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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Topeka High girls basketball dropped a 67-55 home Centennial League contest Friday night after a hot shooting night from Manhattan.

 

The first half had 75 combined points as both teams were trading basket after basket, but Manhattan pulled away down the stretch in the second half for the win.

 

“When you get in that desperation mode, you have to do something almost every trip down the court,” Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said. “I thought the first half was one hell of a basketball game, wow.

"They have a nice team, they shoot well. We played pretty good defense and they still shot well. I’m disappointed that we lost, but I’m not disappointed with the way we played.”

Topeka High senior Keimara Marshall started the scoring for both teams with a 3-pointer and sophomore Hailey Caryl would convert an and-one opportunity making it 6-2 early on.

 

Junior Ahsieryrhuajh Rayton earned an and-one opportunity but before her free throw, the Indians called a timeout with 4:51 left in the quarter. Rayton missed the free throw, but .

would put the Trojans back up 13-7 the very next possession with a triple after a MHS and-one.

 

After MHS started pressing to create turnovers from Topeka High, Slaymaker called a timeout to draw up a play on the inbounds. It worked as Rayton found space down the floor and kissed it off the glass for two, and Topeka High led 20-18 after one quarter.

The game would change leads several times in the second stanza, as one team would hit a three, and the other would hit a three.

 

Trojan sophomore Hailey Caryl knotted the game at 28-28, knocking down three threes in the quarter.

 

Topeka High would push its lead back to six, but Manhattan kept scoring. Evie Banks was hot from downtown in the game, making it 34-31, but Caryl hit another from distance, as the Trojans went back up six, 37-31.

 

Manhattan would take the lead into halftime after Ansley Beckett hit two free throws with 50 seconds left, 38-37.

 

Out of halftime MHS would go up six after another three and then eventually went up nine at 47-38, forcing Topeka High into a timeout with 5:13 left in the third quarter.

 

Topeka High struggled to find a rhythm in the third quarter until Rayton scored four straight points.

 

Manhattan would end the third quarter up five (53-48) after Jelena Depusoir scored in the paint.

 

In the fourth quarter, Manhattan played keep away most of the quarter as the shot clock wasn’t functional for the night. 

 

Manhattan would push its advantage to 59-52, forcing Slaymaker to call a timeout at the 4:44 mark to try to find some momentum, but MHS wasn’t having any of that

.

Bailey Busch got fouled for Manhattan, missed the and-one chance but MHS got the rebound and then Busch nailed a trey to make it 64-53, ending any chance for the Trojans.

 

“We only get better from that,” Slaymaker said. “We played 32 minutes with great effort, but you have to put that with some execution. The first half the execution was there for both teams but power to them. They had the edge on us, we couldn’t get back in the third quarter to gain control like we did, they had it all.”

Kat Ball led Manhattan (6-2 overall, 1-0 Centennial) with 13 points while Busch and Banks added 12 apiece. 

Rayton scored a game-high 21 points for High, while Caryl added 17.  

MANHATTAN 67, TOPEKA HIGH 55

Manhattan    18 20 15 14  -- 67

Topeka High 20 17 11 7  -- 55

 

Manhattan (6-2) – Larson 3 0-0 6, Becket 2 2-2 4, Depusior 5 0-0 10, Hall 1 0-0 2, Ingram 1 0-0 3, Ball 2 8-9 13, Busch 5 3-4 12, Banks 4 1-2 12.

 

Topeka High (3-5) – Triplett 1 0-0 2, Marshall 3 0-0 7, Rayton 8 3-5 21, Caryl 5 4-5 17, Gotru 3 2-2 8.

 

3-point goals – Manhattan 7 (Ingram 1, Ball 1, Busch 2, Banks 3), Topeka High 6 (Marshall 1, Rayton 2, Caryl 3,). Total fouls – Manhattan 13, Topeka High 16. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none

By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Topeka High boys basketball was unable to overcome a big third-quarter run from Manhattan Friday night, dropping a 70-63 home decision to the Indians in the Centennial League opener for both teams. 

 

The Trojans found themselves in an early hole but managed to climb back and lead for several minutes but then strugged in the third quarter as Manhattan took control.

“I’m proud of the guys, I think we grew up a little bit today,” Topeka High coach Robbie Sanders said. “We saw how we have to compete to beat some of the best teams in the state and we didn’t quit. We made a lot of mistakes, the players did, I did as a coach. We didn’t lay down and didn’t quit.”

The Indians got off to a 7-2 lead as Will Carpenter hit a three and that lead would expand to 12-2 after Easton Duff backed his way down in the post and banked it off the window.

But Topeka High caught some momentum bringing it to 12-10 after senior Jalen Aldridge got an and-one opportunity but missed the free throw.

After Manhattan hit a three, Aldridge responded with one of his own, and the Indians led after one quarter. 18-15.

In the second quarter, Alridge kept it going, earning an and-one opportunity, falling to the baseline but missed the free throw, MHS still led by one, 18-17.

Aldridge would put the Trojans ahead for the first time since the opening minute of the first quarter with a triple and the Trojans took a four-point lead into the locker room, 34-30. 

The Indians were red hot coming out of halftime, going on a 14-2 run as Tim Washington scored eight points in the quarter and Carpenter had seven himself, as part of a 24-point quarter for Manhattan.

McComas would trim the deficit to 51-44 after converting an and-one but then Carpenter pushed it back to 10 points as he too converted an and-one.

But then a scene Trojan fans didn’t want to see, Alridge went to drive to the cup from the left wing but fell awkwardly and immediately grabbed for his right knee and had to be helped off the court.

No word on his condition after the game but TopSports.news did see Alridge walking on his own gingerly without any assistance.

“I’ve been in that situation as a player here at Topeka High that sustained a major knee injury and hopefully it’s nothing serious,'' Sanders said. "I’m really worried about Jalen because he’s a great kid, he’s working hard, he's trying to do everything that I ask of him, he’s taking on extra responsibilities, he’s been coachable and he’s willing to change the narrative about himself.''

The rest of that fourth quarter, it was all MHS to a certain point, Topeka High with the help of Mar’saun Redmond, McComas and Ross, they were able to cut the deficit down to seven and then five at one point.

The Trojans did have an opportunity to bring it within two or three when it was 68-63 MHS. Redmond had a look from distance but it was blocked by Manhattan with about 10 seconds to go and Manhattan would pick up its seventh win of the season.

Redmond led Topeka High with 16 points, followed by McComas and Alridge who both had 14. Manhattan’s Sawyer Newton had a game-high 22 points.

“They’ve been through a lot. Everybody knows where this program and these guys have been. I’m very proud of the growth they’re showing and the direction that we’re headed,” Sanders said. “These kids are starting to believe, they think we’re good. I don’t know if they think they’re as good as I think we can become but I think there is a belief amongst the core group of guys and if that can trickle down to the rest of the group, I think we can be dangerous in the last stretch of the season.''

 MANHATTAN 70, TOPEKA HIGH 63 

Manhattan   18 12 24 16  -- 70

Topeka High 15 19 10 19  -- 63

Manhattan (7-1, 1-0) – Carpenter 6 1-2 15, Newton 0 1-2 1, Doering 4, 1-6 9, Newton 10 2-4 22, Witt 0 6-8 6, Washington 6 0-1 12, Duff 1 0-0 2.

Topeka High (4-4, 0-1) – Aldridge 6 0-2 14, Guest 1 0-0 2, McComas 5 3-5 14, Ross 4 0-0 11, McFadden 1 0-0 2, Carter 1 0-2 2, Redmond 5 5-6 16, Lucrks 0 2-2 2. 

3-point goals – Manhattan 5 (Carpenter 3, Doering 2,), Topeka High 7 (Redmond 1, McComas 1, Alridge 2, Ross 3). Total fouls – Manhattan 18, Topeka High 18. Fouled out – none. Technical foul -- none.

Details

Created: 09 January 2026

By RICK PETERSON                                                                                                          

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural sophomore boys basketball standout Brooks Ballard and Topeka High girls basketball standout Hailey Caryl have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.

The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.

Here's a brief look at the recent accomplishments of Ballard and Caryl over the past week.

Brooks Ballard, Washburn Rural

BROOKS BALLARD, Washburn Rural

A 6-foot-2 sophomore, Ballard scored 21 points in last Saturday's 68-53 non-league road victory at Olathe West as the Junior Blues opened the 2026 portion of their schedule.

Ballard hit 7 of 11 field goal attempts overall, 6 of 10 3-pointers and connected on his lone free throw in the Rural win.

Ballard added 7 points on Tuesday as the defending Centennial League champions opened league play with a 50-45 road win at Junction City, improving to 6-2 on the season. 

Hailey Caryl, Topeka High 

HAILEY CARYL, Topeka High

After missing the first four games of the 2025-2026 season with an injury, Caryl, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, has returned to help lead Topeka High to three straight victories.

Caryl scored a career-high 26 points in last Friday's 86-31 road win over USD 501 rival Highland Park, hitting 10 of 16 shots from the floor and 6 of 7 free throw attempts.

Caryl added 8 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists on Tuesday as the Trojans posted a 65-41 non-league road win at Lawrence.