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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sophomore Kaden Ballard came up with a steal and the game-winning basket at the buzzer to give Centennial League-leading Washburn Rural a 46-44 road victory at Junction City Tuesday night.
Sophomore Kaden Ballard (right) scored the game-winning basket in Tuesday night's 46-44 Centennial League win over Junction City. [File photo/TSN]
With the win Washburn Rural moved to 12-4 overall and 5-1 in the league while Junction City dropped to 10-6, 4-2.
Washburn Rural led 35-32 at the end of the third quarter and 23-20 at the half.
Senior Wyatt Conklin led the Junior Blues with 11 points while senior Jack Bachelor added nine points.
The Junior Blues have now won five straight games.
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS 46, JUNCTION CITY 28 -- Washburn Rural protected its two-game lead in the Centennial League race with a 46-28 win at Junction City Tuesday night.
The Junior Blues improved to 11-4 overall and 6-0 in the league race.
Washburn Rural led by only a point, 23-22, at haltime before outscoring the Blue Jays 23-6 in the second half.
Junior Lauren Sandstrom scored a game-high 22 points in Hayden's 44-32 Centennial League loss to Emporia Tuesday night. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
EMPORIA GIRLS 44, HAYDEN 32 -- Hayden was within six points (11-5) at the end of the opening quarter and eight points (25-17) at the half but Emporia opened up a 13-point cushion at the end of the third quarter on the way to a 44-32 Centennial League victory Tuesday at Hayden.
Emporia improved to 13-3 overall and 4-2 in the league with its third win of the season over the Wildcats while Hayden fell to 9-5 and 2-4, with the Spartans ending Hayden's five-game winning streak.
Junior Lauren Sandstrom led Hayden with a game-high 22 points.
Senior Joe Otting scored a game-high 12 points for Hayden in Tuesday's 39-38 Centennial League loss ot Emporia. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
EMPORIA BOYS 39, HAYDEN 38 -- Hayden was whistled for a foul with .3 on the clock and Cooper Rech hit one of two free throws to give Emporia the 39-28 Centennial League victory at Hayden.
Hayden (7-7, 2-4) led 21-16 at halftime and 30-26 at the start of the fourth quarter.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
In a rematch of a mid-December romp, Topeka High repeated its success against Manhattan with a 62-45 decision in a Centennial League bout Friday night at High.
Topeka High senior guard Kiki Smith recorded yet another 20-plus point performance with 25 points against the Lady Indians.
Senior Kiki Smith fires a 3-point shot in Topeka High's 62-45 Centennial League win over Manhattan Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High coach Brittney Redmond said it best after another standout performance, "Kiki is going to be Kiki."
"Personally, I don't think I had the best game," Smith said. "I think what worked best for me is my teammates motivating me, the coaches kept motivating me, and everyone did a good job of keeping me going. Their support pushed me through this whole game.
"I know my goals and what I want to accomplish individually and help accomplish for the team. Thinking about how things have ended the last three years, coming up short for a state title, keeps me motivated and pushes me to where I want to be."
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Having rallies come up short at the end of games is an ongoing headache for Topeka High boys basketball coach Geo Lyons.
But although the close games sting, G. Lyons is proud of how his team fought in a 76-71 Centennial League loss to Manhattan Tuesday night at High.
Topeka High coach Geo Lyons talks to his Trojans during Tuesday night's 76-71 loss to Manhattan. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
"It's hard to keep a positive locker room when we've been in so many ballgames," G. Lyons said. "I really admire the toughness and the grit that my kids have. We play from tipoff until that final horn goes off. That's really all you can ask for from your team. Even during the adversity throughout the game, our body language is still great, and our bench is still in it.
"We have to find a way to get our morale back up. We have another tough (match) on Friday with Emporia, which was another game earlier in the year that we were right in. We will talk about nothing but the positives."
Many things went right for Topeka High on Tuesday night in front of its home crowd. The Trojans shot 47 percentfrom the field and canned 13 3-point shots.
Leading the way for Topeka High's hot offense was 5-foot-9 junior Isaiah Lyons, who scored 26 points (seven 3-pointers), including a 12-point third quarter.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights boys basketball coach Ken Darting felt like the T-Birds played their worst game of the season in an early-season 13-point loss at Topeka West.
But Darting and the T-Birds got the sour taste out of their mouths in a big way in Tuesday's rematch, with Shawnee Heights rolling to a 67-48 home United Kansas Conference victory over the No. 8-ranked (Class 5A) Chargers.
Shawnee Heights' Jaret Sanchez (23) puts up a shot over Topeka West's Malachi Berg in Tuesday's 67-48 T-Bird win at Heights. Sanchez scored a game-high 20 points while Berg led West with 14 points. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Brennon Dodge (11) scored 18 points in Shawnee Heights' 67-48 UKC win over Topeka West Tuesday night at Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"We didn't do anything,'' Darting said of the earlier loss to West. "I watch that tape and I can't hardly watch it to get through it. We missed shots, layups, free throws, everything and they kicked our butts with the press the first time.''
But Darting, whose T-Birds have now won 11 of their last 13 games, had a feeling that his team was ready for a much better performance the second time around against West.
"I definitely had an inkling,'' Darting said. "We're getting good, and when we start making back cuts and shooting layups and we can score a little bit, we're going to be good because (West) is a great offensive team and they got 48 points. This team is not mentally tough consistently yet, so you always have a little reservation, but you know this kind of game is in them.''
There were two ties and five lead changes in the first quarter, but junior Brennon Dodge ended the first-quarter scoring with a bucket to put the T-Birds up 17-16 and Heights never trailed again.
Shawnee Heights, which improved to 12-4 overall and 9-3 in the UKC, used a 12-0 run to open up a commanding 36-21 advantage before West sophomore Ja'Vian Chambers canned a 3-pointer to cut the Chargers' halftime deficit to 12 points.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Things didn't get off to a great start for Shawnee Heights' girls in Tuesday night's United Kansas Conference matchup with city rival Topeka West.
The T-Birds not only trailed 10-9 at the end of the first quarter but lost senior standout Taylor Rottinghaus to an injury midway through the opening stanza.
Senior Emari Doby scored 13 points in Shawnee Heights' 43-26 UKC win over Topeka West Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Breezy Canady (24) tied for game-high scoring honors with 13 points in Shawnee Heights' 43-26 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But things quickly improved for Heights on both fronts, with the T-Birds going on to claim a decisive 43-26 victory over the Chargers at Shawnee Heights.
About four minutes into Tuesday's contest Rottinghaus went down with an ankle injury and didn't not return for the remainder of the first half, while Heights trailed by a point at the start of the second quarter after West senior Jazmyn Ford converted a three-point play to end the first-quarter scoring.
Things turned for the T-Birds in a hurry, however, with Shawnee Heights pitching a 16-0 second-quarter shutout to take a commanding 25-10 halftime advantage and Rottinghaus coming out of the training room to start the second half.
"I had no idea that was the running total in the second half until we got into halftime,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said of the 16-0 run. "What I told them during that timeout was, 'When you get adversity, people have got to step up,' and I thought some of our kids came off the bench and really did some good things.
"Some of the guards came in and kind of lit a fire and we had some of the bigs come in and did a good job. I thought Kaydence Torrez and Rachel Swift did a good job rebounding and defending their bigs and making it tough on them.''
