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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
A matchup of two of the top girls basketball teams in Class 3A went the way of host Silver Lake Tuesday. The top-ranked Eagles knocked off fourth-ranked Rossville 65-52 in the final game before the holiday break.
A sluggish second quarter put the Bulldawgs behind by 11 and they were unable to make up the deficit.
“Rossville’s a great (challenge) for us for a number of reasons,” said Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter. “First off, they are a super athletic team. They play incredibly hard, and they play in a way that is unique in terms of who we have faced so far. They are an up-tempo team. They do a great job of pressing using their length to disrupt you. You have to play with poise and not get caught up in the up-and-down game that they want to play.
“In the first quarter we fed into that a little bit, but we did a really good job, especially in the second quarter, of settling down and taking the shots we wanted to take in the half court. In the second and third quarter, you saw the lead extend because of that.”
Twenty points from senior MaKenzie McDaniel – 13 of which came in the first half – led the Eagles, who also got 16 points from Kailyn Hanni and 13 from Kaylee Deiter.
“This was a game we’ve been anticipating for forever,” McDaniel said. “It’s always a high-energy, big game. We make a bucket list at the beginning of the season, and beating Rossville is always very important to us.
“It’s nice to go into break with this big win.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women put a bow on the 2023 portion of their season Tuesday afternoon, running away in the second half with a 75-56 win over Northeastern State at Lee Arena.
WU coach Lora Westling said Tuesday was a great way to head into the holiday break.
"That was the first thing I told my girls, 'Thank you for getting a win while I'm in this ridiculous (Christmas) sweater,' '' Westling said. "I think it's a combination of the work they've been putting in.
"These girls deserve going into break with a little bit of joy and a little bit of confidence because they've certainly been putting in the work.''
Washburn, 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA, and Northeastern State were deadlocked at 17 at the end of the first quarter and 34-all at halftime before the Ichabods took control with a 20-9 third quarter and cruised the rest of the way.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Freshman Jack Bachelor scored 11 points in a span of 1 minute, 52 seconds in the first half to give Washburn an early lead and the Ichabods never looked back, rolling to an 84-48 MIAA win over Northeastern State Tuesday at Lee Arena.
Bachelor hit a 3-pointer to give Washburn a 7-0 lead at the 16:56 mark of the first half and added two more treys and a two-point basket to put the Ichabods up 15-8 at the 15:04 mark and WU went on to go wire-to-wire for the win, improving to 7-4 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA.
Bachelor scored a career-high 24 points and said the hot start was a big boost.
"It definitely helps,'' Bachelor said. "It gets your confidence up and just helps with the flow of the game because now they kind of have to respect the shots and then the drive's open and it opens up things for my teammates.
"It just gets the team's confidence going, so that was really good.''
Bachelor got his second start Tuesday after coming off the bench his first nine games, but said it doesn't matter to him whether he starts or not.
"It really doesn't affect me at all,'' Bachelor said. "I just try and do what's best for the team and just try to come in and give the energy that the team needs and just give what I can.''
The RiverHawks (4-6, 0-5) cut the Washburn lead to five at 17-12, but WU answered with a 24-5 run over the next 9:06 of the half to push its lead to 41-17 with 4:36 to play in the opening half.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabods will play their final game of the 2023 calendar season as they will host Northeastern State at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Lee Arena.
Washburn (6-4 overall, 2-2 in the MIAA) topped Missouri Western 83-77 on Saturday in St. Joseph.
The RiverHawks are 4-5 overall and 0-4 in the MIAA after falling at Rogers State 80-72 last Wednesday.
Northeastern State has lost its last four games since a 72-70 win over Ozarks on Nov. 20.
Tuesday's meeting will be the 22nd in the all-time series, which the Ichabods lead 11-10 after a 66-56 win Jan. 28 in Topeka.
Sophomore Sam Ungashick leads the Ichabods with a 17.3 scoring average in his first season at Washburn while averaging 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball will close out the 2023 portion of its schedule at 2 p.m. Tuesday against Northeastern State at Lee Arena.
WU, 7-3 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA, is coming off a 98-78 conference loss on the road against Missouri Western State on Saturday.
The Ichabods have gone 3-0 at home, 3-2 on the road and 1-1 in neutral court games.
The RiverHawks are off to a 4-5 start on the year and are 1-3 in the MIAA after a 58-44 loss to Rogers State on the road last Wednesday.
As a team Washburn averages 76.4 ppg on 44.6 percent shooting from the floor and 37.6 percent from 3-point range.
WU opponents average 60.2 points on 35.7 percent shooting and 26.2 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
The Ichabods are pulling down 41.3 rebounds per game while holding opponents to just 33.4. They also average 13.6 assists per game while opponents only average 9.9.
Senior Aubree Dewey leads Washburn offensively with a 14.0-point average on 44.4 percent shooting while playing a team high 32.9 minutes per game.
Dewey is also averaging 6.0 assists and is averaging 5.4 rebounds from the point guard position and 1.8 steals per contest.