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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
JaiMarion Cook had a night shooting the basketball he won’t soon forget. The senior connected on all seven three-pointers he attempted Friday against Lansing to lead the T-Birds to a 73-52 win on Shawnee Heights’ Senior Night.
Shawnee Heights senior JaiMarion Cook hit seven 3-pointers in Friday's 73-52 win over Lansing. [File photo/TSN]i
Cook swished the game’s first shot to trigger a 12-0 run to open the game. The T-Birds hit their first five shots, and nine of 11 attempts in the first period to bolt to a 23-5 lead. Cook did most of the damage, hitting four 3-pointers, barely grazing the rim on any of his attempts.
Shawnee Heights stretched that lead to 38-12 at the half, with Cook hitting another 3-pointer.
The senior buried Shawnee Heights’ first two shot attempts of the second half to give him seven 3-pointers in the first 18 minutes of the game. Only late in the third period did he finally miss a shot – a tough reverse on a drive through traffic. The senior finished with 23 points to lead all scorers.
“I felt it before I even walked out of the locker room,” Cook said. “It just felt like, when we embraced each other on the middle of the court before the game…it was like something was in the air.”
Though he kept connecting, Cook didn’t worry about his perfect streak.
“It’s not about a streak,” Cook said. “I just told myself, ‘Keep shooting. You’re on fire right now.’ ”
At times this season, Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting has lamented his team’s offensive limitations. He smiled when discussing the team’s blistering start and Cook’s perfect night from behind the arc.
“When I’m disappointed, I’m usually disappointed with effort, because our margin of error is so that we have to be perfect,” Darting said. “We can’t make mistakes. But we can shoot it, if we take our time to get what we call ‘gold shots.’ That’s a shot you can make.”
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights girls hit 23 field goals in their 59-11 United Kansas Conference win over Lansing Friday. But the first bucket was the most important.
T-Birds make Senior Night special for injured captain Tayler Hanshaw. [Photo by Kirk Hockman/Special to TSN]
As part of the T-Birds’ Senior Night celebration, senior Tayler Hanshaw made her first start of the season. Wearing a brace on her right knee, Hanshaw jogged to the offensive end after Lansing conceded the opening jump ball. Hanshaw was fed a pass on the right block, which she laid in for her first, and only, score of the season.
Hanshaw was a key member of last year’s T-Birds that were knocked out in a Class 5A sub-state finals. She figured to be a leader for coach Bob Wells’ team in her senior season. But an injury ended her season just as it was beginning.
“Over the summer I put in a lot of work, going to the gym every day,” Hanshaw recalled. “But, like, 20 minutes into the first practice I was doing a defensive drill and I just stepped wrong and (my knee) popped. I was very disappointed because I was really looking forward to this season.”
A torn ACL deprived Hanshaw of her senior season, and deprived Shawnee Heights of an important player.
“It was really sad, especially the way it happened on that very first day of tryouts,” said fellow senior Reianna Vega. “We knew it was going to affect us a lot because she was one of our point guards and she shot a lot of threes. Knowing she wasn’t going to be back for the rest of the season, we knew we had to step up and do what we had to do to fill her spot.”
Hanshaw surrendered her position on the floor, but she wasn’t going to give up her influence on the team, which, with the win over Lansing, is now 14-4.
“I still wanted to be in that captain role,” Hanshaw said. “I knew I wasn’t going to give that up. So, I came to practice every day. I showed up to every game. I sat on the bench and supported the team. Even though I couldn’t play, I still wanted to be there for them.”
The T-Birds were able to play everyone in the romp over Lansing. Junior KK Emmot led Heights with 14 points, followed by senior Imani McGlory and Vega, who added 11 apiece. Nine T-Birds scored in the game.
Hanshaw appreciated the opportunity to get in the game, to score a bucket, and to be recognized in the post-game ceremony as one of the T-Birds’ four seniors.
“It was really exciting to go out there and even being able to shoot because I didn’t know if I would be able to do that,” Hanshaw said. “I’m really glad it worked out because I have a lot of family that came to support me.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After dropping a disappointing 16-point decision to Seaman on its home floor in the final round of the Capital City Classic Topeka High girls basketball bounced back with a solid win at Emporia on Tuesday and followed that up with its best performance of the season Friday night, going wire to wire for a 45-26 Centennial League win over Washburn Rural.
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored a game-high 19 points for Topeka High in Friday's 45-26 victory over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"No question that we played really well from beginning to end, that's what was nice,'' Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said. "That's what I just told them, 'It wasn't the win, the win was wonderful, but the way you got the win was pretty good because it was good defense from beginning to end.' ''
The Trojans jumped out to a 9-2 first-quarter lead over the No. 10-ranked (Class 6A) Junior Blues and pushed their advantage to 15 points (19-4) late in the first half before taking a 12-point (19-7) cushion to the locker room at halftime.
Topeka High continued to roll in the second half, opening up a 34-15 advantage and led by as many as 22 points down the stretch en route to the decisive 19-point victory.
Sophomore Hailey Caryl scored 12 points for Topeka High in Friday's 45-26 victory over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton led the Trojans with a game-high 19 points while sophomore Hailey Caryl added 12 points and senior Keimara Marshall nine for Topeka High.
Washburn Rural freshman Brynn Anderson scored all seven of the Junior Blues' points in the first half and finished with 10 points while senior Hallie Walker added six points and not other Rural players scored more than four.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High boys basketball was faced with two tests in Friday night's Centennial League home matchup with city rival Washburn Rural.
Senior Elisha Guest scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as Topeka High edged Washburn Rural, 68-67. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Trojans' first test was finding a way to rally from a double-digit deficit late in the first half to get back in the hunt.
Then, after battling all the way back to lead by six points late in the game, the task facing the Trojans was holding off the Junior Blues down the stretch.
Robbie Sanders' Topeka High team passed both those tests, holding on for a hard-fought 68-67 win at "The Dungeon.''
"It's a resilient bunch of guys,'' Sanders said. "Like I told them in the locker room, I'm just so proud of them. We had every opportunity to quit when things weren't going our way. I wasn't happy with the body language or the effort in the first half. I challenged them at halftime and they really responded.
"These kids are starting to believe they can beat anybody. And that's all I've been waiting on because I believe in their talent, I believe in the work we've put in, and we have good players so if they just keep believing and keep trusting each other we can keep this streak going.''
Now 10-6 overall and 3-2 in the league, Topeka High trailed by 11 points (29-18) late in the first half and eight points (29-21) at the break and still faced an eight-point deficit (38-30) with two and a half minutes left in the third stanza and by six (46-40) in the fourth before rallying to take a 64-58 advantage inside the final two minutes.
But the game still went down to the final seconds, with the Junior Blues, trailing by three points, forcing a Topeka High turnover to give themselves an opportunity to force overtime, but Rural ran out of time as the Trojans were able to run out the clock after a Simon Rowley driving layup that cut the Blues' deficit to the final margin.
Senior Bryson McComas (4) scored a game-high 22 points Friday as Topeka High edged Washburn Rural, 68-67. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seniors Bryson McComas, Jalen Aldridge and Elisha Guest combined for 59 of the Trojans 68 points, with McComas scoring a game-high 22 points, Aldridge 19 and Guest 18 for High.
Guest came up huge in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the final 7:41 of the game, including three 3-pointers and a five of five performance at the free throw line.
"I've been battling a sickness for awhile,'' Guest said. "I've been coughing and my coughing's messing with me, so I just had to push through it.
"My teammates believed in me, so I was able to help us come in clutch and win the game.''
Senior Simon Rowley led Washburn Rural with 19 points in Friday's 68-67 loss to Topeka High. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Rowley, who returned for the Junior Blues after missing multiple games with an injury, led Rural (9-7, 2-2) with 19 points off the bench while 6-foot-10 junior Cooper Schmidt had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, sophomore Brooks Ballard 12 points and senior Kieffer O'Connor and junior Zach Wright 10 apiece.
Washburn Rural suffered its second one-point heartbreaker in three nights, dropping a 55-54 home loss to Blue Valley on Wednesday.
The Junior Blues will travel to Manhattan on Tuesday while Topeka High will be back at home to face Hayden.
TOPEKA BOYS 68, WASHBURN RURAL 67
Washburn Rural 15 14 11 27 -- 67
Topeka High 12 9 17 30 -- 68
Washburn Rural (9-7, 2-2) – Ballard 3-7 5-7 12, Wright 5-8 0-0 10, O'Connor 3-6 4-4 10, Chooncharoen 0-2 0-0 0, Schmidt 7-11 0-0 14, Rowley 7-15 4-4 19, Nimz 1-2 0-0 2, Bradley 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 13-15 67.
Topeka High (10-6, 3-2) -- Aldridge 6-10 5-8 19, Guest 5-12 5-5 18, McComas 9-17 2-2 22, Ross 2-3 2-2 7, McFadden 0-3 0-0 0, Carter 1-3 0-0 2, Redmond 0-0 0-0 0, Luarks 0-2 0-0 0, Campbell 0-4 0-0 0, Villegas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 14-16 68.
3-point goals – Washburn Rural 2 (Ballard, Rowley), Topeka High 8 (Guest 3, Aldridge 2, McComas 2, Ross). Total fouls – Washburn Rural 14, Topeka High 15. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- McComas.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural freshman girls basketball standout Brynn Anderson and Highland Park junior boys basketball standout JoJo Kingcannon have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.
Here's a brief look at the recent accomplishments of Anderson and Kingcannon.
Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
BRYNN ANDERSON, Washburn Rural
Anderson was named the Most Valuable Player in last week's Glaciers Edge Tournament at Emporia after helping lead Washburn Rural to the tournament title. Anderson scored a game-high 20 points in the championship game as Rural captured the tournament championship with a 48-42 win over Wichita Southeast. Anderson hit 5 of 10 shots from the field and went 9 of 10 at the free throw line against the Buffs. Anderson followed up her tournament performance with 25 points in Wednesday's 55-42 win over Blue Valley, hitting five 3-pointers and going six of six at the free throw line.
JoJo Kingcannon, Highland Park [File photo/TSN]
JOJO KINGCANNON, Highland Park
Kingcannon, who ranks second in the city of Topeka in scoring, continued his outstanding season with 49 points in a pair of Highland Park games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Kingcannon scored 26 points in Tuesday's 62-51 Meadowlark Conference loss to Kansas City-Washington, hitting 8 of 18 shots from the field and going 9 of 10 at the free throw line. The Scot standout scored a game-high 23 points in Wednesday's 84-60 loss to city rival Topeka West, hitting 8 of 15 shots from the floor and all five of his free throw attempts with a pair of 3-pointers.
