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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn women's basketball team dropped a 69-56 MIAA road game at Pittsburg State on Saturday, falling to 5-9 overall and 3-5 in the MIAA.
Pittsburg State jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Abby Oliver scored at the 6:21 mark of the first quarter started a 6-0 run for the Ichabods.
Abby Oliver
The Gorillas (11-5, 6-4) responded with a 7-2 run over the next 1:45 to extend their lead to 15-8. Aubree Dewey scored the final points of the opening quarter with a jump shot to cut the Ichabods' deficit to 20-15.
Shae Sanchez's layup to start the second quarter pulled Washburn within three points and the Ichabods made it a four-point contest on four occasions, but got no closer in the second as Pittsburg State went into halftime with a 32-25 advantage.
The Ichabods came out firing in the second half and scored on three of their first four possessions to make it a two-pointgame (34-32) with 7:34 on the clock.
But the Gorillas created some space again with an 8-1 run and ended the quarter on a 6-0 burst to lead 53-42 heading into the final stanza.
The Gorillas maintained their double-digit lead until Oliver's layup sparked a 6-0 rally midway through the fourth quarter to trim Washburn's deficit to 64-56. That would be the final points for Washburn, though, as Pittsburg scored the last five points to close out the 13-point victory.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's men's basketball team had to sweat out the final seconds, but held on for an 80-79 MIAA road win over Pittsburg State Saturday at John Lance Arena.
The Ichabods, who won their fourth straight game, did not trail in the second half, but the win was not secure until Pittsburg State missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer.
"Road wins are tough, so I'm thankful for that,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard told KTPK Radio after the game. "To come on the road and get wins is not easy. We just didn't play very intelligent basketball at times today.
"I thought we played really soft. That's evident from our defensive numbers. You can't give up 50 percent (shooting) and win games or 42 percent (from 3-point range) and win games and allow teams to (make) 14 free throws. That's not a recipe for success.''
Tyler Geiman
Connor Deffebaugh
Washburn, which improved to 10-6 overall and 7-3 in the MIAA, got 28 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds from Tyler Geiman, a career-high 20 points from Connor Deffebaugh and 11 points off the bench from Tyler Nelson. Freshman Michael Keegan pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and scored six points.
"Connor Deffebaugh was terrific,'' Ballard said. "He was aggressive and made plays when we needed him to make plays and then Geiman had a hell of a game again. He was a warrior and played the whole game.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights capped its three-game week with a 65-3 United Kansas Conference romp at Turner Friday night.
Both teams were missing multiple players due to COVID protocols, but Shawnee Heights, 2-1 on the week with an overtime loss to Class 6A Blue Valley Northwest, still had plenty of firepower to improve to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the UKC.
Junior Hayden Hill scored a game-high 14 points for the T-Birds, with four 3-pointers.
Junior Emari Doby joined Hill in double figures for Shawnee Heights with 10 points while Taylor Rottinghaus scored nine points and Riley Showalter seven points.
ST. MARYS GIRLS 53, ROSSVILLE 43 -- St. Marys used a 22-7 second quarter to take control and held off Rossville the rest of the way for a 53-43 win.
Rossville, which fell to 4-6, led 11-9 at the end of the opening quarter but the Bears rallied for a 31-18 halftime advantage.
The Bulldawgs outscored the Bears 8-3 in the third quarter to get within eight but couldn't mount a serious run over the final eight minutes.
Sophomores Kinsey Perine and Emma Mitchell scored 14 points apiece for Rossville while St. Marys (4-5) had three players with between 12 and 14 points.
Sophomore Brenna Smith paced the Bears with 14 points, followed by sophomore Catherine Moylan with 13 points and freshman Hayden Heim with 12.
OLATHE HERITAGE CHRISTIAN GIRLS 42, CAIR PARAVEL LATIN 34 -- Cair Paravel Latin saw its two-game win streak come to an end in Friday's 42-34 loss to Olathe Heritage Christian Academy.
Heritage Christian improved to 4-3 while Cair Paravel fell to 2-5.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights improved to 7-1 on the season with its fourth straight victory, rolling to an 82-58 United Kansas Conference road victory at Turner.
The T-Birds put the Bears away (0-8, 0-3) with a 26-11 first-quarter onslaught and led 41-25 at halftime and 56-37 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Brennon Dodge led Shawnee Heights with 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the T-Birds' 82-58 United Kansas Conference victory at Turner Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Carter Olson had 14 points and 13 rebounds in the T-Birds' 82-58 UKC romp at Turner Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It may have been low key, but Topeka West had reason to celebrate after Friday night's 41-38 Centennial League girls basketball win over Highland Park at Topeka West.
After a couple of close calls in earlier losses, Jeff Skar's Chargers got the job done Friday night, with Jazmyn Ford leading the way as West picked up its first win of the 2021-2022 season.
Topeka West junior Jazmyn Ford (44) puts up a shot over Highland Park freshman Amelia Ramsey in West's 41-38 Centennial League win Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Ford, a 5-foot-9 junior, scored all 10 of Topeka West's first-quarter points to get the Chargers off to a good start and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds as West improved to 1-8 overall and 1-7 in the league.
"They practice hard, they're confident and they believe,'' Skar said of his team. "I think they're starting to believe more, but they just hadn't had the results with our brutal schedule we play.''
Skar said there wasn't a lot of hooping and hollering in the West locker room after the win.
"They were pretty subdued,'' Skar said. "They really don't get too high or too low, which is a good quality.''
But Ford guaranteed that her and her teammates were fired up over the win.
"It really is exciting,'' Ford said. "We just really worked well together and kept our energy up.''
Ford outscored short-handed Highland Park by herself en route to a 10-6 first-quarter advantage.
"I just felt the energy,'' Ford said. "I was hyped, I was up and I wanted to do good for my team, not only me.''
Highland Park (1-8, 0-8) rallied for a 21-19 haltime edge, but sophomore Siani Sanchez put the Chargers ahead 22-21 with a 3-pointer to open the second half and West never trailed again.
Topeka West led 29-23 late in the third, took a 29-25 advantage into the fourth and went up 35-25 with 5:02 remaining after back-to-back hoops from Ford.
Highland Park cut its deficit to 38-35 with 1:10 left on a basket from senior Aisya Taylor, but Topeka West got three free throws from sophomore Zoe Clark over the final 12.9 seconds to keep the Chargers in front.
Topeka West sophomore Zoe Clark (35) hit three late free throws as the Chargers held on for their first win of the season Friday night, 41-38 over Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN}
