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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's MIAA basketball doubleheader at Central Missouri that was scheduled to open 2022 will now close out 2021.
Because of expected winter weather on tap for Saturday, the Washburn-Central Missouri games were pushed up a day to be played on Friday, with the women's game scheduled for 2 p.m. and the men's game to follow at approximately 4 o'clock in Warrensburg, Mo. at the UCM Multipurpose Building.
The Ichabod women's team has won its last three games, including a 71-50 non-conference victory over Bethany College Wednesday in Lee Arena, improving to 4-7 on the season. The Ichabods are 2-3 in the MIAA and will face a Jennies team that is 8-4 this season and 4-1 in MIAA play.
The Ichabod men's team (6-6, 3-3 MIAA) dropped an 85-82 loss to Northeastern State on Dec. 20. The Mules are (6-3, 3-2 MIAA) and have won their last two games, topping Missouri Southern 87-57 on Dec. 16 and Pittsburg State 66-58 on Dec. 18 in a pair of road wins.
Senior Hunter Bentley needs 14 points to move into the No. 9 spot on Washburn's career scoring list. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
WU AT CENTRAL MISSOURI WOMEN
Both the Ichabods and Jennies will take three-game win streaks into Friday's contest.
Washburn will only have had one day's rest before heading to Central Missouri while the Jennies last played on Dec. 18 at Pittsburg State and claimed a 70-61 win.
Washburn and Central Missouri have played each other 66 times since 1990 and WU leads the all-time series, 41-25. The two teams met three times last season and Washburn went 1-2, taking a 63-55 victory in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals.
Senior Hunter Bentley leads Washburn in scoring at 11.8 points per game and averages 4.3 rebounds. The former Bishop Miege standout needs 14 points to move into the No. 9 spot on Washburn's career scoring list.
Abby Oliver averages 7.5 points and Mackenzie Gamble 6.9 points while Lauren Cassaday leads Washburn with a 5.0 rebounding average and Aubree Dewey leads WU with 25 assists.
Central Missouri's Nija Collier leads the MIAA in four categories and averages a double-double with 22.8 points and 13 rebounds per game to go with a 57.8 field goal percentage.
Brooke Littrell (17.8-point average) and Olivia Nelson (14.4) also contribute double-figure scoring for the Jennies.
WU AT CENTRAL MISSOURI MEN
Washburn is expected to be closer to full strength than it has been all season for Friday's game, as both Johnny Clausing and Tyler Nelson could see their first action of the season against the Mules.
The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Mules 54-52 and have won the last three overall, including a 70-68 win on Feb. 13, 2021 in Warrensburg.
Junior Jalen Lewis leads Washburn in scoring at 14.3 points per game while hitting 25 of 66 3-pointers.
Freshman Michael Keegan is averaging 11.2 points and leads the Ichabods with a 6.3 rebounding average.
After missing multiple games with an ankle injury, senior Tyler Geiman is averaging 10.4 points and 6.4 assists in five games this season.
Gavin Pinkley leads the Mules with a 12.8 scoring average while Ja'Cor Nelson averages 10.9 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds.
Washburn will return to Lee Arena next Thursday to host defending national champion Northwest Missouri.
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NOTE: Statistics for city Centennial League and United Kansas Conference girls basketball teams were compiled by Seaman girls coach Matt Tinsley, with assistance from Seaman senior Jackson Stuewe. TopSports.news will also run stats for Shawnee County teams Cair Paravel Latin, Rossville and Silver Lake as they are made available.
Topeka High junior Kiki Smith leads city schools in scoring, assists and steals, helping lead the Trojans to a 5-0 start to the 2021-2022 season. [File photo/TSN]
SCORING
Name, school Gms. Pts. Avg
Smith, Topeka High 5 108 21.6
Thomas, Topeka High 5 77 15.4
DeLeye, Washburn Rural 4 54 13.5
Becker, Seaman 5 66 13.2
Doby, Shawnee Heights 3 34 11.3
Meier, Hayden 4 42 10.5
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 50 10.0
Stallbaumer, Seaman 5 48 9.6
Canfield, Washburn Rural 5 48 9.6
Smith, Hayden 4 38 9.5
Stuke, Hayden 4 38 9.5
Shields, Topeka High 5 42 8.4
Canady, Shawnee Heights 3 25 8.3
Schulte, Shawnee Heights 3 24 8.0
Taylor, Highland Park 5 37 7.4
Highland Park freshman Amelia Ramsey (32) is the current city leader in rebounding, averaging 10 boards per game. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
REBOUNDING
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Ramsey, Highland Park 5 50 10.0
Oczko, Shawnee Heights 3 26 8.7
Bearman, Topeka West 5 38 7.6
Meier, Hayden 4 25 6.3
Sandstrom, Hayden 4 25 6.3
Caryl, Topeka High 5 31 6.2
DeLeye, Washburn Rural 4 23 5.8
Gormley, Seaman 5 28 5.6
Ingram, Washburn Rural 5 28 5.6
Esser, Seaman 5 26 5.2
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 26 5.2
Wiley, Topeka High 5 24 4.8
Smith, Topeka High 5 24 4.8
Canady, Shawnee Heights 3 14 4.7
Becker, Seaman 5 23 4.6
ASSISTS
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Smith, Topeka High 5 35 7.0
Thomas, Topeka High 5 17 3.4
Ingram, Washburn Rural 5 14 2.8
Benson, Topeka West 5 14 2.8
Canfield, Washburn Rural 5 12 2.4
Schulte, Shawnee Heights 3 7 2.3
Sanchez, Topeka West 3 11 2.2
Becker, Seaman 5 10 2.0
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 10 2.0
Bagshaw, Washburn Rural 5 10 2.0
Gonzales, Highland Park 5 8 1.6
Stallbaumer, Seaman 5 8 1.6
Grego, Hayden 4 6 1.5
Reed, Highland Park 5 7 1.4
Taylor, Highland Park 5 7 1.4
Anderson, Seaman 5 7 1.4
STEALS
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Smith, Topeka High 5 25 5.0
Stallbaumer, Seaman 4 16 4.0
Becker, Seaman 5 17 3.4
Schumann, Seaman 5 17 3.4
Smith, Hayden 4 12 3.0
Thomas, Topeka High 5 15 3.0
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 15 3.0
Doby, Shawnee Heights 3 8 2.7
Schulte, Shawnee Heights 3 7 2.3
Greco, Hayden 4 9 2.3
Benson, Topeka West 5 10 2.0
Taylor, Highland Park 5 9 1.8
Sanchez, Topeka West 5 9 1.8
Stuke, Hayden 4 7 1.8
Canady, Shawnee Heights 3 5 1.7
Showalter, Shawnee Heights 3 5 1.7
BLOCKS
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Wiley, Topeka High 5 9 1.8
Ingram, Washburn Rural 5 9 1.8
Meier, Hayden 4 6 1.5
Gormley, Seaman 5 7 1.4
DeLeye, Washburn Rural 4 5 1.3
Smith, Topeka High 5 6 1.2
Oczko, Shawnee Heights 3 3 1.0
Benning, Topeka High 5 5 1.0
Krueger, Washburn Rural 5 5 1.0
2-POINT FG %
Name, school Made Att. %
Baird, Topeka High 12 19 63.2
Rantz, Shawnee Heights 5 8 62.5
Schulte, Shawnee Heights 7 12 58.3
Smith, Topeka High 31 56 55.4
Caryl, Topeka High 11 20 55.0
Becker, Seaman 25 47 53.2
Benson, Topeka West 3 6 50.0
Meier, Hayden 10 21 47.6
Ramsey, Highland Park 11 24 45.8
Bearman, Topeka West 14 31 45.2
Sandstrom, Hayden 7 16 43.8
Esser, Seaman 9 21 42.9
Smith, Hayden 14 33 42.4
Canady, Shawnee Heights 9 22 40.9
Gormley, Seaman 10 27 37.0
Highland Park senior Aisya Taylor is the current city leader in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.7 percent. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
3-POINT FG %
Name, school Made Att. %
Taylor, Highland Park 7 15 46.7
Meier, Hayden 2 5 40.0
Doby, Shawnee Heights 3 8 37.5
Gonzales, Highland Park 4 11 36.4
Clark, Topeka West 4 11 36.4
Greco, Hayden 1 3 33.3
Parker-Brown, Highland Park 2 6 33.3
Showalter, Shawnee Heights 3 9 33.3
Shields, Topeka High 7 21 33.3
Thomas, Topeka High 7 24 29.2
Smith, Topeka High 9 34 26.5
Hill, Shawnee Heights 2 8 25.0
Benson, Topeka West 4 19 21.1
Stuke, Hayden 3 15 20.0
Stallbaumer, Seaman 4 23 17.4
Brylee Meier
FREE THROW %
Name, school Made Att. %
Meier, Hayden 16 17 94.1
Schumann, Seaman 6 7 85.7
Smith, Topeka High 19 23 82.6
Canfield, Washburn Rural 8 10 80.0
Stuke, Hayden 15 19 78.9
Stallbaumer, Seaman 10 13 76.9
Thomas, Topeka High 12 16 75.0
Bagshaw, Washburn Rural 8 11 72.7
Ford, Topeka West 11 16 68.8
Smith, Seaman 4 6 66.7
Canady, Shawnee Heights 4 6 66.7
Duncan, Topeka West 10 15 66.7
Krueger, Washburn Rural 13 20 65.0
Sanchez, Topeka West 6 10 60.0
Becker, Seaman 13 22 59.1
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Playing for the first time in 11 days, Washburn University's women's basketball showed some rust at times Wednesday night.
But the Ichabods were able to pick up where they left off before the break, earning their third straight victory with a 71-50 non-conference win over Bethany at Lee Arena.
Washburn, now 4-7 on the season, played 17 players on the night, with 12 cracking the scoring column, as the Ichabods wrapped up the non-conference portion of their schedule.
"It was good for us to get out there and knock some rust off,'' Washburn coach Ron McHenry said. "Nobody got hurt and we got to play a lot of kids. I think it was a positive for us and we got exactly what we needed out of it.''
Former Hanover star Macy Doebele (30) came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points for Washburn in Wednesday's 71-50 win over Bethany at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods trailed just once in the game, at 2-0, and doubled up Bethany 20-10 at the end of the first quarter and opened up a 29-10 advantage at the 4:23 mark of the second quarter, with Macy Doebele (Hanover) hitting a 3-pointer to cap a 13-0 WU run -- four straight at the end of the first and nine to open the second.
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NOTE: Statistics for city Centennial League and United Kansas Conference boys basketball teams were compiled by Seaman girls coach Matt Tinsley, with assistance from Seaman student Jackson Stuewe. TopSports.news will also run stats for Shawnee County teams Cair Paravel Latin, Rossville and Silver Lake as they are made available.
Topeka West's Elijah Brooks is the boys city scoring leader, averaging 26.6 points for the 4-1 Chargers. [File photo/TSN]
SCORING
Name, school Gms. Pts. Avg
Brooks, Topeka West 5 133 26.6
Dodge, Shawnee Heights 4 89 22.3
Roberts, Highland Park 5 110 22.0
Hyman, Seaman 5 93 18.6
Aldridge, Highland Park 5 88 17.6
Henry, Seaman 5 85 17.0
Bonner, Seaman 5 74 14.8
Alexander, Topeka West 5 64 12.8
Kidd, Washburn Rural 4 48 12.0
Pewe, Shawnee Heights 4 48 12.0
Austin, Topeka West 5 56 11.2
Bachelor, Washburn Rural 4 43 10.8
Flenoy, Topeka High 6 65 10.8
Kingcannon, HiPark 5 52 10.4
Duffey, Hayden -- -- 10.2
Highland Park's Ketraleus Aldridge is currently the city of Topeka boys rebounding leader, pulling down 10 rebounds a game for the 5-0 Scots. [File photo/TSN]
REBOUNDING
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Aldridge, Highland Park 5 50 10.0
Olson, Shawnee Heights 4 33 8.3
Canady, Topeka High 5 36 7.2
Berg, Topeka West 5 31 6.2
Heim, Washburn Rural 3 17 5.7
Brooks, Topeka West 5 28 5.6
Morales, Topeka High 6 32 5.3
Bachelor, Washburn Rural 4 19 4.8
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka native and best-selling author Jade Gurss' latest book, "Al Unser Jr.: A Checkered Past,'' which he collaborated on with racing legend Unser, is different than any of his previous five books, dealing not only with Unser's incredible success on the track but his overwhelming challenges off of it.
The Shawnee Heights and Washburn graduate is immensely proud that the Hall of Famer chose him to tell his stories to.
"From the very first time Al Jr. and I sat down to talk about the book, he was very open about wanting to be honest and wanting to tell the full story,'' Gurss said. "I've done books in the past where it's a lot of glory making or hero legends and Al was willing to tell stories where he doesn't look like the hero and he's not always heroic.
"That was very refreshing and I'll say he stuck to that from start to finish.''
Topeka native Jade Gurss' latest book, in conjunction with racing Hall of Fame Al Unser Jr., has already solid out its first printing. [Submitted]
"Al Unser Jr.: A Checkered Past,'' published by Octane Press, chronicles Unser's extraordinary success but also his depths of failure, as told to Gurss, with a foreword by legendary racing owner Roger Penske.
A member of one of the most prominent families in the history of auto racing, "Little Al'' was a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner while also winning multiple IndyCar national championships, IROC and 24 Hours of Daytona titles.
In 2007 he was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame and in 2009 he became a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
But along with the tales of his racing success, Unser shares deeply personal stories about his struggles with mental health and how drug and alcohol addiction fueled the destruction of his personal life, including a domestic violence arrest and multiple driving under the influence charges.
Visits to a variety of rehab centers, divorce and financial ruin followed, leading to a suicide attempt before Unser began an inspiring turnaround.
Gurss is happy with how the book, released on Oct. 1, turned out.
"I was happy with it because I think it was important to him,'' said Gurss, a member of the Shawnee Heights Hall of Fame. "It was a catharsis to tell these stories and kind of get some of this stuff off his chest that he had kind of been quiet about for years and years. From that aspect I feel like the book has really achieved what he and I had set out to accomplish.''
Just as importantly, Gurss feels like Unser is proud of the finished product.
"I think he's been really pleased,'' said Gurss, a former public directions at Heartland Park Topeka. "We've already had responses from people who said they were going through some of the difficulties that Al went through and that the fact that he had been a survivor really had inspired them.
"I think that was part of his thinking, too, that if he could help just one person going through some of the terrible things he went through with substance abuse and all of that, that it would be a success. I think it's made him feel quite good to hear from people directly that it had inspired them or inspired their son or daughter.''
Gurss said the 59-year-old Unser remains deeply involved in racing as he continues his personal turnaround.
"He's working for a race team that has a program that helps young drivers that either are minorities or that don't necessarily have the funds to go professional racing,'' Gurss said. "I think that's been very helpful to him to be able to give back and to help young drivers to move up the ladder. He seems to really enjoy it and seems to be really doing well with that.''
Gurss, 59, is the co-author of two New York Times Best Selling books -- “Driver #8” and “DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles.’’
“Driver #8’’ chronicles Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series and is believed to be the most successful book about auto racing in American publishing history, spending 17 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. “DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles,’’ Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip’s autobiography, reached the New York Times Best Seller nonfiction list.
Gurss said "Al Unser Jr.: A Checkered Past,'' has also been well-received.
"We have already sold out the first printing, which is wonderful, and the second printing is out there now in all the stores,'' said Gurss, who lives in Charlotte, N.C. "That's been rewarding to have people react so positively to it.''
