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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There was no doubt that Wednesday's Class 5A sub-state semifinal between No. 3 East seed and No. 14 Kansas City-Sumner was a game that Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting expected to win.
But there were also plenty of things Darting wanted his team to accomplish in the T-Birds' postseason opener.
Senior Deacon Pomeroy led all scorers with 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 74-41 Shawnee Heights Class 5A sub-state win over KC-Sumner. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Jaret Sanchez scored 22 points with six 3-pointers in Wednesday's 74-41 sub-state win over KC-Sumner. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]AAr
And for the most part Darting felt like his team, now 18-3, accomplished those goals in Heights' 74-41 home romp past the 7-14 Sabres.
"We had a few people that I saw selfishness, happy with the 3 and wanted to get that easy bucket, but what I like about this group is I can never say they don't play hard,'' Darting said. "They come to play. Every game they're going to play hard.''
Shawnee Heights senior Jaret Sanchez connected on three 3-pointers in the first two minutes to stake the T-Birds to a 9-4 lead and Heights was in command by a 24-9 margin by the end of the opening quarter.
By halftime the T-Birds had stretched their margin to 27 points (47-20) and Shawnee Heights led 70-33 at the end of the third quarter, forcing a running clock over the final eight minutes.
Heights senior Deacon Pomeroy and Sanchez combined for 46 points, with Pomeroy scoring a game-high 24 points and also grabbing 11 rebounds and Sanchez adding 22 points with six 3-pointers.
Junior Da'Quan Lee also cracked double figures with 15 points.
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
The Class 4A No. 2-ranked Hayden girls looked as good as advertised Wednesday night as they rolled to a 53-17 home sub-state semifinal win over the Blue Comets of Chanute.
Senior Millie Ramsey led Hayden with 17 points in Wednesday's 53-17 sub-state win over Chanute. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden senior Norma Greco scored 14 points with four 3-pointers in Wednesday's 53-17 sub-state win over Chanute. [File photo/TSN]
The Wildcats would open things up quickly with a 9-0 run to get the game started and then Chanute would counter and trail the cats 10-6 at the end of the first quarter.
But that would be all it wrote for the Comets as Hayden would wake up on offense and start to show why they are the top seed on the East side of the bracket as the Wildcats would out-score the Comets 36-9 the rest of the way including a 25-0 run that stretched midway through the first quarter all the way to the fourth quarter.
A big part of that help was 17 points from senior Amelia Ramsey, who was a perfect 8-8 from the field before she missed her last shot to finish 8-9 to lead all scorers.
Senior Norma Greco would be hot from deep for the Wildcats as she would go 5-6 from the field and 4-5 from 3-point range.
"Our plan was to really penetrate the gaps and try to swing it and get open looks or get the ball inside and let Millie go to work, and it definitely helps when there is multiple of us scoring and it’s not just from one place it makes us hard to beat,'' Greco said.
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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
The Topeka High girls basketball team opened Class 6A sub-state play in exhilarating fashion, nearly losing a late lead but hanging on for a 44-41 victory over Wichita South on Wednesday night in The Dungeon at Topeka High School.
Sophomore Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 17 points in Wednesday's 44-41 Topeka High home sub-state win over Wichita South. [File photo/TSN]
Freshman Hailey Caryl (40) scored 14 points in Topeka High's 44-41 sub-state win over Wichita South Wednesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Both teams struggled to put up points in the opening minutes of the contest, but freshman Hailey Caryl put the Trojans on the board first with a layup and foul, hitting the free throw to convert the three-point play.
Topeka High looked to break the game open early, with layups from Keimara Marshall and Ahsieryrhuajh Rayton giving the Trojans a 7-2 lead and forcing a timeout from the visiting Titans with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter.
The break in the action did not deter the Trojans, with Rayton knocking down a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 10-2.
Down by eight early, Wichita South went on a run of its own, with Valentina Hart finishing a layup after an offensive rebound to cut the deficit to 11-9 at the end of the period.
The second quarter opened with an excellent defensive play from Marshall, blocking Janiah Cathey’s game-tying layup attempt. But the Titans would take the lead a minute later with a 3-pointer from Mahogany Butler, forcing a timeout from Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker.
The teams would trade leads for the remainder of the half, before a late layup from Wichita South’s Sa’Kirra Brown gave the visitors a 21-19 advantage at halftime.
Brown scored all seven of her points on the evening in the quarter. Coming out of the locker room, the Trojans stormed back, going on a 7-0 run to force a Titan timeout just under two minutes into the second half.
Topeka High tightened up its defense in the quarter, only allowing Wichita South to score four points in the frame. The cold spell did not carry over into the fourth quarter for the Titans, with Butler knocking down a 3-pointer to cut the Topeka High lead down to two.
The hosts answered with another 7-0 run, capped off by Rayton’s second 3-pointer of the evening to give the Trojans their largest lead of the night.
Wichita South refused to go quietly, with D Chiles hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Hart converting a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one.
With the offense struggling to score from the field, Topeka High closed out the contest by attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. The Trojans’ final seven points came from the charity stripe, helping secure the three-point victory.
Rayton led Topeka High with 17 points, shooting 50 percent from the field on the evening. Caryl added 14 points along with seven rebounds. Jo’Mhara Benning led the Trojans on the glass, pulling down eight rebounds.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Topeka West boys had to go to overtime to defeat 12th-seeded Bishop Carroll Wednesday night at home, but they advanced with a 69-63 win. And they got a surprise when it was over.
Several minutes after the conclusion of the sub-state semifinal contest, another cheer went up from the Topeka West crowd when it was announced the Chargers would host another playoff game. Due to Valley Center’s upset of Seaman, fifth-seeded Topeka West will host 13th-seeded Valley Center Saturday with a trip to state on the line.
Senior Jalen Foy scored 19 points in Wednesday's 69-63 Topeka West overtime win over Bishop Carroll. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
First-year Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker and the Chargers will play for a Class 5A sub-state title on Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“I got to go in there and say, “Well boys, I gotta tell you seniors, this isn’t your last home game,’ and their faces all lit up,” Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker said.
The Chargers had to fight back from a fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime.
“Basketball is a game of runs and that’s how it goes,” Ulsaker said. “Our guys did not pack it in. Down six in the fourth quarter with four minutes left, some teams couldn’t deal with that pressure. I’m very lucky to have some seniors and juniors that understand what it takes to win basketball games. That’s the great thing about playing in the (United Kansas Conference). We’re used to these kinds of nights.”
Senior Jalen Foy scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth period and overtime. Also making a huge second half impact off the bench was Jay’veon Traylor. The junior hit all four of his shot attempts and provided 11 second-half points.
“I felt like the fourth quarter, when we got there, it was a little rough, and then we started to pick it up,” Foy said. “We all just contributed in our own way. None of us thought it was one man bigger than the other. It was all just playing as a team.”
Ulsaker praised Foy for his leadership and character.
“He is very tough minded and has thick skin,” Ulsaker said. “We’ve had a lot of talks about what we need from him, not only on the basketball court but off of it, being a leader for some of these guys.”
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Just a year ago the Wildcats were in Class 3A and entered the postseason 5-13.
What a difference a year makes and the Wildcats, led by first-year coach Dwayne Anthony entered the postseason in Class 4A with a 13-8 record and ranked No. 7 in the last Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll.
Senior Jacob Deister (4) led Hayden with 15 points in Tuesday's 93-59 Class 4A sub-state win over Independence. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden would end up drawing the Bulldogs of Independence, who would enter the game with a 9-11 record and led by 5-foot-10 sophomore Javen Colbert. Javen's mom is from Topeka so he was able to play in front of a lot of friends and family and would score 14 points on the night.
"It was very special to be able to play in Topeka tonight because all my family is from here, and I am glad I was able to represent for them just wish the game would of gone a different way,'' Colbert said.
The Wildcats would get off to a 6-0 run to start the game and take off from there as they would stretch that into a 22-10 lead midway thru the first quarter and take a commanding 32-19 lead to end the first quarter.
The Wildcats would start the second quarter with a 12-0 run that would put them up 47-19 as the Wildcats would use their length and speed to go into halftime up 54-29.
The Wildcats would be led by senior Jacob Deister, who would have 13 of his game-high 15 points at halftime.
The Wildcats would roll from there and out-score the Dawgs 39-29 the rest of the game to take a 93-59 semifinal win.
Hayden would get double-digit nights from four athletes as Deister would lead the way with 15 points, followed by Mason Becker’s 14, Connor Hanika’s 13 and Cooper Zweisler with 11 points.
The Wildcats were hot from 3-point range all night as they would shoot 9-17 from outside the arc.
"We came out really hot and our press really got the momentum going for us,'' Hanika said. "We still have a few adjustments to make to get ready for Rock Creek, including watching lots of film before Friday.”
"I really applaud the boys' passion and attention to detail and our energy and effort,'' Anthony said. "We are really, really a strong team when they bring those things. Now we just need to get back to it and watch film on Rock Creek and get ready for Friday.
"I am blessed, I have a team full of leaders, not just Mason, Connor and Jacob, but the senior class alone, each and every one of them is solid individuals and it is the reason that these guys have experienced success so far.''
The Wildcats now turn their attention to the No. 2 team on the East side of sub-state in Rock Creek, which advanced with a 59-39 win over Tonganoxie.
The game will be Friday night at Rock Creek with a game time of 7p.m. The winner will punch their ticket to the Class 4A state tournament next week in Salina.
HAYDEN BOYS 93, INDEPENDENCE 59
Independence 19 10 7 23 — 59
Hayden 32 22 22 17 — 93
Independence (9-12) — Smith 5-12 2-4 15, Colbert 4-11 4-6 14, Lanning 2-7 2-2 7, Veile 1-2 3-6 5, Bunyard 2-3 0-0 4, Sprague 3-3 1-2 7, Small 2-2 0-0 6, Sanders 0-0 1-1 1. Totals 19-40 13-21 59.
Hayden (13-8) — Deister 7-12 0-0 15, Becker 5-8 1-2 14, Hanika 6-9 1-2 13, Mitchell 2-4 0-0 4, Kuta 2-3 0-2 4, Zweisler 4-7 1-1 11, Compton 3-6 2-2 10, Tourtillot 4-6 0-2 9, Banks 3-5 0-0 6, Heinen 2-4 1-1 5, Wolff 1-2 0-0 2, Power 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-67 6-12 93.
3-point goals — Indy 8 (Smith 3, Colbert 2, Small 2, Lanning) Hayden 9 (Becker 3, Zweisler 2, Compton 2, Tourtillot, Deister). Total Fouls — Indy 10, Hayden 18.
Highland Park girls roll to 59-11 5A sub-state win
No. 3 Class 5A East girls seed Highland Park opened its sub-state bid with a 59-11 home semifinal win over Meadowlark Conference rival Kansas City-Washington Tuesday night.
