- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's 44-38 overtime loss to Wichita South in Saturday's Capital City Classic championship game at Seaman will no doubt sting for a while, with the Junior Blues knowing they were so close from claiming the title in regulation.
But veteran Rural girls coach Kevin Bordewick said the key now is for the 8-3 No. 9-ranked (Class 6A) Junior Blues to lose that loss as motivation and a learning experience moving forward.
Washburn Rural freshman Maddie Vickery tied for game-high scoring honors with 16 points in Saturday's 44-38 overtime loss to Wichita South. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Zoe Canfield drives to the basket for two of her 16 points in Saturday's 44-38 overtime loss to Wichita South. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"Your learn from it, even if we won,'' Bordewick said. "We learned some things about ourselves last night when we won and we're going to learn some things about ourselves after today and what we need to work on.
"It's a process and we hammer that into their heads. This is not going to make or break our season. I really like how high our ceiling could be and that's what we're going to get to work on Monday.''
- Details
By KYLE MANTHE
TopSports.news
No. 9-ranked Class 5A Shawnee Heights was challenged early, but over the final three quarters was able to secure a non-league 67-55 home victory over a Hayden team beginning to return to full strength.
Shawnee Heights junior Jaret Sanchez (23) scored 22 points to lead the T-Birds in Friday's 67-55 win over Hayden. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
After knocking off No. 4-ranked De Soto on the road earlier in the week, coach Ken Darting knew that getting focus from the start could be a challenge, but was glad to be on the winning end.
“We’ve talked about it all week, you play a team that has lost seven or eight in a row and you just came off of beating a fourth-ranked team … so we are all full of ourselves and we have some injuries and sickness, but the bottom line is we just didn't play (well),” Darting said.
After cracking the rankings for the first time this season and winning nine of the last 10 games Darting wants his team to continue building.
“There’s steps of every year, you’ve just had success in a tournament, we’ve just gotten ranked … so now are you going to feel good about yourself the rest of the year and get knocked off by somebody or are you going to say ‘wow’ we’ve really got a chance and go, so that’s the next step to find out,” Darting said.
Hayden coach Trey Brown gives instructions to his Wildcats during Friday's 67-55 loss at Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
On the other sideline, Hayden coach Trey Brown’s return home, where he led the T-Birds to a 5A state title in 2017, was spoiled by a high-scoring balanced offensive outing from Shawnee Heights.
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
After scoring four points in Washburn Rural's 67-27 runaway over Lawrence in Thursday's opening round of the Capital City Classic, Maddie Vickery knew that her team would need more from her in Friday's semifinal matchup with No. 2-ranked and previously-undefeated Wichita Heights.
Washburn Rural freshman Maddie Vickery scored 25 points in Friday's 50-43 Capital City Classic semifinal win over Wichita Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Vickery, a 6-foot-1 freshman, responded with the best game of her young high school career, scoring a game-high 25 points as the ninth-ranked Junior Blues advanced to the tournament championship game with a 50-43 win over the Falcons at Seaman.
Vickery went six of 12 from the field, with three of her makes coming from 3-point range, and was a clutch 10 of 12 at the free throw line as Rural improved to 8-2 on the season.
"I definitely had a chip on my shoulder I would say,'' Vickery said. "It's part of playing. You've just got to play, you've got to run with it. Last night all of my teammates were hitting so I just keep feeding them and that was what was working.
"This game it was more me driving and others kicking it out to me or us getting in motion. We were constantly pushing and we secured on defense and we played excellent offense, I think. It was great to get a team win for sure.''
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Highland Park's girls basketball team rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 71-39 romp past Class 6A school Free State in Thursday's opening round of the Glacier's Edge Invitational at Emporia.
Freshman Pearmella Carter scored 22 points, with nine rebounds and six steals in Highland Park's 71-39 win over Free State on Thursday. [Highland Park girls basketball]
After dropping a 55-47 non-league decision at Eudora on Tuesday, Rob Brown's Scots rolled to the Glacier's Edge semifinals with Thursday's 32-point win over the Firebirds.
Freshman Pearmella Carter paced the Scots with 22 points (9 of 13 from the field) and added nine rebounds and six steals.
Angelique Gowan-Britt added 18 points and also grabbed a game-high 14 points while recording three assists and three steals.
DeAsia Sanders had six assists and five steals in the win.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West sophomore Imani McGlory and Highland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson 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 2023-2024 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of McGlory and Robinson over the past week:
Topeka West sophomore Imani McGlory has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency girls Rising Star of the week after a 29-point performance last Friday in a win over Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
IMANI McGLORY, Topeka West
A 5-foot-6 sophomore, McGlory turned in a career night last Friday, leading Topeka West girls basketball to a 55-36 home United Kansas Conference win over Leavenworth.
McGlory paced the Chargers with a game-high 29 points and seven 3-pointers as the Chargers recorded their fourth win of the 2023-2024 season.
McGlory also played limited minutes in the junior varsity game against the Pioneers, hitting three 3-pointers in that game to give her 10 on the day.
Highland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson is the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency boys Rising Star of the Week after recording three double-doubles in last Week's Topeka Invitational Tournament. [File photo/TSN]
JA'COREY ROBINSON, Highland Park
A 6-foot-5 junior, Robinson recorded three straight double-doubles in the Topeka Invitational Tournament, helping lead third-ranked (Class 5A) Highland Park to a runnerup team finish.
Robinson scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 77-44 first-round win over Lawrence, scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 67-52 semifinal victory over Shawnee Mission North and had 16 points with 15 rebounds in Saturday's 64-61 championship-game loss to Wichita Northwest.
Robinson followed up his tournament performance with 19 points in Tuesday's 66-46 win over Eudora and had 14 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 58-19 Meadowlark Conference win over Kansas City-Schlagle as the Scots improved to 8-1 on the season.
