By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Topeka West girls basketball had a tough time against Piper at home on Tuesday night, falling to 1-4 on the year, 60-31.
Junior Sydney VanDyke scored eight points to tie for team-high scoring honors in Topeka West's 60-31 UKC loss to Piper Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
The Chargers began the game with five straight turnovers but luckily for Topeka West that only led to four Pirates points.
The full court pressure from Piper caused fits for Topeka West the whole first half, holding the Chargers almost four minutes without any points in the first quarter as Piper led 6-2.
Topeka West got it to 8-7 on a 3-pointer from Patience Allen, who ended with five points, but Piper ended the quarter on top 15-9 which could’ve been more if Piper knocked down more free throws after being in the bonus for the last half of the quarter.
“After that first quarter the girls settled down a little bit,'' Topeka West coach Angie Ketterman said. "We knew Piper coming in was going to be very fast and we really focused on making sure we’re getting back all the way to slow them, down which I thought we did for most of the game. We missed a lot of easy shots that we normally make.''
The Pirates then put their foot on the gas pedal, extending their lead to 20-9 off an Angela Walker three on the left wing, finishing with five points. They got up to 24-9 forcing a Topeka West timeout at the 4:04 mark, securing a 9-0 run.
The Chargers got it back to 14 off a Aveah McGlory three but Piper in transition immediately drilled a three of their own to bring the lead back to 17. Piper would take the 31-13 lead into halftime, holding the Chargers to just four points in the quarter.
The rest of the game, Piper was in complete control and never looked back. They got their lead up to 31, 55-24 in the fourth quarter and that would make it a running clock for the rest of the game with seven minutes left. The biggest lead was 32 at one point, 58-26.
Teairra Gonzales and Sydney VanDyke both finished with a team-high eight points for the Chargers.
Despite the 1-4 start, they can use this as a learning lesson.
“We’ve got some young girls rotating in and for them to see that pace of the game and that level that they have to get to, these first couple of games we’ve played they’ve had to step up with that and I think they did that. The scoreboard seemed a lot closer to us because I feel like we were getting back, they were doing the things that we asked them to do, our stuff just wasn’t falling,” Ketterman said.
PIPER 60, TOPEKA WEST 31
Piper 15 16 18 10 -- 60
Topeka West 9 4 11 7 -- 31
Topeka West 1-4 - Allen 2-2 0-0 5, Gonzales 2-2 3-4 8, Traylor 0-2 1-2 1, VanDyke 3-8 2-5 8, Hall 0-0, 4-4 4, Perkins 1-1 0-0 2, McGlory 1-1 0-0 3.
Piper 4-1 - Bendetto 1-2 7, McPherson 2-2 4, McCallop 3-4 17, Kolenda 0-0 2, Hollinshed 6-7 14, Walker 0-0 5, Gerber 0-2, 10
3-point goals – Piper 3 (McCallop 2 Walker 1) Topeka West 3 (Allen 1, Gonzales 1, McGlory 1). Total fouls – Piper 16, Topeka West 14. Fouled out – Ogles. Technical fouls -- none.
