Shawnee Heights' KK Emmot heads to the basket.

[Photo: File/TSN]

Gad Munganga, Topeka West senior, eyes the basket.

[Photo: TSN/File]

Aniah Wayne, WU senior, scrambles for the ball.

[Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics.]

Seaman's Maddie Gragg (32) joins the 1,000 career pt. club.

[Photo TSN/Rex Wolf]

Washburn Rural's boys wrestling team wins team championship at the Newton Tournament.

[Photo: Washburn Rural Athletics]

lucas Marichal (15) led the CPLS Lions with 19 pts. vs. West Franklin.

[Photo: TSN/File]

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Key Performers of the Week

Rising Stars Intro 002AA

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Derby bested Shawnee Heights in every way, shape and form in Friday night's Capital City Classic semifinal at Topeka High, with the Panthers ending the T-Birds' 10-game winning streak with a dominating 80-44 victory.

KKEmmot2026Derby 1Junior KK Emmot led Shawnee Heights with 11 points in Friday's 80-44 semifinal loss to Derby in the Capital City Classic. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Now the T-Birds want to flush that disappointing performance as quickly as possible with Shawnee Heights now set to face Garden City in Saturday's 1 p.m. third-place game.

"We've got to let it go and we've got to learn from it,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. "They just came out and they were more physically prepared and more mentally prepared than we were. Kudos to them. They gave it to us every which way they could and there wasn't a lot we could do about it for awhile.''

Wells said the key for the T-Birds now is to make sure they return to the form that has allowed them to post a glossy 11-4 record on the season.

"We can't turn one loss into two and tomorrow's an important game,'' Wells said. "There's a lot of big games coming towards the end of the season in this last month and it starts tomorrow.''

No. 3-ranked (Class 6A) Derby, now 13-2 on the season, ended the first quarter with a commanding 24-8 record and went to the locker room at the half with a 50-20 cushion after a 26-12 second quarter onslaught by the Panthers.

Derby led 68-36 at the end of the third quarter to force a running clock the rest of the way.

Senior Macayla Askew led Derby with a game-high 22 points while senior Karlie Demel had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and sophomore Sarai Graham also scored 11 points.

Junior KK Emmot led Shawnee Heights with 11 points while junior Pearmella Carter added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Derby will face Wichita Heights, a 57-42 semifinal winner over Garden City, in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. championship game.

DERBY 80, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 44

Shawnee Heights 8 12 16 8  -- 44

Derby                    24 26 18 12  -- 80

Shawnee Heights (11-4) – Emmot 3-11 4-5 11, McGlory 2-6 4-4 9, Carter 5-9 0-0 10, Baum 0-2 1-2 1, Vega 1-6 1-4 3, Brees 0-1 0-0 0, Aubrey Hamilton 0-0 2-2 2, Schmidt 1-2 0-2 3, Allie Hamilton 1-2 0-0 3, Karylye 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 14-41 12-21 44.

Derby (13-2) – Demel 4-6 2-2 11, Fox 3-6 2-3 8, Dinsmore 3-5 0-0 6, Graham 3-9 3-4 11, Askew 9-17 4-4 22, Watie 0-1 0-0 0, Clingan 0-2 0-0 0, Gutzmer 0-2 0-0 0, Brownlee 0-0 1-2 1, Carter 1-4 0-0 2, Harris 4-7 0-0 9, Vanmeter 3-3 0-1 8, Bohaty 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 30-62 14-19 80. 

3-point goals – Shawnee Heights 4 (Emmot, McGlory, Schmidt, Allie Hamilton), Derby 6 (Graham 2, NA 2, Harris, Demel). Total fouls – Derby 22, Shawnee Heights 16. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.

Trojans hold off Lions for 75-72 Capital City Classic win

Topeka High girls basketball posted an 18-point road win over Lawrence on Jan. 6, but Trojan coach Ron Slaymaker fully expected Friday's rematch with the Lions in the Capital City Classic on High's home floor to be much tougher.

And it was, with the Lions leading at some point in each of the first three quarters, but the Trojans survived the test to advance to Saturday's 11:30 a.m. fifth-place game with a 75-72 win.

"They played (Shawnee) Heights yesterday and played them well until late,'' Slaymaker said. "They got beat late and I was like, 'Gosh, those girls are better.' We knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"We tried to make it easy and then we tried to make it hard. I wasn't sure what team was out there, but we found a way.''

Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton led 6-7 Topeka High with 30 points, including five 3-pointers, while senior Keimara Marshall had 17 points and senior Sasha Gotru 12 points.

Junior post player Cami Nauholz registered a double-double for 6-7 Lawrence with 29 points and 15 rebounds while freshman Marley Doleman and sophomore Macyn Ramsay both added 19 points with five 3s apiece.

Topeka High will now face city rival Seaman at 11:30 a.m. in the fifth-place game.

TOPEKA HIGH 75, LAWRENCE 72

Lawrence      20 15 21 16  -- 72

Topeka High 22 18 21 14  -- 75

Lawrence (6-7) -- Juelsgaard 0-7 0-0 0, Doleman 7-9 0-0 19, Barber 2-5 0-2 5, Nauholz 10-24 8-9 29, Ramsay 7-13 0-1 19, Simmons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 8-12 72 

Topeka High (6-7) – Short 2-5 1-1 5, Marshall 8-14 0-0 17, Rayton 10-21 5-6 30, Caryl 3-5 1-2 7, Gotru 4-6 4-4 12, Triplett 0-1 0-0 0, Whayne 1-2 2-4 4. Totals 28-54 13-17 75.

3-point goals – Lawrence 12 (Doleman 5, Ramsay 5, Nauholz, Barber), Topeka High 6 (Rayton 5, Marshall). Total fouls – Lawrence 14, Topeka High 13. Fouled out – Barber. Technical fouls -- none.

Seaman gets back on track with 30-point win over Scots

Seaman snapped a three-game losing streak Friday in a 62-32 Capital Classic romp past city rival Highland Park.

"It was good to smile again,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "For a number of reasons we needed to win this game. It's been a tough week for us, so it was good to see the girls out having fun and smiling.

"We've just got to stick with what we're doing. We're still growing and the girls are still learning through it. It's going to be like that through this season, but I'm proud of them for coming back today.''

Now 7-5 on the season, Seaman jumped out in from 21-6 by the end of the first quarter and then hit the Scots (4-10) with a 17-3 second quarter to take a commanding 38-9 advantage at the half.

Seaman held a 52-21 lead after three quarters to force a running clock over the final eight minutes.

Junior Brynn Spencer, who was celebrating her birthday, led Seaman with 12 points on four first-quarter 3-pointers.

Spencer was the only double-figure scorer for the Vikings, but all 11 Seaman players who saw action cracked the scoring column.

Senior Koralee Jones scored a game-high 15 points for Highland Park (4-10).

Highland Park will play Lawrence at 10 a.m. Saturday in the seventh-place game of the Capital City Classic while Seaman will play Topeka High in the fifth-place game at 11:30 a.m.

SEAMAN 62, HIGHLAND PARK 32

Highland Park 6 3 12 11 -- 32

Seaman       21 17 14 10  -- 62

Highland Park (4-10) -- Cosey 3-14 0-0 8, Kincade 2-15 0-2 6, Barnett 1-5 1-2 3, Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Atkins 6-12 3-8 15, Cameron 0-1 0-0 0, Inyard 0-3 0-0 0, Jones 6-12 3-8 15. Totals 12-53 4-12 32.  

Seaman (7-5) – Dreher 3-5 0-0 6, Spencer 4-11 0-0 12, Beaton 3-9 0-1 7, Ayres 2-3 0-0 4, Gragg 3-6 0-0 7, Frickey 2-4 1-1 6, Ketron 2-3 0-0 4, Bruns 2-4 0-0 4, Alfen 0-2 0-0 0, Puvogel 4-9 0-0 10, Zurmely 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-49 7-12 48.

3-point goals – Highland Park 4 (Cosey 2, Kincade 2), Seaman 7 (Spencer 4, Gragg, Frickey, Beaton). Total fouls – Highland Park 9, Seaman 11. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.

CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC

Friday's scores

Seaman 62, Highland Park 32

Topeka High 75, Lawrence 72

Wichita Heights 57, Garden City 42

Derby 80, Shawnee Heights 44

Saturday's games

10 a.m. -- Highland Park vs. Lawrence (seventh place) 

11:30 -- Seaman vs. Topeka High (fifth place)

1 p.m. -- Garden City vs. Shawnee Heights (third place)

2:30 -- Wichita Heights vs. Derby (championship)

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