By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After jumping out to an early 17-4 lead in Thursday's final first-round game in the Capital City Classic, Shawnee Heights girls hit a temporary road block, with Lawrence battling all the way back to tie the game at the end of the first quarter and take a four-point lead midway through the second quarter.
Junior star KK Emmot scored 29 points with seven 3-pointers in Shawnee Heights' 74-61 Capital City Classic win over Lawrence. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But after a somewhat stern talking to from veteran T-Bird coach Bob Wells, Shawnee Heights righted its ship en route to a 74-61 victory over the Lions at Topeka High.
"They did (respond),'' Wells said. "It's kind of one of those deals where it is what it is because they're like everybody else in town, fighting the flu and fighting different kinds of stuff and we just had to battle through it.
"And you could tell that sometimes our shots were point-blank misses and I just told them to slow down and be stronger, understand where you're at right now with everything and just be strong and take it up with a little more force and finish, and thank goodness we started doing that.''
Now 11-3 with 10 straight wins, Shawnee Heights advanced to a 7:30 p.m. semifinal Friday to face Derby, a 65-57 first-round winner over tournament host Topeka High.
T-Bird junior KK Emmot had a big night, scoring a game-high 29 points with seven 3-pointers to key the Shawnee Heights victory.
"After we kind of got pretty much like punched in the mouth, as we would say, we realized we had to step it up and start hitting shots and start playing defense,'' Emmot said.
"We just had to adjust. That's the game of basketball, adjusting to it.''
Shawnee Heights rallied to take a 37-34 halftime lead and never trailed in the second half even though the 6-6 Lions got within three midway through the third quarter, with the T-Birds opening up a 15-point advantage down the stretch.
Shawnee Heights senior Imani McGlory scored 15 points with three 3-pointers in Thursday's 74-61 win over Lawrence. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Imani McGlory backed Emmot with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, while junior Sami Baum added 11 points and senior Reianna Vega 10.
Junior post Cami Nauholz led Lawrence with 20 points and 14 rebounds while sophomore Macyn Ramsay added 17 points with five treys and senior Jada Baars-Turner scored 13 points.
Lawrence will play a 4:30 p.m. consolation game on Friday against Topeka High, a 65-57 first-round loser to Derby.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 74, LAWRENCE 61
Lawrence 17 17 15 12 -- 61
Shawnee Heights 17 20 20 17 -- 74
Lawrence (6-6) – Juelsgaard 2-7 0-0 5, Doleman 3-8 0-0 4, Nauholz 7-16 6-6 20, Ramsay 6-8 0-0 17, Baars-Turner 5-8 1-1 13, Barber 0-2 0-0 0, Simmons 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 7-7 61.
Shawnee Heights (11-3) – Emmot 10-21 2-3 29, McGlory 6-14 0-0 15, Carter 2-10 2-4 7, Baum 5-11 0-0 11, Vega 4-9 1-1 10, Brees 0-0 0-0 0, Hamilton 0-1 0-0 0, Schmidt 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 27-65 7-9 74.
3-point goals – Lawrence 8 (Ramsay 5, Baars-Turner 2, Juelsgaard), Shawnee Heights 13 (Emmot 7, McGlory 3, Carter, Baum, Vega). Total fouls – Lawrence 11, Shawnee Heights 10. Fouled out – Juelsgaard. Technical fouls -- none.
Topeka High junior star Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 37 points and reached the 1,000-point scoring milestone in Thursday's 65-57 loss to Derby. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Rayton scores 37, reaches 1,000-point milestone in Trojan loss
Thursday was a bittersweet night for Topeka High junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton and the Trojans.
Rayton scored 37 points and surpassed the 1,000-point career milestone for Topeka High, but the Trojans were unable to get over the hump against No. 3-ranked (Class 6A) Derby, dropping a 65-57 first-round decision to the Panthers.
"We started off slow, but we fought,'' Rayton said. "We fought our way back in and it might have been a loss, but it was a good loss because we fought our hardest.''
"They were going on runs and we'd come right back, several times,'' Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said. "I was very proud of that because it's very easy to fold your tent and go home.''
Rayton, who scored 33 points in a Tuesday night win over Atchison, surpassed that total with Thursday's 37-point explosion, hitting four 3-pointers among her 14 field goals while hitting five of eight free throws.
Rayton said reaching 1,000 points was a goal she's had since early in her career.
"It was a goal since freshman year, to get my 1,000 points before I'm a senior and I did it my junior year,'' she said.
"She's an athlete, she's got a lot of skills and she's got a great future ahead of her,'' Slaymaker said.
Topeka High sophomore Hailey Caryl scored 13 points in Thursday's 65-57 Capital City Classic first-round loss to Derby. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Freshman Hailey Caryl added 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Topeka High, but no other Trojan had more than three points.
Derby (12-2) rode a balanced attack to Thursday's win, with junior Ahsia Fox scoring 13 points, sophomore Alex Dinsmore 11 points and senior Macayla Askew and junior Maya Harris 10 apiece.
The Panthers never trailed, with just two ties in the opening quarter, and led 18-11 at the end of the first, 29-24 and 46-40 at the start of the final stanza.
Topeka High made numerous runs at the Panthers, getting within a point in the third quarter, but the Trojans were hampered by 20 turnovers on the night.
Topeka High will play a 4:30 p.m. consolation game on Friday against Lawrence, which dropped a 74-61 first-round decision to Shawnee Heights.
The Trojans beat the Lions 65-47 on Jan. 6.
DERBY 65, TOPEKA HIGH 57
Derby 18 11 17 19 -- 65
Topeka High 11 13 16 17 -- 57
Derby (12-2) – Demel 2-5 2-2 7, Fox 6-16 1-2 13, Dinsmore 5-9 0-0 11, Graham 2-7 1-1 6, Askew 5-11 0-0 10, Watie 0-1 0-0 0, Clingan 0-2 0-0 0, Gutzmer 0-0 0-0 0, Carter 4-6 0-0 8, Harris 3-9 1-2 10. Totals 27-66 6-7 65.
Topeka High (5-7) – Short 0-1 1-2 1, Marshall 0-6 1-2 1, Rayton 14-27 5-8 37, Caryl 2-5 9-12 13, Gotru 1-2 0-0 2, Triplett 1-1 0-0 3, Whayne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-42 16-24 57.
3-point goals – Derby 11 (Harris 3, Damel, Dinsmore, Graham), Topeka High 5 (Rayton 4, Triplett). Total fouls – Derby 23, Topeka High 14. Fouled out – Short. Technical fouls -- none.
Undefeated Falcons roll to 90-16 win over Scots
Wichita Heights, No. 2-ranked in Class 6A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, improved to 13-0 on the season with a 90-16 romp past Highland Park in Game 2 of the first round on Thursday.
Heights scored 32 points in the first quarter to open up a 32-10 advantage and then hit the Scots (4-9) with a 27-4 second stanza to take a 59-14 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Falcons then limited Highland Park to just two points in the second half, including a fourth-quarter shutout to win going away.
Senior Aniyah Harris paced Heights with a game-high 19 points while freshman Aaliyah Waller had 16 and junior Jocelyn Rose 11.
Junior Zayah Kincade had five points for Highland Park.
Scot senior Koralee Jones left the game twice with an injury and did not return after the second injury, finishing with four points.
Highland Park will face city rival Seaman at 3 p.m. on Friday.
WICHITA HEIGHTS 90, HIGHLAND PARK 16
Wichita Heights 32 27 13 18 -- 90
Highland Park 10 4 2 0 -- 16
Wichita Heights (13-0) – Maze 2-5 2-3 7, Harris 6-6 3-6 19, Waller 8-11 0-0 16, Reed 3-5 1-4 7, Rose 5-6 1-2 11, Dingle 3-4 1-2 7, Dixon 0-3 3-4 3, Brown 3-6 1-2 9, Frierson 2-3 3-3 7, Reed 0-4 0-0 0, Banks 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 34-57 15-26 90.
Highland Park (4-9) – Cosey 0-11 3-6 3, Kincade 1-7 2-4 5, Jones 2-3 0-0 4, Barnett 0-0 0-0 0, Paredes 0-0 0-0 0, Wms Sanders 2-3 0-1 4, Atkins 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 5-28 5-11 16.
3-point goals – Wichita Heights 7 (Harris 4, Brown 2, Maze), Highland Park 1 (Kincade). Total fouls – Wichita Heights 14, Highland Park 22. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
Hannagan powers Buffs past Vikings
Sophomore Mia Hannagan scored a game-high 27 points with seven 3-pointers to lead the way as Garden City (9-5) went wire to wire for a 59-48 first-round win over Seaman in Thursday's opening game of the tournament.
Garden City jumped out to early leads of 8-0 and 11-2 as Hannagan drained three 3s in the first four minutes.
The Buffs led 17-8 at the end of the first quarter and led 31-21 at the half as Hannagan hit five 3s in the half.
Garden City led 54-34 at the start of the fourth quarter and went up by a game-high 22 (59-37) before Seaman (6-5) scored the final 11 points.
Freshman Tegan Snodgrass backed Hannagan with 13 points while junior Cara Beaton led Seaman with 12 points and sophomore Claire Puvogel added 10 off the bench.
Seaman senior standout Maggie Gragg got in early foul trouble, picking up her third personal at the 5:07 mark of the third quarter, and didn't score until the 7:53 mark of the fourth quarter, finishing with six points.
Seaman will play a 3 p.m. Friday consolation game against Highland Park.
GARDEN CITY 59, SEAMAN 48
Garden City 17 14 23 5 -- 59
Seaman 8 13 13 14 -- 48
Garden City (9-5) – Powers 0-2 0-0 0, Hannagan 9-22 2-2 27, Meng 3-4 2-2 8, Korf 2-7 0-0 6, Snodgrass 4-8 4-6 13, Finch 0-2 0-0 0, G. Doll 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 1-2 0-0 2, Celis 0-1 0-0 0, S. Doll 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 20-51 9-12 59.
Seaman (6-5) – Dreher 4-5 0-0 8, Spencer 1-5 1-2 4, Beaton 5-8 0-2 12, Ayres 0-2 1-2 1, Gragg 1-6 3-4 6, Frickey 1-5 2-2 5, Ketron 1-3 0-0 2, Bruns 0-2 0-0 0, 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 – Garden City 10 (Hannagan 7, Korf 2, Snodgrass), Seaman 7 (Beaton 2, Puvogel 2, Frickey, Spencer, Gragg). Total fouls – Garden City 12, Seaman 12. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC
Thursday's scores
Garden City 59, Seaman 48
Wichita Heights 90, Highland Park 16
Derby 65, Topeka High 57
Shawnee Heights 74, Lawrence 61
Friday's games
3 p.m. -- Seaman vs. Highland Park
4:30 -- Topeka High vs. Lawrence
6 -- Garden City vs. Wichita Heights
7:30 -- Derby vs. Shawnee Heights
