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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Newman's men's basketball team did a pretty good Steph Curry imitation Saturday in Lee Arena, canning seven 3-pointers in the first half and 13 on the day.
Junior Michael Keegan slams down a dunk on the way to a double-double in Washburn's 92-83 MIAA win over Newman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior standout Andrew Orr led Washburn with 21 points in Saturday's 92-83 MIAA win over Newman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Washburn continued to stick with its game plan, which paid off down the stretch in a 92-83 MIAA win over the Jets, with the Ichabods improving to 9-4 overall and 5-2 in the conference.
"They were hitting some crazy shots,'' Washburn junior standout Andrew Orr admitted. "We kept our composure and I think that was important. We knew going into halftime that we didn't play as well as we were supposed to or as we can. We had just beat the No. 12-ranked team in the country (Central Oklahoma), so we know how good we can play.
"We came out a little bit flat but we ended up able to pick up in the second half. It's a long game so we were able to play the long game and we did what we needed to do.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
On Thursday, Washburn University women's basketball needed a last-second shot from senior Aubree Dewey to escape with a two-point win over two-win Central Oklahoma.
Playing another two-win team on Saturday, Lora Westling's Ichabods rode a 28-point third quarter to pull away for an 84-58 MIAA win over Newman in Lee Arena.
Sophomore Yibari Nwidadah scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Saturday's 84-58 MIAA win over Newman. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
"We have a lot of respect for them,'' Westling said. "That's a young team and it wasn't a fluke that they beat Emporia. When young kids get confident on the right night they're dangerous so we just wanted to make sure we kept their confidence low and made some good adjustments.
"I thought our players did a great job of that after halftime and then we did a much better job of coming out ready to play in the third.''
Washburn improved to 10-3 overall and 5-2 in the MIAA, with the Ichabods now within a win of equaling last season's win total, with WU not posting win No. 10 until Feb. 14 a year ago.
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
Topeka West returned from its winter break to face the No. 4-ranked (Class 5A) and United Kansas Conference-leading DeSoto, with the Chargers falling to 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the UKC with the 76-30 loss.
Sophomore Keimani Paul slams home a dunk in Friday's 76-30 Topeka West loss to De Soto. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
The first quarter was very competitive, with both teams shooting very well from the field. De Soto was 5-8 from the field, including 4-6 from 3-point range and Topeka West shot 5-10 from the field. The quarter ended with DeSoto leading, 17-12.
The Wildcats continued their hot shooting into the second quarter going 10-15 from the field and 3-4 from long distance. The Chargers trailed 24-18 midway through the quarter, but DeSoto ended the first half on a 16-1 run and led 40-19 at halftime.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Despite snow swirling outside the gym, senior Brennon Dodge came out of the holiday break red hot, scoring Shawnee Heights’ first 12 points. Dodge and the T-Birds ran away from Lansing 76-51 to start the new year with a home victory to improve to 4-2.
Shawnee Heights senior Brennon Dodge scored 25 points in Friday's 76-51 UKC romp past Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Dodge staked Shawnee Heights to a 12-3 lead and the T-Birds led 23-8 at the close of the first period. He tallied 19 points in the first half.
“Having him is a great luxury,” Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said of Dodge. “If you ask me who we need to be great, it’s (Brennon). But sometimes I don’t give him credit because I take him for granted. I’m not saying ‘(Brennon) had a great game,’ because he had it the time before, and the time before that. Sometimes I don’t give him his just due.”
“It was just a great feeling helping my team,” said Dodge, who led all scorers with 25. “I’ve been practicing getting my shot down, staying consistent, and keeping mentally prepared.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights girls basketball picked up where it left off at the end of 2023, starting the new year with a 54-26 United Kansas Conference blowout of visiting Lansing Friday.
Shawnee Heights freshman KK Emmot hit three 3-pointers for nine points in the T-Birds' 54-26 UKC win over Lansing Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Rachel Swift takes the ball inside in Friday's 54-26 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds won four in a row prior to the holidays. Things were going so well, in fact, coach Bob Wells regretted taking a break.
“The kids were really locked in and really working in practice with a common goal in mind,” Wells said. “You could see that they were really playing well, and things were just starting to happen. So, it felt sort of unfortunate that we had to have a break. But that’s just how it is.”
The T-Birds needed eight minutes to shake off the rust. They scuffled to an 8-5 lead after one period. But then the home team reeled off 18 straight points to stretch the lead to 26-5. The T-Birds went to the half up 31-8 and forced a running clock for the fourth period.
