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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After falling behind by double digits in the opening quarter against No. 7-ranked De Soto, Shawnee Heights girls put together several runs against the Wildcats in Friday's United Kansas Conference matchup.
Junior Reianna Vega scored 20 points in Friday's 59-49 UKC loss to De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore KK Emmot scored 14 points, going 8 of 10 at the free throw line, in Friday's 59-49 Shawnee Heights loss to De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the T-Birds were unable to ever completely recover from their slow start, dropping a 59-49 decision at Heights.
"We just couldn't get over the hump and it seemed like every time that we would feel like we were grabbing some momentum we would do what we thought we needed to do on defense and the ball would get kicked around or they'd make a good pass out and hit a 3,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said.
"That kind of deflated us a little bit and it was just hard to get going. Credit to them, their girls stepped up and hit (those shots) in somebody else's gym.''
Shawnee Heights (11-6 overall, 8-5 UKC) took a 2-0 lead on a hoop by Reianna Vega, but that would be the T-Birds' only lead of the night as the Wildcats (12-4, 8-4) rode three early 3-pointers to a 19-8 first-quarter advantage and five first-half treys to a 33-22 halftime lead.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Coming off a tough two-point loss at Seaman Tuesday there was no hint of a hangover for the No. 8-ranked Shawnee Heights boys Friday night, with the T-Birds never trailing en route to a 79-55 United Kansas Conference home romp past De Soto.
Senior Jaret Sanchez led all scorers with 25 points in Friday's 79-55 Shawnee Heights UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Deacon Pomeroy had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 79-55 UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"It's only a setback if you let it be a setback,'' Heights coach Ken Darting said of the 68-66 Seaman loss. "It's a loss and you throw it to the side. You forget it, you go on and play.
"I just want to build towards the sub-state and state.''
The T-Birds, who improved to 14-3 overall and 10-3 in the conference, opened up an 18-11 first-quarter advantage and never looked back, opening up a 39-24 halftime lead behind senior Deacon Pomeroy's 17 first-half points and a 3-pointer at the buzzer from junior Ontarius Emmot.
Heights continued to pour it on after the break, taking a 61-38 advantage into the fourth quarter after a Emmot hoop to end the third.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman junior basketball standouts KaeVon Bonner and Maddie Gragg have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2024-2025 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Bonner and Gragg over the past week:
Seaman junior KaeVon Bonner has been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the male Rising Star of the Week. [File photo/TSN]
KAEVON BONNER, Seaman
A 6-foot-3 guard, Bonner scored a team-high 26 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, for No. 7-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman in Tuesday's 68-66 United Kansas Conference home win over No. 8 Shawnee Heights.
Bonner went 12 of 15 at the free throw line and connected on a pair of 3-pointers as the Vikings improved to 12-4 overall and 9-3 in the conference.
Seaman junior Maddie Gragg has been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the female Rising Star of the Week. [File photo/TSN]
MADDIE GRAGG, Seaman
Gragg, a 5-foot-10 guard, led all scorers with 23 points Tuesday night as undefeated and top-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman took a 64-54 United Kansas Conference home victory over Shawnee Heights.
Gragg scored 17 points with five 3-pointers in the first half against the T-Birds as Seaman opened up a 17-point halftime advantage en route to improving to 16-0 overall and 12-0 in the UKC.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Junior Dayne Johnson scored 35 points Thursday night as Silver Lake's boys improved to 12-4 with a hard-earned 64-60 home Big East League win over St. Marys.
Junior Dayne Johnson (2) scored 35 points Thursday as Silver Lake rallied for a 64-60 win over St. Marys. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake trailed 53-47 at the end of the third quarter before outscoring the Bears 17-7 over the final eight minutes to pull out the victory.
Johnson canned 13 field goals and went 9 of 10 at the free throw line on the night to lead the Eagles.
Silver Lake led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter, but the Bears cut their deficit to 30-29 at halftime before outscoring the Eagles 24-17 in the third quarter.
Silver Lake will take aim on its third win of the week on Friday when the Eagles travel to Royal Valley.
Silver Lake girls improve to 14-2
Defending Class 3A champion Silver Lake, currently ranked No. 6 by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, improved to 14-2 Thursday night with a 67-54 home Big East win over St. Marys.
The Eagles led by just a 44-41 margin at the end of the third quarter before taking control with a 23-13 fourth quarter.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball went down to the wire in its first ever meeting with Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday evening but fell just short, losing 83-81 in a high-scoring affair.
Washburn junior Payton Sterk scored 33 points in Thursday's 83-81 loss at Arkansas-Fort Smith. [File photo/TSN]
The opening minutes of the contest went back-and-forth, with Yibari Nwidadah tying the game up at seven for Washburn (13-11 overall, 7-7 MIAA) with a layup at the 6:27 mark.
Over the next 1:36 the Lions (14-8, 8-5) scored eight points in a row to force a timeout.
The Ichabods responded with a run of their own, tying the game at 19 after Payton Sterk nailed a triple. She had eight points in the opening quarter as Arkansas-Fort Smith led 21-20.
After both teams shot over 50.0 percent in the first quarter the home squad kept pace, scoring the first eight points in the second to lead 29-20 at the 7:42 mark. The margin grew to double digits in the ensuing minutes.
Washburn began to make up ground, starting with a three-point play from Amaya Davison. The score was knotted up at 40 after a 5-0 run for the Ichabods ended with a triple from Sterk. The Lions responded with one of their own to lead by three heading into the half.
Out of the break Arkansas-Fort Smith connected on three 3-pointers in the first four minutes as they built the lead up to 12 points. The WU deficit grew to as many as 13 before a 7-0 run for the Ichabods, ending with a bucket inside by Nwidadah at the 3:03 mark. The teams traded baskets the rest of the way with the Lions leading 67-60 with 10 to play.
Sterk began the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and the points kept coming for Washburn, 10 of them in a row, going from seven down to three up after a three-point play by Sterk with 7:35 to play.
With the score knotted at 72, Arkansas Fort-Smith connected on a triple, adding two more shortly after to go up by five at the 2:25 mark. The Ichabods hung around and in the final minute cut the deficit to one after an offensive rebound and layup by Nwidadah with 16 seconds remaining.
One free throw went down on the other end for the Lions and that was all they needed as Washburn came up empty on the next possession, falling 83-81.
