHATTAN GIRLS 61, WASHBURN RURAL 46

Manhattan         16 14 14 17 -- 61

Washburn Rural   8 16 9 13 -- 46

Manhattan (18-5, 8-2) – Larson 3-5 0-0 7, Depusoir 2-2 1-2 5, Ball 4-6 5-6 14, Busch 5-7 5-8 17, Banks 6-12 1-2 16, Ingram 0-5 0-0 0, Becket 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-38 12-18 61.

Washburn Rural (15-8, 5-5) – Rutherford 0-2 0-0 0, Hirschi 4-12 0-0 10, Walker 3-3 1-3 7, Anderson 4-4 1-2 13, Carlgren 3-6 0-0 7, Vickery 0-9 6-7 6, Smith 1-3 0-0 3, Hinck 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-40 8-12 46.

3-point goals – Manhattan 7 (Banks 3, Busch 2, Ball, Larson), Washburn Rural 8 (Anderson 4, Hirschi 2, Carlgren, Smith). Total fouls – Manhattan 14, Washburn Rural 17. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none. 

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

When Washburn Rural’s Kiefer O'Connor drained a 3-pointer to tie Manhattan 58-58 with 5.1 seconds remaining in overtime Friday, elation was mixed with trepidation. That was too much time, particularly when Manhattan senior Vince Doering received the inbounds pass and raced up court.

Senior John Hoytal led Washburn Rural with 23 points in Friday's 60-58 overtime loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/TSN]

Doering had been hitting big shots all night, and the senior dribbled the length of the floor, pierced the Junior Blue defense and flipped in a layup for the 60-58 win just as the buzzer sounded.

Doering’s heroics foiled a valiant battle by the Junior Blues on their Senior Night. Trailing by six points with 4:52 left in regulation, Washburn Rural put together a 7-0 run to take a 41-40 lead with 3:11 remaining. But they couldn’t hold it and needed a shot by senior John Hoytal to send the game to overtime tied 46-46.

The Junior Blues never led in overtime, but tied it on O’Connor's three to give themselves a chance. After a timeout, they loaded up to defend the inbounds pass, with coach Alex Hutchins' instructions fresh in their minds:

“’Don’t get beat off the dribble. Don’t let them get downhill,’ Hutchins said. “That’s pretty much the only thing we said was, ‘Don’t let them get downhill.’ And then we did.”

Having already locked up sole possession of the Centennial League crown in their previous game, Manhattan was playing for Claaa 6A sub-state positioning. When Doering’s shot fell, the entire Indians’ team celebrated in the corner of the gym while the Junior Blues shuffled off.

“Tough to tell how everybody’s doing. I’m sure we’ve got a lot of guys that are hurting,” Hutchins said. “We’ve been in this scenario a lot this year, and too often we’ve not found a way to make the final play and get it done. We say we keep learning and we’re knocking on the door, and hopefully at some point we will kick the door down. Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t that night, but hopefully it’s the next one.

“I thought we did a pretty darn good job defensively most of the night and gave ourselves a chance. We coughed the ball up and turned it over way too many times. But the fact we are still within striking distance is a testament to the defensive end.”

Hoytal led the Junior Blues with 23 points, the only member of the team to crack double figures. Washburn Rural fell to 11-11 on the year, 4-6 in the Centennial League.

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' girls ended a decade long league championship drought Friday at Seaman, with the T-Birds clinching their first United Kansas Conference title with a 54-41 win over the Vikings in a packed house on Seaman's Senior Night.

KK Emmot led Shawnee Heights with a game-high 19 points Friday as the T-Birds wrapped up the UKC title with a 54-41 win at Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Heights improved to 19-4 overall and 15-1 in the UKC with its eighth straight victory, with the T-Birds wrapping up the No. 2 Class 5A East sub-state seed.

"I'm super proud for these girls to get the league and super proud for them to come in tonight and play the way they did because this is an incredible atmosphere and Seaman played their hearts out,'' said veteran Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells, who is retiring after the current season. "They did everything they could to get us down and try to get us where we weren't playing at our best.

"We had some girls that stepped up and did what they needed to do.''

Shawnee Heights led Seaman by only a 14-12 count at the end of the first quarter, but broke the game open with a 21-10 second quarter, opening up a 35-22 halftime advantage.

The T-Birds made that 13-point lead hold up the rest of the way, with Heights and Seaman both scoring 19 points in the second half.

Wells said that Friday's tough game and the atmosphere was good for the T-Birds, resembling what Heights is likely to face in postseason.

"That's what we needed and the girls even commented during the JV boys game that, 'Man, this game's going crazy right now,' '' Wells said. "It was a great atmosphere and I'm just proud that our girls came out and after a slow start, we kind of kicked it into gear a little bit and made some things happen.''

Pearmella Carter scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in Shawnee Heights' 54-41 win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN] 

Junior KK Emmot scored a game-high 19 points to lead three T-Birds in double figures, with junior Pearmella Carter adding 15 points and senior Reianna Vega 14.

Junior Brynn Spencer led Seaman with 13 points in Friday's 54-41 loss to Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Junior Brynn Spencer paced Seaman (10-13, 8-9) with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while junior Cara Beaton added 10 points.

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