By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Coming off consecutive losses for the first time this season, Washburn women's basketball will be looking to get back on track in Thursday's 5:30 p.m. MIAA road game against Emporia State in White Auditorium.
Washburn senior Yibari Nwidadah (middle) will be looking for her fourth straight double-double in Thursday's road game at Emporia State. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods will be facing the Hornets in the second edition of the Turnpike Tussle after taking a 86-59 home win over Emporia State on Jan. 3 in Lee Arena.
Washburn is 10-5 overall and 3-3 in the MIAA after a 65-61 double-overtime loss at Northwest Missouri last Saturday while Emporia State improved to 8-7 overall and 2-4 in the MIAA after defeating Nebraska Kearney 82-78 last time out.
Senior Yibari Nwidadah averages team-highs of 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 58.7 percent shooting from the floor for the Ichabods while registering double-doubles in three straight games, including 13 points and 14 rebounds at Northwest.
With 271 career offensive rebounds, Nwidadah ranks third in program history and she is eighth with 732 total boards. Her career field goal percentage of .582 is the second best in program history. In scoring she ranks 13th with 1,179 career points. Nwidadah is also 11th in program history with 69 career blocked shots.
Senior Payton Sterk is second for Washburn with a 12.2 scoring average on while hitting a team-high 28 3-pointers.
Sterk scored a game-high 21 points for Washburn in the earlier meeting with Emporia State with five 3-pointers while Nwidadah had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Senior Gabi Giovannetti is averaging 12.1 points with 26 3-pointers while shooting a team-high 41.3 percent from deep. Giovannetti leads the Ichabods with 1.9 steals per game.
Giovannetti is eighth in program history with 138 career 3-pointers made and scored a game-high 19 points on 8 of 15 shooting with four steals and five rebounds at Northwest Missouri.
Senior Gabi Giovannetti scored a game-high 19 points in last Saturday's 65-61 Washburn double-overtime loss at Northwest Missouri. [File photo/TSN]
The Lady Hornets have gone 7-1 inside of White Auditorium, are 1-4 on the road and 0-2 in neutral court games.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 1 nationally-ranked Washburn University men's basketball will put its perfect 16-0 record on the line Thursday in a 7:30 p.m. MIAA road game against Emporia State in White Auditorium.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen leads 16-0 Washburn with 16.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game entering Thursday's MIAA game at Emporia State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods, 6-0 in the MIAA, will be facing the Hornets for the second time in 12 days after taking a 91-66 win over Emporia State on Jan. 3 in Lee Arena.
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Hayden senior Connor Hanika led the way with a 25-point night Tuesday as the Hayden boys picked up their first Centennial League win of the season with a 72-56 home romp past Topeka High.
Senior Connor Hanika scored a game-high 26 points in Tuesday's 72-56 Hayden win over Topeka High. [File photo/TSN]
Tuesday's game would be a good one early as both teams would attack early and often with a combined 37 points being scored in the first quarter, while producing the only four lead changes in the game.
Hanika hit 10 of 15 shots from the field and five of seven attempts from the free throw line. He was 6 of 7 from the field at halftime.
“That was deliberate,'' Hayden coach Dwayne Anthony said. "I mean, he had to go do the work, but Connor explained to the team he needs more touches, We can run the offense through Connor.
He has a very high basketball IQ. I’m not surprised at all. And I'm thankful that he responded to the call like the leader he is.”
“The biggest thing we've talked about this week is staying together and being a family, and that's what we were tonight,'' Hanika said. "And then my teammates found me and they did a really good job. I got in a groove, my teammates found me, and I just started going and it was fun.”
The Wildcats would take a 39-27 halftime lead and come out of the locker room and go on a 9-0 run before the Trojans would find the basket.
By that point the Trojans were down twenty points, 50-30.
The Trojans would then go on a 13-0 run of their own to get back in the hunt. Led by senior Bryson McComas, who would score 8 of his team-high 18 on that run to end the third quarter.
“Calm down -- that's usually my message to them,'' Anthony said. "My guys were just competing for a state title in football, you know. So sometimes changing gears is a little different for us. But they're doing it. And sometimes it's being calm and not just letting the pace control them. Controlling the pace is just something that we're learning how to do. Everybody goes on runs.''
The Wildcats would out-score the Trojans 20-13 in the fourth quarter to take the 16-point win.
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
No. 7-ranked Hayden girls basketball hosted city and Centennial League rival Topeka High Tuesday night, remaining undefeated in league play with a 51-40 home win over the Trojans.
Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein scored a game-high 16 points Tuesday in Hayden's 51-40 Centennial League win over Topeka High. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka High would score first with senior Trish Short scoring the first basket, but Hayden would answer with sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein finding the basket to tie it up at two.
Hayden would go on a 8-2 run to end the first quarter up 10-4.
“In the first half, we only turned the ball over three times,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "So when you only turn the ball over three times, you know you're going to start hitting stuff. I was actually happy when it was 10-4, I know we only had 10 points, but we were playing good defense.''
Both teams would wake up in the second quarter and would start finding the basket, as Topeka High junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton would score 4 of her 7 points in the quarter and the Trojans would go into halftime trailing the Wildcats, 23-15.
Both teams would come out of the locker room hoping for a spark and Hayden would get off to a hot start with a 9-5 run to get the third started and the Wildcats would stretch its lead to 32-18.
The Trojans would get a little spark but Hayden’s Alana Mitchell would get a steal at halfcourt and drive to the basket and force another turnover on the very next possession and grab another basket to kill the Trojans' rally as the third quarter would come to an end with the Wildcats up 38-26.
Topeka High sophomore Hailey Caryl would try to give her team a spark in the fourth as she would score the first two baskets in the quarter and would score 7 of her team-high 15 in the fourth quarter.
It wouldn’t be enough because Hayden’s Schmidtlein would score 6 more of her game-high 16 in the fourth to solidify the win for her team.
“Honestly, a big thing is I focus on my defense and my defensive effort and my attitude on defense can carry over and it will carry over,'' Schmidtlein said. "If we just keep playing as a team on defense, we were bound to start making shots.”
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' girls basketball team avenged its only United Kansas Conference loss of the season Tuesday night, postin a 63-56 home victory over Piper.
“Majority of the time, we kept the ball moving and any time they would try to come double, we would move the ball out of their double teams and a lot of times we got layups because of it,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. "I just liked their overall composure.
“We made substitutions to keep the girls fresh and avoid turnovers and came back and held their composure,which is a testament to them.”
“I liked how everyone just stayed calm and we knew that we worked on it and we knew that we had to do what we did in practice,” said junior KK Emmot, who led the T-Birds with 15 points.
Emmot started out strong in the first quarter, nabbing the game's first bucket and would push SHHS out to an early 6-2 lead.
Piper’s Giuliana Benedetto hit a triple to make it 6-5 but Emmot’s 3-pointer later in the quarter from the top of the key made it 11-5 and the T-Birds led by six after one quarter.
Both teams were playing 2-3 zone on defense, which caused some fits for both teams creating turnovers and rushed possessions. The T-Birds were able to get out and run a little bit when getting a steal and lead to some points on the other end.
Piper’s Faith McCallop trimmed Shawnee Heights' lead to two at 16-14 after a mid-range jumper, with the Pirates going on a mini 6-2 run.
One thing that helped Shawnee Heights stay ahead in the first half was offensive rebounds and creating second chances. Senior Reianna Vega was one example, following the shot of senior Aubrey Hamilton in the paint and banking it off the glass for two.
“That was something we had talked about, that I thought that rebounding was going to be a big part of this game,” Wells said. “I think our girls took that to heart and we did a good job rebounding for the majority of the time.”
After a steal from Emmot, the T-Birds were able to run in transition as freshman Bijou Schmidt finished for a bucket, pushing the lead to seven, 23-16.
Emmot nailed another trey to give Heights a 26-18 advantage with three minutes left before halftime. In the winding seconds of the quarter, both teams traded buckets and SHHS led 29-25.
The third quarter was Vega’s quarter, scoring six straight, but and despite a brief cold spell, the T-Birds took a 39-32 lead.
Shawnee Heights extended its lead with a Imani McGlory 3-pointer off an inbounds play on the left wing and then SHHS forced a turnover, leading to another bucket from the senior, with the T-Birds reaching a 13 point lead at 46-33 and going into the fourth up 46-35.
In the fourth, Piper went on a 8-0 run, forcing Wells to call a timeout with 6:18 left.
Emmot picked up her fourth foul shortly after the timeout and had to sit for a couple of minutes to avoid the fifth foul.
But Heights was able to stave off the Pirates, asMcGlory hit a clutch 3 with 4:45 to stop the Piper run, 53-45.
After that, junior Permella Carter put the nail in the coffin with a baseline floater and then it became the foul game for Piper as the T-Birds picked up their seventh win of the season.
“Everyone was hype because practically beating them means we win the league pretty much and that’s our goal and we knew we had to beat them to get there,” Emmot said.
“Everyone of them had opportunities and took advantage of it whether it was a perimeter shot or taking it to the basket and it was a great team effort in practice and in the game to get this win,” Wells said.
Emmot led the T-Birds with 15, while McGlory and Carter both had 13 points and Vega added 12.
Piper's Faith McCallop led all scorers with 28 points for Piper and Brylee Gerber added 11.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 63, PIPER 56
Piper 8 17 10 21 – 56
Shawnee Heights 14 15 17 17 – 63
Piper (6-3, 5-1) – Benedetto 3 0-0 6, McPerson 1 0-0 2, F. McCallop 9 8-12 28, H. McCallop 1 0-2 2, Hollinshed 3 1-4 7, Gerber 4 2-2 11.
Shawnee Heights (7-3, 6-1) – Emmot 6 1-2 15, Brees 1 0-0 2, McGlory 5 1-2 13, Schmidt 1 0-0 2, Carter 3 7-10 13, Baum 2 2-4 6, Vega 6 0-0 12.
3-point goals – Piper 3 (F McCallop 2, Gerber 1), Shawnee Heights 4 (Emmot 2, McGlory 2). Total fouls – Piper 17, Shawnee Heights 17. Fouled out – none. Technical foul -- none.
