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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Carter Olson's junior season in both football and basketball was a lost year.
Olson suffered an ACL injury in Shawnee Heights' 2020 season-opening football game, an injury that sidelined him for the remainder of football season and the entire 2020-2021 basketball season.
That's the bad news.
The good news is that the 6-foot-6 senior continues to make up for lost time and is enjoying every minute of it.
Shawnee Heights senior Carter Olson (22) battles for a rebound against Leavenworth in last Tuesday's 66-44 UKC win over the Pioneers. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Olson earned second-team All-United Kansas Conference recognition and All-Shawnee County honorable mention in football for 5-5 Shawnee Heights and has played a major role on the basketball court for the T-Birds, who will take a 7-1 record into Tuesday night's Viking Classic tournament opener against Wyandotte at Shawnee Mission West.
Olson was solid in the early going for the T-Birds, but stepped up his game last week with back-to-back double-doubles in lopsided United Kansas Conference victories over Leavenworth and Turner.
Olson's big breakthrough was a 14-point, 11-rebound performance in last Tuesday's 66-44 win over Leavenworth.
"To be honest, it really did take me to this game to get back,'' Olson said. "It took me awhile through the summer and until now just to get prepared and now the game of basketball again. I'm glad to be back.''
Olson followed that game with 14 points and 13 rebounds in Friday's 82-58 win at Turner, with the T-Birds winning their fourth straight game.
Senior Carter Olson has registered back-to-back double-doubles for Shawnee Heights, which is 7-1 on the season. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I feel more confident, more smooth with the ball and am just getting better and better every week and I'll just keep practicing,'' Olson said.
Olson said that making it through the entire football season healthy helped prep him for basketball.
"Being out for six months really got me out of shape and playing football and getting back in that sports mentality, it was fun,'' Olson said. "That was just that confidence boost I'm gaining every week from practice and getting to know that my knee's going to be OK. I'm just getting the confidence I need to be out there.''
Olson wore a knee brace during football season but discarded the brace for basketball.
"I talked to the doctor and he said it was fine to not wear it for basketball,'' Olson said. "I wore it for football because I know it's more of a contact sport, but I trust my knee and it's holding up so far.''
Hall of Fame Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said Olson has provided a big boost for the T-Birds after missing a ton of playing time early in his career.
"He probably missed four or five games the year before -- ankles twice, knees -- so he's played very little,'' Darting said. "He's been great. Carter is a hard-nosed competitor and hard-headed as he is hard-nosed and he's absolutely interested in one thing and that's winning.
"He goes after rebounds like crazy. He goes from right wing to left block rebounding.''
Olson has helped lead the way as Shawnee Heights has already surpassed its win total from the entire 2020-2021 season.
"We're having a lot of fun,'' Olson said. "We're having fun at practice, getting along real well. The freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors are all getting along and we're just a big family.
"No one gets down on each other. We pick each other up and we're doing good.''
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Cair Paravel Latin's girls basketball opened its tournament bid in the McLouth Invitational with a 40-31 win over Maur Hill-Mt. Academy on Monday.
Jaley Barkley
The Lions, who improved to 3-5 on the season, jumped out to a 16-7 first-quarter advantage, which was huge as the two teams scored 24 points apiece the rest of the way.
Cair Paravel led 22-18 at the half and took a 30-24 lead into the fourth quarter.
Senior Jaley Barkley led the Lions with 14 points, including three 3-pointers, while sophomore Allison Schwarz added 13 points.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Unversity men's basketball team played well enough Monday night to beat a lot of teams ... just not quite well enough to knock off the defending Division II national champions.
The Ichabods made run after run at No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State, leading by as many as five points in the first half, but the Bearcats answered each and every run with one of their own, taking a 71-63 MIAA victory at Lee Arena.
Washburn, which had its four-game winning streak snapped by the Bearcats, trailed by just four points at the half (34-30), but Northwest Missouri, which improved to 16-1 overall and 9-0 in the MIAA, took control with a quick start to the second half, building a 14-point advantage at the 11:01 mark, and Ichabods were in chase mode the rest of the way.
"I thought we played really hard and competed at a high level,'' said Washburn coach Brett Ballard, whose Ichabods fell to 10-7 overall and 7-4 in the conference. "We didn't play great the first five minutes of the second half and sometimes that's all it takes against a team as elite as that.
"We played 35 minutes of really good basketball, but that five kind of dug ourselves a hole and then we could never quite get over the hump.''
Connor Deffebaugh (right) scored a team-high 17 points for Washburn in Monday's 71-63 loss to Northwest Missouri State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn senior Tyler Geiman scored 14 points in the Ichabods' 71-63 loss to Northwest Missouri Monday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the Ichabods, who are starting to round back into form after being short-handed much of the season, showed a lot of positive signs Monday that they could be ready to mount a charge the second half of the season.
"We are so much more of a team than we were a month ago and we're coming along,'' Ballard said. "I think we're playing a lot better on both ends. I'm pleased with the progress we've made and the direction we're going.
"Obviously there's no moral victories here and that's not why you come to Washburn, but I feel like if we can come out and fight and compete like that every night ... we showed we can do that against the best team in the country. Now we've got to back it up.''
Sophomore Connor Deffebaugh led the Ichabods with 17 points while senior Tyler Geiman added 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for WU before fouling out late in the game and Jonny Clausing had 12 points.
"We've been prepping for these guys for a long time and obviously they're the best team in the country,'' Deffebaugh said. "We just didn't have some things go our way late, but we're going to adjust.
"We've got a good team in the locker room and we all are connected, so we're going to get better. We're going to learn from this.''
Former Manhattan star Trevor Hudgins scored a game-high 26 points for the Bearcats, while Wes Dreamer added 18 points.
Washburn will return to action Saturday, hosting Emporia State at Lee Arena.
NORTHWEST MISSOURI MEN 71, WASHBURN 63
Northwest Missouri 34 37 -- 71
Washburn 30 33 -- 63
NORTHWEST MISSOURI (16-1, 9-0)
Dreamer 5-11 4-4 18, Bernard 3-7 3-4 9, Jackson 2-3 0-0 4, Hudgins 9-23 2-2 26, Waters 2-5 2-2 7, Abreu 0-2 0-0 0, Alexander 3-3 1-1 7. Totals 24-54 12-13 72.
WASHBURN (10-7, 7-4)
Harrell 1-8 2-2 5, Deffebaugh 6-8 3-4 17, Geiman 6-14 0-0 14, Lewis 1-2 2-2 5, Keegan 0-0 0-0 0, Nelson 1-9 0-0 2, Clausing 4-6 4-5 12, Ellis 3-6 0-0 8. Totals 22-53 11-13 63.
3-point goals -- Northwest Missouri 11-30 (Hudgins 6-16, Dreamer 4-8, Waters 1-3, Bernard 0-2, Abreu 0-1), Washburn 8-20 (Deffebaugh 2-3, Geiman 2-5, Ellis 2-2, Harrell 1-5, Lewis 1-2, Nelson 0-3), Rebounds -- Northwest Missouri 31 (Dreamer 9), Washburn 29 (Geiman 5). Assists -- Northwest Missouri 15 (Hudgins 5), Washburn 11 (Geiman 4, Nelson 4). Turnovers -- Northwest Missouri 9, Washburn 10. Total fouls -- Northwest Missouri 14, Washburn 18. Fouled out -- Geiman. Technical fouls -- none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team got thrown for a bit of a loop hours before Monday's MIAA makeup tilt against Northwest Missouri State when the Ichabods found out that veteran head coach Ron McHenry would be unavailable for the game due to COVID-19 protocols.
But dealing with the unexpected is nothing for the Ichabods, who went out and ended a two-game losing streak with a 58-52 win over the Bearcats at Lee Arena.
Washburn veteran assistant Brette Herber took over the Ichabods in McHenry's absence and sophomore Macy Doebele said it was a smooth transition.
"I feel like our team has hit a lot of bumps in the road, one thing after another, but I think we've just tried to come together this whole time and especially at the end of this game,'' Doebele said. "We were like, 'We need to come together, we need to get this big win and we need to start getting these wins and keep it going.'
"Even with all the bumps we've just got to keep fighting through it and I think that kind of showed in this game.''
Hunter Bentley
Macy Doebele
Herber said she was very happy with how the Ichabods responded to her and the effort they showed against the Bearcats.
"They were used to my voice and they're used to my style, how I'm going to coach and how I'm going to talk to them and I think they responded well,'' said Herber, a nine-year WU assistant who also coached the Ichabods early in the season when McHenry attended his daughter, Sami's, wedding. "That definitely helped because they know what I expect on the floor and how we communicate with each other.''
WU senior guard Hunter Bentley agreed.
"We all have confidence in her and she has confidence in us and she can run this team just as well as Coach Mc, so we knew that she could do it and that we could all do it together,'' Bentley said.
Washburn, which improved to 6-9 overall and 4-5 in the MIAA, fell behind 4-0 out of the gate Monday night, but answered with nine straight points to take the lead and led 13-8 at the end of the opening quarter.
The Ichabods outscored the Bearcats 7-1 at the start of the second quarter to build a 20-9 advantage but Northwest (11-5, 6-4) fought back to within two at 22-20 with 2:39 left in the half before Aubree Dewey scored the final two baskets of the half to put Washburn in front, 26-20.
Northwest Missouri used a 17-9 third quarter to take a 37-35 lead into the fourth quarter but Washburn answered with a 9-0 run at the start of the fourth, taking a 44-37 lead with 7:32 remaining on a hoop from Bentley.
Northwest Missouri got within a point twice over the final 1:26, the final time at 53-52 with 36.9 seconds remaining, but the Ichabods came up with some huge stops on the defensive end and Nuria Barrientos and Shae Sanchez both hit two free throws apiece and Bentley one over the final 22.9 seconds to put the game away.
Bentley finished with game-high totals of 14 points and four assists while sophomore Abby Oliver added 12 points and Doebele 11.
Sanchez and Irene Sanz both grabbed six rebounds for the Ichabods.
Kelsey Fields scored 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Bearcats while Peyton Kelderman also scored 10 points for Northwest.
Northwest shot just 32.7 percent from the field on the night while hitting just four of 24 3-point attempts.
Washburn countered with 43.8-percent shooting and hit 14 of 17 free throw attempts (82.4 percent).
Washburn will be back at home Saturday, hosting Emporia State.
WASHBURN WOMEN 58, NORTHWEST MISSOURI 52
NW Missouri 8 12 17 15 -- 52
Washburn 13 13 9 23 -- 58
NORTHWEST MISSOURI (11-5, 6-4)
Green 2-5 1-2 7, Rau 0-1 0-0 0, Hartnett 2-8 0-2 4, Kelderman 4-6 0-0 10, McConkey 3-7 1-2 7, Kesten 1-8 0-0 2, Fields 3-6 4-5 10, Atwood 0-3 3-4 3, Vazquez 3-7 2-2 8, Fleming 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 18-55 12-19 52.
WASHBURN (6-9, 4-5)
Cassaday 1-5 0-0 2, Gamble 0-3 0-0 0, Bentley 5-9 4-6 14, Barrientos 2-6 2-2 6, Doebele 3-3 4-5 11, Sanchez 0-3 4-4 4, Oliver 6-9 0-0 12 , Sanz 1-1 0-0 3, Dewey 3-7 0-0 6, Chapman 0-2 0-0 0, Glatczak 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 14-17 58.
3-point shots – Northwest Missouri 4-24 (Green 2-3, Kelderman 2-3, Hartnett 0-3, Kesten 0-5, McConkey 0-1, Fields 0-1, Vazquez 0-3, Fleming 0-3, Atwood 0-2). Washburn 2-6 (Doebele 1-1, Sanz 1-1, Bentley 0-1, Barrientos 0-1, Sanchez 0-1, Dewey 0-1). Rebounds – Northwest Missouri 34 (Fields 14 ), Washburn 34 (Sanchez 6, Sanz 6). Assists – Northwest Missouri 6 (Vazquez 3), Washburn 11 (Bentley 4). Turnovers – Northwest Missouri 7, Washburn 7. Total fouls – Norhwest Missouri 18, Washburn 18. Fouled out – Doebele. Technical fouls – none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Elijah Brooks
ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West
A 6-foot-4 senior, Brooks scored a total of 47 points in two Topeka West boys basketball wins on the week as the Chargers improved to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the Centennial League. Brooks scored 21 points in West's 71-57 win over Emporia last Tuesday and scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds on Friday as West took a 79-67 league win over previously-unbeaten Highland Park.
Tyler Geiman
TYLER GEIMAN, Washburn University
Geiman, the Ichabods' 6-1 point guard, helped Washburn boost its winning streak to four games with MIAA wins at Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. Geiman scored 12 points with 16 rebounds and seven assists in a 87-72 win over Southern last Thursday and scored 28 points with 5 rebounds and 6 assists in Saturday's 80-79 victory at Pittsburg State.
Jaliah Johnson
JALIAH JOHNSON, Washburn Rural
Johnson, Washburn Rural's star senior 155-pound wrestler, was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Newton Women's Tournament of Champions after helping lead the Junior Blues to a perfect 5-0 record and the tournament team title in the dual tournament. Johnson went 5-0 with four pins and a win by forfeit.
Carter Olson
CARTER OLSON, Shawnee Heights
Olson, a 6-6 senior, registered a pair of double-doubles last week as Shawnee Heights boosted its record to 7-1 with a pair of victories. Olson scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the T-Birds' 66-44 United Kansas Conference victory over Leavenworth last Tuesday and had 14 points and 13 rebounds in Shawnee Heights' 82-58 UKC win at Turner on Friday.
Luke Perkins
LUKE PERKINS, Shawnee Heights
Perkins won four gold medals for Shawnee Heights in last Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational swimming meet at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. Perkins won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 6.06 seconds and the 100 butterfly in 54.07 seconds and also swam on the T-Birds' winning 200 medley relay (1:46.33) and 200 free relay (1:37.29).
Juan'Tario Roberts
JUAN'TARIO ROBERTS, Highland Park
Roberts, the Scots' standout senior guard, scored a total of 59 points in two Highland Park games on the week. Roberts scored 24 points in Highland Park's 70-54 Centennial League win over previously-unbeaten Junction City on Tuesday and scored a career-high 35 points with seven 3-pointers in Highland Park's 79-67 league loss at Topeka West on Friday.
