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No. 3-ranked Hayden girls take control down the stretch in 56-41 road win at Topeka High
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
For the second straight game Hayden girls basketball faced a tough test against a Class 6A opponent.
And for the second straight game the third-ranked (Class 4A) Wildcats passed that test, taking control down the stretch in a 56-41 Centennial League road win at Topeka High.
Freshman Hailey Schmidtlein (2) scored a game-high 19 points in Hayden's 56-41 Centennial League win at Topeka High Tuesday night. [Photo by Kylee Manthe/Special to TSN]
Hayden, which pulled out a 46-44 win over Washburn Rural last Friday, improved to a perfect 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the league while Topeka High fell to 3-3, 0-1.
"When (the Trojans) had a little run in the fourth quarter, it was another opportunity like we had Friday to test our toughness and I thought our girls answered and being able to close it out was big,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said.
The Wildcats trailed by a point (11-10) at the end of the opening quarter but used a 20-9 second quarter to take a 30-20 lead at the halftime break.
Hayden never trailed the rest of the way, leading by as many as 15 points midway through the third quarter and by a game-high 17 (56-49) with a minute left, but the Wildcats had to fight their way through numerous mini-runs by the Trojans, who got as close as seven points (46-39) with four and a half minutes remaining before the visitors took control behind freshman Hailey Schmidtlein, who scored eight straight points down the stretch.
Hayden freshman Hailey Schmidtlein (2) scored 8 straight points down the stretch as the Wildcats pulled away for a 56-41 win at Topeka High Tuesday night. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Schmidtlein led all scorers with 19 points while seniors Millie Ramsey and Brylee Meier added 13 apiece for the Wildcats.
"Hailey really played great the whole game because we put a lot on her plate defensively and then we fed her the ball twice down the stretch for big layups and then she got steals and breakaways and she was big for us,'' Reynoldson said.
A1 Lock & Key Performers Jan. 13, 2025
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KaeVon Bonner
KAEVON BONNER, Seaman
A 6-foot-3 junior guard, Bonner scored a game-high 25 points in Friday night's 57-43 United Kansas Conference road victory at Lansing, helping Seaman improve to 5-1 overall and in the UKC.
Nora Burdiek
NORA BURDIEK, Rossville
Burdiek, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, scored a career-high 31 points for the Bulldawgs Friday night as Rossville (3-3) came out on the short end of a 70-62 Big East League road loss at Hiawatha.
Logan Glinka
LOGAN GLINKA, Washburn Rural
Glinka opened his senior bowling season in Thursday's Free State Invitational at Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence with a fourth-place individual finish with a 708 series while leading Washburn Rural to a second-place team finish in the 18-school event. Glinka bowled games of 248, 247 and 213.
Undefeated Ichabod men's basketball proud to be on the brink of No. 1 spot in national rankings
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Barring some anomalies in the voting, when the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 is released on Tuesday, the Washburn University men's basketball team will be in the No. 1 spot in the NCAA Division II national rankings.
Brett Ballard's Washburn Ichabods, off to a perfect 15-0 start, are expected to move up to the No. 1 spot in the national ranking on Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Michael Keegan has helped Washburn get off to a dominating 15-0 start with just one single-digit game. [File photo/TSN]
And while the ultimate goal for the Ichabods is to be in the top spot at the end of the season, WU coach Brett Ballard wants his team to be proud of the coveted honor.
"I think it's a big deal,'' Ballard said after Saturday's 96-66 romp past perennial power Northwest Missouri State, a four-time Division II national champion. "If we do get that -- and if we don't it's OK -- I think it's a testament to the guys we have now, it's what we've tried to build, and I think it's a testament to our former players and the foundation that they've established and the culture that they established with the program, to our assistants and everybody involved with Washburn.
"To be No. 1 potentially out of over 300 Division II teams, that's a big deal to me.''
WU senior standout Andrew Orr agreed.
"It's special,'' Orr said. "There's 300 and some Division II teams and to be ranked No. 1 is amazing. And we deserve it, if I'm being honest. We play really hard, we're really good and I don't see why we wouldn't be No. 1.''
