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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball kicks off a three-game road swing with a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday night MIAA game at Missouri Western on Wednesday.
Washburn won back-to-back games at home last week with victories over Rogers State and Northeastern State to improve to 9-10 overall and 5-8 in the MIAA.
Junior point guard Aubree Dewey leads Washburn in scoring, assists and minutes played entering Wednesday's MIAA game at Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Missouri Western (18-5, 12-3 MIAA) saw its 11-game win streak come to an end on Saturday with a 91-55 loss at Nebraska-Kearney.
The Griffons won the first matchup against WU earlier this season, taking a 57-44 decision on Dec. 17 at Lee Arena.
At the beginning of this week the Griffons are tied for third in the MIAA standings and the Ichabods are sitting in eighth.
Washburn is second in the league and ranks 20th in Division II for fewest points allowed per game, holding opponents to 56.2 points a game.
WU has limited opponents to 49 or fewer points in four games, including the Ichabods' 61-49 win over the RiverHawks last Saturday.
Junior point guard Aubree Dewey leads Washburn with 10.3 points, 3.7 assists and 32.5 minutes per game while also averaging 4.1 rebounds.
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'By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
PIPER (10-4, 7-3) at SEAMAN (11-1, 7-1)
Seaman junior Taylin Stallbaumer is congratulated by her teammates after hitting the game-winning 3-pointer in Saturday's 46-43 win over Emporia in the Glaciers Edge Tournament. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Seaman, top-ranked in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, captured the tournament championship in last week's Glacier's Edge Tournament, taking a 46-43 win over tournament host Emporia on junior Taylin Stallbaumer's buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Saturday's championship game. Freshman Maddie Gragg scored 16 points and Stallbaumer 15 against Emporia while sophomore Anna Becker was named the tournament Most Valuable Player. Piper has posted three straight wins, including a 62-50 win over De Soto in the Pirates' last game. Seaman beat Piper 63-35 in an earlier meeting.
Sophomore Amelia Ramsey (center) has led Highland Park's girls to an 8-3 record and the Meadowlark Conference lead this winter. [File photo/TSN]
KC-WASHINGTON (3-7, 2-4) at HIGHLAND PARK (8-3, 4-0)
League-leading Highland Park will return to Meadowlawk Conference play after a 75-7 non-league romp past Kansas City-East, Mo. last Friday. Washington is coming off a 67-18 win over Kansas City-Northeast, Mo. Sophomore Amelia Ramsey leads Highland Park, which has not had a Meadowlark Conference game closer than 16 points. The Scots have won their last three games.
LANSING (3-9, 2-7) at TOPEKA WEST (3-10, 2-8)
Topeka West finished sixth in last week's Firebird Classic at Free State, posting a 1-2 record. The Chargers took a 46-40 consolation win over Great Bend last Friday before dropping a 59-53 decision to Wichita Northwest in Saturday's consolation final. Lansing is coming off a 49-45 win over Jefferson West.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
PIPER (10-4, 7-3) at SEAMAN (7-5, 4-4)
Senior Kaeden Bonner (right) and the Seaman boys basketball team will be looking for their fifth straight victory in Tuesday night's United Kansas Conference home game against Piper. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman has posted four straight victories, including a 68-41 United Kansas Conference victory over Lansing last Friday. Piper is coming off a 62-56 UKC loss to De Soto. Tuesday night will be the second game of the season between Seaman and Piper, with the Pirates taking a 61-48 win over the Vikings in the earlier meeting.
Senior Bo Aldridge and the Highland Park boys ran their winning streak to 11 games with a pair of non-league victories last week. [File photo/TSN]
KC-WASHINGTON (5-7, 3-2) at HIGHLAND PARK (11-0, 4-0)
Highland Park, the top-ranked team in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A state rankings, continued its dominating season with a pair of non-league victories last week The Scots took a 76-45 win over state-ranked Eudora on Tuesday and then rolled to an 82-21 victory over Kansas City-East, Mo. on Friday. The league-leading Scots return to Meadowlark Conference play against KC-Washington.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University men's basketball coach Brett Ballard has spent most of his life in a gym.
Washburn Rural sophomore Kaden Ballard (front) has been a key contributor for the 9-4 Junior Blues this winter. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn men's basketball coach Brett Ballard has done his best to stay in the background as his son, Kaden, embarks on his high school career at Washburn Rural. [File photo/TSN]
But Ballard is adjusting to something new this winter, sitting in the stands as a fan.
Ballard's sophomore son, Kaden, has played a key role off the bench for the 9-4 Washburn Rural boys, with Brett in the stands for every game when the Ichabods' schedule doesn't conflict.
When Ballard is on hand to watch Kaden and Alex Hutchins' Junior Blues, he's careful to replace his coach's hat with his dad's hat, something he admits can be harder than you might think.
"I think it gives you perspective on what the parents of these kids I have been coaching have been going through all these years,'' Ballard said. "I think it just for sure gives you perspective on patience, and what your kid's going through, and you see that in a different way.
"It's hard having no control, and when it's your own kid, those emotions, they bubble up.''
Ballard says he tries his best to keep those emotions to himself .
"I don't say too much,'' he said. "The only thing I'll say to him, and very, very rarely, is just something on the defensive end and making sure he's playing hard and competing, but the coaches do a great job. He doesn't need me, he needs to listen to his coaches and he has a great group out there that are doing a good job with him.
"So I try to keep my mouth shut and just support his teammates and support the team.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Addison Broxterman
ADDISON BROXTERMAN, Washburn Rural
Broxterman, the Junior Blues' star senior 125-pounder, became Kansas' girls wresting record-holder for career pins and career wins in last Saturday's 34-school Washburn Women's Invitational at Washburn Rural. Broxterman went 5-0 on the day with four pins to earn the 125-pound title and helped lead the Junior Blues to the team championship by a 443-255.5 margin over Columbus. Broxterman now has 119 career pins and 127 career victories.
Brooklyn DeLeye
BROOKLYN DeLEYE, Washburn Rural
DeLeye, a 6-foot-2 senior, scored 59 points in Washburn Rural's three games in the Thunderbird Classic girls basketball tournament, surpassing 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for her career. DeLeye had games of 21, 20 and 18 points as the third-ranked (Class 6A) Junior Blues went 2-1 on the week to finish third in the tournament and improve to 9-3 on the season.
Brylee Meier
BRYLEE MEIER, Hayden
A 6-foot sophomore, Meier scored 16 points as No. 10-ranked (Class 4A) Hayden claimed the tournament championship in the Top Gun Tournament with a 48-39 victory over Spring Hill on Saturday in Wellsville, with the Wildcats improving to 8-4 with their fourth staight victory. Meier scored 11 points in the semifinals as Hayden upset No. 3-ranked (3A) Nemaha Central, 46-40, the Thunder's first loss of the season. Meier was named to the Top Gun Tournament All-Tournament team.
Luke Perkins
LUKE PERKINS, Shawnee Heights
The senior swimming standout captured a city-best four gold medals in last Thursday's city boys swimming championships at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. A multiple time state medalist three straight seasons, Perkins won individual city titles in the 200-yard individual medley (2 minutes, 01.12 seconds) and 100 butterfly (52.63) and swam on the T-Birds' winning 200 medley relay (1:44.44) and the 200 free relay (1:33.71) teams.
Kiki Smith
KIKI SMITH, Topeka High
Smith, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, scored 73 points in the Trojans' three games in the Firebird Classic girls basketball tournament at Free State, helping lead the No. 7-ranked (Class 6A) to the tournament championship. Smith scored 21 points in a 69-34 first-round win over Wichita Northwest, scored 36 points in just three quarters in High's 69-37 semifinal win over Eisenhower and had 16 points in the Trojans' 56-51 win over Blue Valley in the championship game, with High avenging a loss to the Tigers' in the 2022 state tournament.
Taylin Stallbaumer
TAYLIN STALLBAUMER, Seaman
A 5-foot-6 junior, Stallbaumer hit the game-winning 3-point shot as time ran out, giving No. 1-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman a 46-43 win over tournament host Emporia and the championship in the Glaciers Edge Tournament. Stallbaumer scored 15 points in the championship game, including three 3-pointers, as Seaman improved to 11-1 on the season.
