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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
A Thursday night home win over Lincoln gave the Washburn women’s basketball team a brief reprieve from a seven-game losing streak. But the Ichabods couldn’t string together a second win Saturday, losing 69-56 at home to Central Missouri State.
Senior Aubrey Dewey led Washburn with 14 points in Saturday's 69-56 home MIAA loss to Central Missouri State. [File photo/TSN]
The loss dropped Washburn to 7-13 in the MIAA and 12-14 overall.
“Winning is that magic drug that cures a lot,” Washburn coach Lora Westling said. “We had good practices coming off that. But this league is pretty unforgiving.”
The Ichabods were plagued by turnovers and struggled to get much offense going in the first 15 minutes. Their slow start permitted the Jennies to establish a double-digit advantage in the second period.
But Washburn came rushing back late in the period with a seven-point run, closing the gap to 30-27 at halftime.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Washburn men took another step Saturday toward achieving their goals, and took revenge on a team that beat them earlier in the season in the process.
Sophomore Jarmell Johnson scored 14 points in Washburn's 68-49 MIAA romp past Central Missouri on Saturday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods trounced Central Missouri State – a team that beat them by 11 points in January – at Lee Arena Saturday by a score of 68-49.
The Mules warmed up with just eight players and employed just seven of them in the contest. The two leading scorers from the first meeting did not suit up on Saturday. Still, Washburn coach Brett Ballard saw no need to apologize for the drubbing.
“They weren’t at full strength, and they were trying to piece some things together. But still, I don’t think we have to apologize for winning a league game by 20,” Ballard said. “You never want to lose twice to a team, so winning today was big for a lot of reasons.”
The Ichabods were methodical in their handling of the Mules. They steadily pulled away, leading 33-19 at halftime and continuing to stretch the lead throughout. With two minutes remaining, Ballard cleared his bench.
The Ichabods had four players in double figures, led by guard Jarmell Johnson, who came off the bench to score 14, his high point output in the MIAA this year.
“My teammates looked for me today,” Johnson said. “I kind of had the hot hand, so they kept looking for me. We had a really great game plan.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
The Seaman boys played their final regular-season game at home Thursday night against the Kansas-City Turner Bears, with sophomore Landon Wiltz's 29-point night powering Seaman to a 73-57 United Kansas Conference win.
Seaman sophomore Landon Wiltz scored a career-high 29 points in Friday's 73-57 UKC win over Turner. [File photo/TSN]
The Vikings and Bears battled for the first three quarters before Seaman pulled away late.
After jumping out to an early 9-0 lead, the Vikings saw the Bears battle back to within four points, 15-11, at the end of the first quarter.
“To their (Turner’s) credit, they fought back after the tough start,” Seaman coach Craig Cox said.
In the second quarter, Turner had a stretch where they made three consecutive 3-point baskets to take a 24-21 lead, but the Vikings responded by going on a 13-3 run to close out the quarter and lead 34-27 at the halftime break.
Seaman extended its lead to 43-29 in the first 4:30 of the third quarter, but another stretch of four straight Bear 3-pointers cut Seaman’s lead to 49-41 heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Seaman pulled away by outscoring Turner 24-16, led by Wiltz, who scored 11 of his career-high 29 points in the quarter.
“Landon obviously was huge for us offensively,'' Cox said. "He got inside, understanding he had a matchup he could take advantage of.''
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights girls regular season ended in a perplexing and disappointing fashion Friday.
Shawnee Heights sophomore Reianna Vega (42) led the T-Birds with 14 points in Friday night's 55-50 UKC loss to Piper. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Trying to retain a position near the top of the United Kansas Conference and angling for a preferable Class 5A sub-state slot, the T-Birds fell to Piper 55-50 at home.
Piper entered the contest with a 9-10 record, 6-9 in the conference. Shawnee Heights, meanwhile, was 14-5, 12-3 in the league. The T-Birds beat Piper by 14 earlier in the season.
But the records went out the window Friday night, and Piper made big plays late to pull off the upset.
“We knew this was not going to be one that you could sleepwalk through, and unfortunately between us missing easy shots and giving up offensive rebounds … we need to do better,” Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. “(The coaches) need to do a better job of getting them ready. But to score 50 and not come out with a win kind of hurts.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights boys forced visiting Piper to share the United Kansas Conference title by knocking off the Pirates 68-64 Friday night at Heights.
Shawnee Heights junior Jaret Sanchez scored a game-high 22 points in the T-Birds' 68-64 UKC win over Piper Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights junior Deacon Pomeroy had 16 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 68-64 UKC win over Piper. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Piper had a chance to own the title outright with a win, but instead the T-Birds claimed a share of their first league crown since 1993.
“This feels amazing, especially to do it at home,” said T-Bird senior Brennon Dodge. “This was the best season of my four years here. We have a great team, and it was just great to compete together every single day. And I’m so glad for the way we won it.”
The two teams finished the season not just with matching 14-2 records in the league, but also with identical 17-3 season records. The intensity of the game Friday was indicative of how evenly matched the two teams were.
The two traded leads for two and a half quarters, at which point Piper began to pull away.
With two and a half minutes remaining in the third period, the Pirates led 47-39. The crowd was frantic, the action chaotic. Players ended up on the floor several times over a particularly intense stretch that ended with Shawnee Heights’ Jaret Sanchez being fouled intentionally, then being charged with a technical foul that resulted in free throws at both ends.
That exchanged might have been the spark that turned the game around. Shawnee Heights went on a 11-2 run to take the lead. After losing the lead momentarily, the T-Birds put together a 12-0 run to go from behind by five to ahead by seven with 1:24 remaining.
