By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Senior star Kiki Smith scored 36 points in three quarters of action as Topeka High's girls advanced to Saturday's Firebird Classic championship game with a 69-37 semifinal win over Goddard Eisenhower Friday night at Free State, improving to 10-3 on the season.
Topeka High senior Kiki Smith scored 36 points in just three quarters as the Trojans rolled to a 69-37 win over Eisenhower Friday night in the semifinals of the Firebird Classic. [File photo/TSN]
The seventh-ranked (Class 6A) Trojans took control with a 22-12 first quarter and opened up a 37-21 halftime advantage.
Topeka High used a 22-10 third quarter to take a 59-31 lead and cruised the rest of the way.
Smith canned six 3-pointers against Eisenhower while junior Ladaysha Baird added 11 points for Topeka High with three 3-pointers.
Topeka High will face 8-3 Blue Valley in the tournament championship game, with the No. 8-ranked Tigers advancing with a 59-38 win over No. 5 Lawrence.
The championship game is a rematch of last season's 6A state tournament first-round game between Topeka High and Blue Valley, with the Tigers taking a one-point win in that game.
SEAMAN GIRLS 45, DERBY 39 -- No. 1-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman posted a 45-39 statement win over No. 4-ranked (6A) Derby in Friday night's semifinals of the the Glacier's Edge Tournament..
Seaman, which improved to 10-1, led 25-19 at halftime over Derby, last year's 6A runner-up, and held off the Panthers the rest of the way.
Seaman advanced to Saturday's championship game to take on tournament host and former Centennial League rival Emporia.
The 12-1 Spartans, ranked No. 4 in 5A, advanced with a 53-52 win over Wichita Heights.
ATCHISON COUNTY GIRLS 68, ROSSVILLE 62 (OT) -- Rossville's girls took No. 4-ranked (Class 3A) Atchison County to overtime in Friday's semifinal game of the Jefferson North Invitational before dropping a 68-62 decision.
Rossville, which will play for third place, got 18 points from freshman Rylee Dick while junior Kinsey Perine added 16 points, Emma Mitchell 12 points and Kinley Porter 10.
Rossville fell to 8-4 on the season while Atchison County improved to 11-0.
TOPEKA WEST GIRLS 46, GREAT BEND 40 -- After pushing No. 5-ranked Lawrence in an eight-point first-round loss, Topeka West picked up its third victory of the season on Friday, a 46-40 consolation win over Great Bend in the Firebird Classic at Free State.
The Chargers, who improved to 3-9, led 12-10 at the end of the first quarter, 23-21 at the half and 35-31 after three quarter in a game that was tight the whole way.
TOPEKA WEST BOYS 69, LEAVENWORTH 57 -- Topeka West notched its third straight victory on Friday, taking a 69-57 United Kansas Conference road decision at Leavenworth.
Topeka West improved to 10-3 overall and 7-2 in the UKC with Friday's win.
SEAMAN BOYS 68, LANSING 41 -- Seaman continued its recent hot streak, winning its fourth straight game Friday night with a 68-41 United Kansas Conference romp at Lansing.
With the win, Seaman improved to 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the UKC.
CAIR PARAVEL LATIN BOYS 63, MARANATHA CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 50 -- Cair Paravel Latin has won three out of its last four games, including a 63-50 Kaw Valley Conference win over Maranatha Christian Academy Friday night.
The Lions, who improved to 5-8, built an 18-12 first-quarter lead and used a 21-11 second quarter to take a commanding 39-23 advantage to the locker room at halftime. CPLS led Maranatha 57-36 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Junior Evan Will scored 21 points with five 3-pointers for Cair Paravel while Ben Roeder added 17 points with three 3s and Jase Pavlik had 12 points with two 3s.
CAIR PARAVEL LATIN GIRLS 38, MARANATHA ACADEMY 17 -- Cair Paravel Latin snapped a five-game losing streak with a 38-17 Kaw Valley Conference win over Maranatha Christian Academy Friday night, improving to 4-9 on the season.
Cair Paravel trailed 8-6 at the end of the first quarter, but the Lions held a 32-9 scoring edge over the final three quarters to turn the game into a rout.
KellAnn Chada led Cair Paravel with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while eight other Lions cracked the scoring column, scoring between one and six points.
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 62, SABETHA 39 -- Silver Lake, ranked No. 7 in Class 3A, improved to 12-1 with a 62-39 non-league romp over Sabetha.
The Eagles posted their fifth straight win since suffering their lone loss to Riley County.
HIGHLAND PARK GIRLS 75, KANSAS CITY-EAST, MO. 7 -- Highland Park improved to 8-3 on the season Friday night with a 75-7 non-league home rout over Kansas City-East, Mo.
The Scots were never threatened, opening up a commanding 53-3 lead at the half.
HIGHLAND PARK BOYS 82, KANSAS CITY-EAST, MO. 21 -- No. 1-ranked (Class 5A) Highland Park improved to 11-0 with an 82-21 non-league romp past Kansas City-East, Mo. Friday night at Highland Park.
The Scots put the game away by halftime, taking a 49-14 advantage.
SABETHA BOYS 71, SILVER LAKE 53 -- No. 1-ranked (Class 3A) Sabetha improved to 13-0 with Friday's 71-53 non-league romp past Silver Lake.
The Bluejays put the game away with a 23-2 first-quarter lead before Silver Lake outscored Sabetha 51-48 over the final three quarters.
Senior Troy Heiman led Silver Lake with 14 points while Braxton McDaniel, Jared Johnson and Elijah Lopez all added nine points for the Eagles.
Johnson scored his points on three 3-pointers.
