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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University junior stars Payton Sterk and Yibari Nwidadah walked out of Lee Arena last Saturday with a sense of frustration after the Ichabods dropped a 66-61 overtime MIAA decision to Northwest Missouri State.
Washburn junior Payton Sterk scored 26 points and hit 7 of 11 3-pointers in Wednesday's 88-73 MIAA win over Emporia State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn junior Yibari Nwidadah (32) had 23 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's 88-73 MIAA win over Emporia State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sterk was in foul trouble against the Bearcats for most of the game and fouled out with 3:35 remaining in regulation after scoring just six points in 19:23 of action, while Nwidadah, the national leader in field goal percentage, shot under 50 percent from the floor for the first time all season, going 5 of 16 en route to an 11-point performance, 5.6 points below her season average.
Sterk and Nwidadah were back on the court Wednesday night and took out any lingering frustrations on visiting Emporia State, combining for 49 points as the Ichabods completed a regular-season sweep over the Hornets with an 88-73 home MIAA romp.
Stert, who surpassed the 1,000-point career milestone with her first basket of the night, scored a game-high 26 points with a 7 of 11 performance from 3-point range while Nwidadah registered a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds while hitting 10 of 14 shots from the field.
"Tonight was good,'' Sterk said. "Saturday was frustrating just because I was in foul trouble so it wasn't even like I could play anymore, so it was nice to come in tonight and not even get a close win but a big win and that really helps us.''
Nwidadah agreed.
"I feel like everyone was frustrated (Saturday), everyone felt that loss and we used that as motivation,'' Nwidadah said. "We took it into practice each and every day, so we just knew we wanted to get that win (tonight).''
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Topeka High will induct its second annual Sports Hall of Honor class on Thursday in the Topeka High Student Cafeteria.
The 2025 induction class will include 15 individuals and two Topeka High teams.
The school's main and Western doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the public is welcome.
The Sports Hall of Honor inductees will also be recognized at halftime of Friday's boys varsity basketball game against Junction City, with the game starting at approximately 7:30 p.m.
The 2025 inductees include:
John Grantham, 1962 graduate, Levi Lee (1964), Carky and Marky Alexander (1980), Glen Trammel (1985), Crystal Kemp (2002), Shara Stafford (2008), Will Geary (2013), Lee Dodson (1942), Chuck Nelson (1951), Clardy Vinson (1968), Kevin Hedberg (1970), Doshia Woods (1997), Joe Waldron (1990-2005 as staff member), Jeff Jacobsen (1969), the 1955 Trojan football team and the 1974 Trojan girls track team.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Rossville boys basketball bounced back from a Big East League loss against Hiawatha with a 65-42 home league romp past Riley County Tuesday night.
The Bulldawgs, ranked No. 6 in Class 2A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the league with Tuesday's victory.
Brandon McDonnell's Rossville boys basketball team improved to 5-2 Tuesday night with a 65-42 romp past Riley County. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Kameron Badura paced three Rossville players in double figures with 18 points.
Junior Jack Donovan added 16 points and junior Cameron Miller 13 for the Bulldawgs.
Rossville's girls fell to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the Big East with a 55-33 loss to the Falcons.
Senior Mikey Williams scored 20 points in Highland Park's 86-42 win over KC-Sumner Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Top-ranked Hi Park boys keep rolling with 86-42 win
Highland Park's boys, No. 1-ranked in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Meadowlark Conference with an 86-42 road romp past Kansas City-Sumner Tuesday night.
The Hi Park win was its second in as many nights and the Scots will play their third game of the week at KC-Harmon on Friday.
Senior Mikey Williams led Highland Park with 20 points against Sumner while senior Ja'Corey Robinson added 19 points and senior Elijah Thomas 17.
Highland Park sophomore Pearmella Carter scored 23 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in the Scots' 54-42 win over KC-Sumner. [File photo/TSN]
Carter posts huge double-double in Hi Park girls win
Sophomore Pearmella Carter scored 23 points and grabbed 20 rebounds as Highland Park improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the Meadowlark Conference with a 54-42 win at Kansas City-Sumner Tuesday night.
Carter grabbed 13 of her 20 rebounds on the offensive end and also had 3 assists and 3 steals for the Scots.
Senior Tahtionna Broils added 8 points for the Scots.
Piper earns home UKC sweep over Shawnee Heights
The No. 2-ranked (Class 5A) Piper boys rolled to a 67-50 United Kansas Conference victory over No. 4 Shawnee Heights while the Pirate girls, No. 5 in 5A, took a 73-49 win over the T-Birds.
Piper's boys improved to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the UKC while Shawnee Heights fell to 5-2, 4-2.
The Piper girls improved to 6-1, 5-1 while Heights dropped to 4-4, 4-3.
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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
Despite a strong first-quarter performance, the Washburn Rural boys basketball team fell 52-46 to Blue Valley West in a Tuesday night non-conference game at Washburn Rural.
Washburn Rural senior Kaden Ballard scored 15 points with three 3-pointers in Tuesday's 52-46 home non-league loss to Blue Valley West. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
The visiting Jaguars held a small 5-2 advantage in the opening minutes, but the Junior Blues’ offense quickly came to life.
The hosts took back the lead with a 9-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers from senior Kaden Ballard.
Blue Valley West would cut the lead to three, but the Junior Blues scored the final seven points of the quarter to take a 20-10 lead after eight minutes.
Washburn Rural featured intense defensive pressure, forcing six turnovers in the period.
In the second quarter, the teams were evenly matched, with the Junior Blues starting to cool off from the field.
Blue Valley West was able to cut the lead down to six, but Washburn Rural added a 3-pointer and a free throw before the break to maintain a 10-point lead heading into the locker room.
The Junior Blues lead began to dwindle in the third quarter, with the Jaguars putting together better offensive possessions and limiting turnovers.
Blue Valley West center Tyler Peterson finished a layup with a foul early in the period, knocking down the free throw to complete the 3-point play and cut the deficit to six.
The Jaguars would get back within two following a 3-pointer from Luke Goodale a few minutes later.
The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, with Washburn Rural’s Simon Rowley knocking down a turnaround jumper from the free throw line to give the Junior Blues a 37-32 lead entering the final period.
After showing signs of life in the third quarter, Blue Valley West took control of the game in the final eight minutes.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The boys basketball teams from Topeka West and Seaman couldn’t be much more evenly matched, judging by their two United Kansas Conferencee meetings this season.
Junior Malakyah Duncan (12) hit the game-winning free throws with 8.5 seconds remaining, giving Topeka West a 59-57 UKC win at Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Avenging a 60-57 loss at Topeka West in mid-December, the Chargers went to Seaman Tuesday night and won in the final seconds, 59-57.
After falling into a huge hole early, the Chargers crept back, taking their first lead of the night with 1:20 left in the third period. The teams swapped leads until Seaman junior sharpshooter Landon Wiltz dropped in a shot from about 35 feet from the basket to tie it at 57-57 with 50 seconds remaining.
Topeka West junior playmaker Malakyah Duncan attacked the goal and drew a foul with 8.5 seconds left. He nailed both free throws to give the Chargers the come-from-behind win.
The win lifted Topeka West to 4-2 on the season and also in the UKC. Seaman dropped to 5-2 overall and in the conference. Seaman was ranked seventh in the latest Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A rankings, while the Chargers were eighth.
“This was huge, not just for the UKC standings but also sub-state,” first-year Topeka West coach Christan Ulsaker said. “Anytime you can notch a win against the team that you’re kind of battling for a home court (playoff) game, it’s a plus.”
A team can’t start a game much hotter than Seaman did Tuesday. The Vikings hit 10 of 13 attempts in the first period, including five 3-pointers. They bolted to a 26-12 lead that could have demoralized the visiting Chargers.
“I wanted to start hot, but that wasn’t the case,” Ulsaker said. “I told them at the end of the first quarter that basketball is a game of runs. They’ve heard it a thousand times from me that if you can withstand their runs, we’d make our own.
“Seaman is so well coached. They got some great players in (KaeVon) Bonner and (Bryer) Finley and our guys really stepped up and took it to them throughout the game.”
