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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Granted, perennial MIAA and NCAA Division II power Northwest Missouri State is in the midst of a transition season after former Bearcat coach Ben McCollum moved on to Division I Drake following last season and took multiple Bearcats with him.
Brayden Shorter (20), celebrating a big play with Brady Christiansen, led Washburn with 18 points in Saturday's 96-66 win over Northwest Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn senior Andrew Orr scored 16 points on Saturday in the Ichabods' 96-66 win over Northwest Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the Bearcats' tradition -- four national titles and 21 MIAA regular-season championships -- coupled with the fact that the Ichabods had dropped seven straight games to Northwest gave Washburn plenty to play for in Saturday's conference matchup.
And the Ichabods took full advantage of Northwest's inexperience and current struggles, leading for all but 19 seconds in a wire-to-wire 96-66 win in Lee Arena.
"We talk about how there's guys in our program who built us up to where we are today and they went through that Ben McCollom/Northwest era and I went through it, too,'' said Ichabod senior Andrew Orr, who moved into the No. 19 spot on Washburn's career scoring chart with 16 points.
"It feels really good to get this type of win because that's a prideful program and to beat a team of that level by that much is special.''
Ichabod coach Brett Ballard, who entered Saturday's game with a 3-18 career record against the Bearcats, agreed.
"We have a lot of respect for that program and what they've accomplished and it is a big game,'' Ballard said. "Every game is a big game, but that's a big game and that's a good win for us, a good statement win.''
Washburn, which improved to 15-0 overall and 6-0 in the MIAA, is likely to be the top-ranked team in the country for the first time since 1992 when the national rankings are released on Tuesday after previous No. 1 Nova Southeastern lost earlier in the week on the road to Palm Beach Atlantic.
Washburn jumped out to a 9-1 lead and never looked back as the Ichabods recorded their first win over Northwest since Feb. 9, 2013.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Defending Class 5A girls state champion Seaman posted its sixth straight win to open its title defense Friday night, with Matt Tinsley's Vikings rolling to a 72-9 United Kansas Conference road win over winless Lansing.
The Vikings, also 6-0 in UKC play, put the game away with an 18-1 first quarter and outscored the Lions (0-5, 0-4) by a 25-6 margin in the second stanza to take a 43-7 lead at the half.
Senior Anna Becker scored 21 points with 8 assists and four steals in Seaman's 72-9 UKC win at Lansing. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman held Lansing to just two points in the second half, including a scoreless third quarter, holding a 29-2 scoring advantage after the break.
"I thought we would be a little rusty without being able to practice,'' Tinsley said. "A concern would be timing and rhythm, but I thought we moved the ball well and got everyone involved.
"We have a saying that it takes 10 hands to score and the girls were unselfish tonight.''
Drake signee Anna Becker had 21 points, 8 assists and 4 steals for Seaman, top-ranked in 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association.
Senior Kinley Wilhelm added 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals for the Vikings while senior Jaida Stallbaumer had 13 points and 7 rebounds.
Junior KaeVon Bonner scored a game-high 25 points Friday night as Seaman improved to 5-1 with a 57-43 road win at Lansing. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman boys improve to 5-1 with 57-43 UKC road win
Seaman's boys improved to 5-1 overall and in the United Kansas Conference with a 57-43 Friday night conference road win at Lansing.
The Vikings, No. 7-ranked in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, led by only a 28-27 margin at the half, but outscored the Lions (0-5, 0-4) 29-16 in the second half to pull away for the 14-point win.
Junior KaeVon Bonner led Seaman with 25 points, 13 in the second half, while Bryer Finley added 11 points and junior Landon Wiltz 9 for the Vikings.
Da'Quan Lee (24) led Shawnee Heights with 16 points in Friday's 72-25 UKC romp past Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
No. 4-ranked T-Bird boys roll to 72-25 win at Leavenworth
Shawnee Heights, ranked No. 4 in Class 5A in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association state rankings, was never seriously threatened in Friday's United Kansas Conference game at Leavenworth, with the T-Birds rolling to a 72-25 victory.
Heights, which improved to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the UKC, took control with a 16-2 opening quarter and then hit the Pioneers with a 24-8 second-quarter lick to open up a commanding 40-10 advantage at the halftime break.
The T-Birds continued to dominate things in the second half, outscoring the hosts by a 32-15 margin.
Heights played all 12 players that suited up, with 10 T-Birds cracking the scoring column.
Junior Da'Quan Lee led the T-Birds with 16 points while senior Jaret Sanchez was right behind with 15 points.
Ontarius Emmot had 9 points with a 3-pointer and a 6 of 6 night at the free throw line while Cam Ross also had nine points.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Playing for the first time in three weeks, Washburn Rural's boys basketball team showed some understandable rust in Friday's 2025 debut against Hayden.
But Alex Hutchins' Junior Blues were sharp enough to improve to 5-1 with a 67-54 road win over the Wildcats in the Centennial League opener for both schools.
Junior Simon Rowley scored a game-high 18 points Friday night as Washburn Rural improved to 5-1 with a 67-54 win over Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I felt like it kind of ebbed and flowed,'' Hutchins said. "There were periods of the game where I thought we looked real good and sharp and then there were periods where it was pretty sloppy.
"The first game after being off that long and the kids haven't been at school for a week, there were a lot of factors that could have been excuses and maybe are excuses, so we're happy to get a win. But at the same time, there's things we need to clean up. We know we need to clean some things up and get better.''
Rural junior Simon Rowley, who led all scorers with 18 points, agreed with his coach.
"It was a tough win and we weren't really executing like we wanted to rebounding,'' Rowley said. "It was kind of like the Chiefs. It was ugly, but we won.''
Washburn Rural jumped out of the gate with nine straight points and built a double-digit lead at 12-2 at the 4:13 mark of the opening quarter before Hayden responded with a 9-0 run, capped by a Mason Becker 3-point play to knot the game at 12 with 2:25 left in the quarter.
But Rural built its lead back to 18-14 by the start of the second stanza and used a 13-5 second quarter to take a 31-19 cushion into the halftime break.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Friday wasn't Norma Greco's night ... until it counted the most.
Hayden's 5-foot-6 senior guard missed her first eight shots from the field and went 1 of 10 on the night in Friday's Centennial League battle against Washburn Rural.
Hayden senior Norma Greco (30) scored all seven of her points down the stretch in the Wildcats' 46-44 Centennial League win over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But Greco scored all seven of her points in the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds, including five straight to put Hayden ahead to stay as the third-ranked (Class 4A) Wildcats took a 46-44 nailbiter over the third-ranked (6A) Junior Blues at the Bueltel Activity Center.
"Obviously I was a little frustrated, but also I was like, 'I can't not play because my team needs me,' so I had to keep going,'' Greco said. "My shots were going to fall at some point, so I had to keep shooting, keep passing, keep dribbling and keep playing.''
Greco hit her first basket of the night, a 3-pointer, with 2:35 remaining to give Hayden a 40-38 lead and hit two free throws at the 1:49 mark to put the Wildcats up by four points.
"It felt good,'' Greco said about the crucial 3-pointer. "I felt a little bit of relief that one finally dropped for me. It's always a good game between us and Washburn so we were happy to get a win.''
Greco added a pair of free throws over the final 49.5 seconds, including the Wildcats' final point with 3.5 seconds remaining, as Hayden improved to 7-0 and picked up a big league win in its Centennial opener.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 2-ranked Washburn University men are back in action on Saturday afternoon, hosting Northwest Missouri at 3 p.m. in Lee Arena.
Senior Andrew Orr needs just four points in Saturday's game against Northwest Missouri to move into 19th all-time on Washburn's career scoring chart. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods improved to 14-0 overall and 5-0 in the MIAA after rolling over Missouri Western 92-74 on Wednesday in Lee Arena. The Bearcats are 4-10 this season and 2-3 in the MIAA after a 63-62 win at Central Missouri on Thursday night in Warrensburg, hitting a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds to play to snap a three-game losing streak.
The No. 2 national ranking is the highest by an Ichabod team since earning a No. 2 on Dec. 18, 2012.
Washburn is off to its best start to begin a season since starting the 2003-04 season 16-0 en route to the MIAA regular- season championship.
The Ichabods are now one of three undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA Division II ranks, joining No. 4 Minot State (17-0), and No. 3 Daemen (12-0). The No. 1 team, Nova Southeastern, lost its first game of the season on Wednesday to Palm Beach Atlantic 89-66 on the road.
WU senior Andrew Orr now has 1,079 career points, moving into 20th all time, and is just three points behind former Topeka West star Alex North on the scoring chart. North scored 1,082 points from 2010-15.
Senior Jacob Hanna is closing in on 1,000 points in his collegiate career between Washburn and Illinois-Springfield, scoring 949 career points.
