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Details: Created: 12 February 2022

By KYLE MANTHE

The Washburn Review

Washburn women’s basketball played host to Central Missouri on Saturday with a chance to move above .500 for the first time this season.

They were able to do just that, using a 24-point fourth quarter to come back and sweep the season series against the Jennies with a 72-71 win.

“We knew they were mad from the game earlier this season when we beat them, so we knew that we were going to have to dig deep and fight,” said senior Hunter Bentley.

Washburn senior standout Hunter Bentley huddles up with her team during Saturday's 72-71 MIAA win over Central Missouri. [Photo by Kyle Manthe]

The win moved the Ichabods to 12-11 on the year and was the team's seventh win in its last nine games.

“Kids did a great job adjusting in the second half and just battling. That group is hard to guard, and very talented offensively,” said Washburn coach Ron McHenry. “The kids did a great job, and they were tired … they did a nice job, it was probably one of the toughest games we have played all year.”

Washburn’s offense was rolling early, getting baskets from the post and driving downhill leading to six first-quarter free throws to dig out of an early five-point deficit.

The first 10 minutes were capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers from Bentley in the final 68 seconds to give the Ichabods a 20-16 lead after one.

Washburn’s offense got cold in the second quarter, managing only two points in the first five minutes.

Defensively the Ichabods struggled to contain the Jennies two leading scorers, freshman Brooke Littrell and senior Nija Collier, who combined for 21 points in the half.

An eight-point burst in the final two minutes for Central Missouri put the Jennies up 36-29 at the break.

The Jennies kept the lead at that margin for the start of the third quarter as both sides picked up the pace offensively.

Washburn was able to get back into the game led by its seniors. as Bentley and fellow senior Nuria Barrientos combined for 12 points in the quarter to pull Washburn within one point at the end of the third.

“We got stops and we got out in transition and we picked up some easy layups from that,” Bentley said.

Littrell and Collier continued to score to begin the fourth, turning a one-point game into seven with just over eight minutes to play.

The Ichabods quickly got back into the game with good ball movement, as they notched eight assists in the fourth quarter.

A 3-pointer from sophomore Macy Doebele at the 4:19 mark brought them all the way back to tie the game at 65.

“They were matchup-zoning a lot, and we were struggling with it and then in the second half we kind of picked it apart with one of our halfcourt offenses and got some slip action going,” McHenry said.

The score was still tied when sophomore Abby Oliver took a pass from Barrientos on a fast break and converted an old-fashioned three-point play to put Washburn out in front with 2:06 to play.

Details: Created: 12 February 2022

By KYLE MANTHE

The Washburn Review

Seaman and Hayden boy’s basketball faced off Friday night in a game featuring two teams towards the opposite end of the Centennial league standings.

That separation showed in the second half when the Vikings rattled off 52 points en route to an 82-52 win over the Wildcats at Hayden.

Eighty-two points is a season-high for Seaman, which shot over 70 percent in the game and converted 24 free throws.

“Those guys that started the game tonight are all very capable of having a big night and I love the fact that they found each other and were able to all contribute on the offensive end,” Seaman coach Craig Cox said.

Ty Henry

Kaeden Bonner

The win moved Seaman to 9-7 on the year while Hayden fell to 3-12, marking a third straight loss.

It was a post-centric game to begin, which benefitted Hayden junior Joe Otting, who had eight in the first eight minutes.

After falling into a hole early the Vikings responded quickly. Senior Ty Henry and junior Kaeden Bonner each had four in the opening quarter as Seaman led, 13-11.

The Vikings began to build a lead in the second quarter, with five players scoring in a balanced offensive attack, led by five points from senior Mateo Hyman as the lead expanded to as many as 11.

“I thought our guys did a great job of finding each other and still attacking and being able to build a big lead,” Cox said. “I thought our defense and our rebounding were outstanding in limiting Hayden’s opportunities.”

On the other end, Otting converted an and-one with just under a minute remaining in the quarter to make it a 30-22 game at halftime.

Seaman came out of the break on a 9-0 run in the first three minutes, capped off by a 3-pointer from Bonner.

The Wildcats responded with three quick 3-pointers, two coming from junior Jake Muller, to stay within 10.

The Vikings would keep pushing with strong inside play from Henry and drives by Bonner as the entire team lived at the free-throw line where they converted 24 of 27 attempts in the game.

Five more points inside of the final eight seconds would blow the game open and result in an 18-point game at the end of three.

Seaman would quickly push the lead to 20 in the fourth quarter as all five starters entered into double figures. The Vikings emptied the bench as the lead touched 30, where it would stay with the final score of 82-52.

“We got two games at home this week, so we want to build on these two that we got this week and try to get as much momentum as we can heading into the playoffs,” Cox said.

Henry led Seaman with 18 on 7-8 shooting, Bonner finished with 17 and Hyman with 14. Senior Gavin Wilhelm and junior Aron Davis each finished with 10 points.

For Hayden, Otting had 18 points, Muller had 12 and senior Trent Duffey had 11.

The win was the second in a row for the Vikings, who moved to 8-5 in league play. On the other side the Wildcats fell to 2-10 in the league.

Both teams stay home for their next game, with Seman taking on Topeka High on Tuesday and Hayden playing host to Tonganoxie Monday.

SEAMAN BOYS 82, HAYDEN BOYS 52

Seaman 13 17 25 27 -- 82

Hayden 11 11 17 13 -- 52

Seaman (9-7, 8-5) – Parsel 0-0 0-0 0, Freeman 1-1 0-0 3, Hyman 3-3 8-9 14, Unruh 0-0 0-0 0, Henry 7-8 4-4 18, Bonner 6-8 2-2 17, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Wilhelm 1-1 7-8 10, Finley 1-1 2-2 4, Barta 1-1 2-2 4, Davis 4-7 2-2 10. Totals 24-30 24-27 82.

Hayden (3-12, 2-10) – Bartlett 1-2 0-0 3, Muller 4-9 0-0 12, Scott 0-1 0-0 0, Foster 1-3 0-0 3, Duffey 3-8 3-4 11, Ham 0-2 0-0 0, Gorman 0-3 0-0 0, Otting 7-10 5-5 19, Rice 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 17-37 8-9 52.

3-point goals – Seaman 4 (Bonner 2, Wilhelm, Freeman). Hayden 8 (Mueller 4, Duffey 2, Bartlett, Foster). Total fouls – Seaman 11 Hayden 23. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – Hayden ench.

Details: Created: 12 February 2022

By ISAAC DEER

TopSports.news

Winning basketball games in the Mid-East league is always a difficult task and for Rossville's boys, those wins have been hard to come by this season.

The Bulldawgs' fortunes changed with a narrow 46-43 home win over rival Silver Lake Friday night.

“Tonight was pretty intense that’s for sure,” said Rossville coach Eammon Bradley. “The kids deserved it. We’ve been a team that’s struggled to get all of our players to practice. COVID, football, and all of this stuff. Our guys have bought into playing hard, playing tough, playing with good defensive fundamentals… They’ve grown a lot.”

Rossville boys coach Eammon Bradley talks to his team during Friday's 46-43 win over Silver Lake. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]

The Rossville win would’ve been much harder to achieve if guard Kade Perine hadn’t stepped up in a big way.

Perine has been in his element lately with 24 points on Friday night and 68 points in his last three games.

“Being more calm and collected has helped me a lot this year,” said Perine. “Getting my teammates the basketball more has helped me more. The more shots they hit, the more shots I hit.”

Rossville’s confidence was rolling early. The Dawg defense held an athletic Silver Lake offense to four points in the first quarter, while the offense scored 13.

Silver Lake would fight back and put some points on the board in the second quarter, outscoring the Dawgs, 11-9. The momentum flipped in favor of Silver Lake going into the halftime break.

Although the Eagles were in a 7-point deficit at the half, they had Rossville right where they wanted them.

Silver Lake needed to avoid the lack-of-point production in the third quarter as they did in the first. Fortunately for Rossville, the defense produced again.

The Eagles were only able to put up a slim six points in the third quarter. Rossville would have the game in their favor with the 14-point lead by the end of the third.

After struggling for most of the night to shoot the ball, the Eagles did not resist in crunch time.

In the first 5:16 of the fourth quarter, Silver Lake went on a 14-5 run, inching closer and closer to Rossville.

With 3:08 to go, Silver Lake missed four consecutive shots but collected the offensive rebounds. They would go on to miss the fifth shot and Rossville took advantage of the opportunity shortly after with a critical timeout.

Rossville would work slowly and methodically keep the basketball away from the Eagles' hands. Silver Lake would lose patience and needed to foul Rossville to get the ball back.

Perine would work his way out of double teams and the Eagles pressing defense to get the ball in his hands. Perine would be fouled three times in the closing minutes of the game which was troublesome for Silver Lake as Perine would knock down six of his eight free throws in the fourth quarter.

Silver Lake outscored Rossville in the fourth quarter, 22-11, but it wouldn’t be enough to take away Rossville’s lead.

The “War on 24” games between Silver Lake and Rossville is always emotional. In Friday night’s win, the team fed off of the energy in the gym.

“I always love beating Silver Lake,” said Perine. “I had a lot of confidence the first time we met this year and tonight. I am so glad we beat (Silver Lake).”

Rossville will take on the Wabaunsee Chargers on Tuesday.

“Wabaunsee is always a pretty tough matchup,” said Bradley. “They’re well-coached, good defensively and they are terrific offensively. I know the (previous) game wasn’t that long ago, but this is a different group. We’ve been a lot more productive in our practices.”

ROSSVILLE BOYS 46, SILVER LAKE 43

Rossville 13 9 13 11 – 46

Silver Lake 4 11 6 22 – 43

Rossville (3-13) – Perine 7 7-10 24, Patrizi 2 2-3 6, Bush 0 1-3 1, Lietz 2 0-0 4, Badura 2 2-2 8, Broce 0 2-4 2, Horak 0 1-2 1.

Silver Lake (6-11) – Mountain 3 0-0 6, Kaniper 3 1-1 7, Renfro 1 0-0 2, Heimen 3 0-2 7, C. Johnson 1 2-2 4, Womack 4 0-0 9, Vandevelde 2 2-4 6, Stithem 1 0-0 2.

3-point goals – Rossville 5 (Perine 3, Badura 2), Silver Lake 2 (Heiman, Womack). Total fouls – Rossville 13, Silver Lake 25. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.