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WU women looking to bounce back from loss in Thursday night rematch with No. 8 Tigers
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball returns to Lee Arena for a three-game homestand, beginning with a rematch against Fort Hays State at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Washburn women's basketball will be looking to bounce back from a six-point loss to Missouri Western when the Ichabods host No. 8-ranked Fort Hays State on Thursday. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is 11-9 on the year overall and 5-5 in the MIAA after suffering a 62-56 road loss at Missouri Western last Saturday while Fort Hays State, 16-2, 7-2, won its third straight game last time out, defeating Central Oklahoma 81-72 on the road on Saturday.
And while Lora Westling's Ichabods know they face a tough test against the No. 8-ranked Tigers, WU is determined to give FHSU a much tougher battle than it did in an 83-53 MIAA loss at Hays back on Dec. 7 when the hosts raced out to a 48-12 halftime lead.
WU played without junior star Yibari Nwidadah due to concussion protocol in that game while sophomore starter Madelyn Amekporfor was limited after just coming out of protocol.
"We're going to have our full lineup, which wasn't the case the first time,'' Westling said. "We were kind of scrambling that week, and that's not to take anything away from them, it was just that we were trying things that we hadn't tried yet early in the season.
"We have to defend better, we have to keep people out of foul trouble and we have to be solid because that's what Hays is. They're very, very solid.''
Amekporfor said she and her teammates are definitely fired up to get another shot at the Tigers.
"I was limited minutes that game and I was kind of half what I had been the whole season, so I didn't really get to do as much as I wanted to and have as much of an impact,'' Amekporfor said. "But I know that we're going into (Thursday's) game all healthy and all ready to go, so I think that will be a much different game than it was the first time.
"We're a much better, stronger team than we were the first time.''
WU also gained a little bit extra motivation from the fact that they didn't feel like they played well last Saturday against Western, a loss that snapped the Ichabods' three-game win streak.
"We played pretty poorly Saturday,'' Westling said. "Getting into the film we didn't execute the things we wanted to do, didn't defend things we knew were coming and just weren't as focused as we needed to be and had way too many unforced turnovers.
"We know progress isn't a straight line and you're going to have some of those dips and we definitely had a dip Saturday, but we've had a good response and I feel like we're ready for this week's challenge.''
Perfect 10: Ballard gives Ichabods high marks for how they've handled responsibilities of 19-0 start
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Coaches have a whole list of things they're concerned about and Washburn University men's basketball coach Brett Ballard is no exception.
No. 1-ranked Washburn will be aiming for its 20th straight win in Thursday's 7:30 p.m. MIAA home game against Fort Hays State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But one thing Ballard doesn't waste time worrying about is how his Ichabods are going to handle their responsibilities on and off the court, including the pressures that go along with being 19-0 (10-0 in the MIAA) and ranked No. 1 in the nation for the third straight week.
"Ten out of ten as far as preparation on the court, off the court and how they've handled everything,'' said Ballard, whose Ichabods begin a three-game homestand at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Fort Hays State. "It's been a lot of fun. The daily preparation's been there, effort, energy, coachability, all that stuff's been off the charts, really good.''
The Ichabods blasted Missouri Western 85-52 on Saturday in St. Joseph, the largest margin of victory in series history, as WU tied a program record with its 19th straight win to open the season. Washburn can set the win mark in Thursday's game.
While the Ichabods are enjoying their success, sophomore standout Brayden Shorter said there's no over-confidence in the Washburn camp.
"I feel like one of the best parts about us is we don't look past any team,'' Shorter said. "Just the level of compete that we all have I feel like is definitely for sure what's gotten us to the point that we're at right now.
"It does feel good, but I just feel like we are really grateful for the opportunity and we get ready for every single game like it's going to be the team that could beat us and we're all just trying to keep doing what we're doing.''
The Tigers are 13-5 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA play after falling at Central Oklahoma, 75-65, on Saturday, snapping a four-game winning streak. Washburn won the first meeting of the season with the Tigers in the second MIAA game of the season, 71-57 in Hays.
Washburn is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA Division II ranks, joining No. 2 Daemen (14-0).
Seaman outlasts Topeka High for 73-64 non-league win
By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
Four Vikings reached double figures as the Seaman boys basketball team downed Topeka High 73-64 on Wednesday night at Seaman.
Junior KaeVon Bonner led Seaman with 16 points in Wednesday's 73-64 non-league win over Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Both offenses took several minutes to warm up, with the visiting Trojans (0-12) jumping out to a quick 5-2 lead in the opening stages of the contest.
A 3-pointer from Landon Wiltz and a layup from KaeVon Bonner gave a five-point swing to the Vikings (9-3).
With little separation between the two teams early on, Seaman’s Matthew McConnaughey began his big screen-worthy first half performance, earning an and-one opportunity and completing the 3-point play to give the Vikings a 16-13 lead after one quarter of play.
Seaman used a big second quarter to pull away, out-scoring Topeka High 22-9 in the period.
The Vikings used a balanced attack to extend their lead, with 3-pointers from Griffin Zuniga and Bonner, along with a 3-point play from Wiltz.
Seaman closed the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 38-22 lead into halftime.
Despite a discouraging second quarter, Topeka High stayed within striking distance, scoring the first 5 points of the third quarter on a 3-pointer from Elisha Guest and a pair of free throws from Octavian McFadden.
The Vikings held on to the double-digit lead for the entirety of the third quarter, with Bonner adding seven of his team-high 16 points in the period.
The Trojans started the fourth quarter much like they did the third, with a quick basket from Jalen Aldridge and a 3-pointer from Mar’Saun Redmond cutting the deficit to seven.
With the lead shrinking, momentum swung back in favor of the hosts following a pair of free throws and a fast-break dunk from Finley to give the Vikings a 63-52 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
The teams continued to shoot at high percentages for the remainder of the contest, but the Vikings held the Trojans at bay.
Aldridge knocked down a pair of late 3-pointers for Topeka High to bring the game to its 73-64 final.
Seaman senior Bryer Finley scored 15 points in the Vikings' 73-64 win over Topeka High Wednesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Landon Wiltz scored 14 points as Seaman improved to 9-3 with a 73-64 win over Topeka High Wednesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Bonner led Seaman with 16 points on 7-9 shooting in the victory. Finley chipped in with 15 points, while Wiltz added 14 points.
McConnaughey scored all 13 of his points in the first half, while leading the Vikings with seven rebounds.
Seaman shot just over 56 percent from the floor as a team.
Jalen Aldridge led all scorers with 25 points in Topeka High's 73-64 loss to Seaman Wednesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Aldridge led all scorers with 25 points for Topeka High while Bryson McComas fell one rebound short of a double-double, tallying 12 points and nine boards. Guest knocked down three triples for nine points.
Seaman coach Craig Cox was impressed with multiple phases of his team’s offense in the victory.
“If we’re able to score over 70 points in a game, we’re going to be pretty happy with that,” Cox said. “We like the way that we can shoot the basketball, and we’re getting better at moving without the ball and hitting cutters and getting some nice shots.”
