By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High senior girls basketball standout Tae Thomas thinks there are still people that question how good the Lady Trojans really are.
But that is becoming increasingly harder to do, especially after Friday's 46-42 home comeback victory over Washburn Rural in a showdown between Class 6A's No. 2 Trojans and No. 3 Junior Blues at Topeka High.
With the win the Trojans improved to 16-0 overall and 12-0 in the Centennial League while taking a two-game lead in the league race over the Junior Blues, who are now 15-2 and 11-2.
"I feel like this definitely set us off for the rest of the season with our confidence and our motivation and how many people doubt us and everything,'' Thomas said. "I feel like we're used to that now and we're used to being the underdog, so I feel like this definitely proved to the city, proved to the state that we are where we're supposed to be and we belong there.''
Topeka High celebrates at the end of Friday's 46-42 Centennial League win over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural equaled its biggest lead of the night with 3:08 remaining when sophomore Jada Ingram scored to give the Junior Blues a 37-32 advantage.
Thomas hit a free throw to cut the Trojans' deficit to four points with 2:56 left and over the next 36 seconds multiple things went against the Junior Blues and Topeka High took full advantage, scoring 10 unanswered points to build a five-point advantage with 54.6 seconds remaining.
With the Junior Blues nursing a 37-33 lead after a Thomas free throw, Rural's Ingram was whistled for what appeared to be a non-contact foul and fouled out with 2:53 left.
Thomas then scored to cut Rural's lead to 37-35 at the 2:45 mark before Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick was called for a technical foul four seconds later.
Bordewick insisted that all he was trying to do was get a time out.
"It's loud and (the official) wasn't looking at me when I called it the first time,'' Bordewick said. ''I said, 'Time out, time out.' That's it. That's all I said.''
Trojan junior Kiki Smith canned both charities to tie the game at 37 and then Topeka High sophomore Ladaysha Baird hit the shot of the night, a 3-pointer from the corner, to put High ahead 40-37 before Thomas added two charities to give her team a 42-37 edge.
Sophomore Zoe Canfield, who led Rural with 14 points, hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game to to cut High's lead to two but sophomore Ayana Leesman and Thomas both hit two free throws over the final 19.8 seconds to clinch the victory.
Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander said Friday's contest was what she expected.
"It was in your face, nitty-gritty,'' Alexander said. "I feel like both teams were like just staring at the refs a lot of times because it really could have gone either way on a lot of stuff.
"I think our girls just stayed true to what we do. We didn't even get rattled when we were down by quite a few. We just kept plugging away. Composed is a good word I'd use for how they played tonight.''
Topeka High celebrates at the end of Friday's 46-42 Centennial League win over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High's Tae Thomas (left) drives the ball against Washburn Rural's Zoe Canfield in Friday's 46-42 High win over the Junior Blues. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Smith tied Canfield for game-high scoring honors with 14 points while Thomas added 11.
Thomas aggravated an injury late in the first half, but quickly returned to action.
"I have a slight shoulder injury, but I'll be fine,'' Thomas said. "It's been hurt before, but I usually play through injuries all the time.''
Thomas said she never considered staying out of the game.
"That wasn't an option,'' she said.
Senior Emma Krueger added 11 points for Washburn Rural, which had its 10-game winning streak snapped.
"We knew what the atmosphere was going to be like, and it was a big game, but the bottom line is we have to take care of the ball,'' said Bordewick, whose Junior Blues committed 19 turnovers. "We can't afford to do that.''
Washburn Rural defeated Topeka High in the 2019 Clas 6A state championship game but Topeka High has now won the last seven games against Rural since then.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 46, WASHBURN RURAL 42
Washburn Rural 10 7 10 15 -- 42
Topeka High 8 12 10 16 -- 46
Washburn Rural (15-2, 11-2) – Lutz 0-1 2-3 2, Krueger 4-6 2-5 11, Canfield 4-10 2-3 14, Ingram 3-3 1-2 7, DeLeye 2-6 2-2 6, Bagshaw 0-0 0-0 0, Carlgren 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 14-29 9-15 42.
Topeka High (16-0, 13-0) – Wiley 1-2 0-0 2, Caryl 3-5 1-1 7, Thomas 3-13 5-8 11, Shields 0-3 0-0 0, Smith 4-13 4-5 14, Leesman 0-2 2-2 2, Baird 4-8 0-0 10. Totals 15-46 12-16 46.
3-point goals – Washburn Rural 5 (Canfield 4, Krueger), Topeka High 4 (Smith 2, Baird 2). Total fouls – Washburn Rural 16, Topeka High 14. Fouled out – Ingram, DeLeye, Thomas. Technical foul -- Washburn Rural bench.
