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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Entering the weekend at 1-5 on the year Washburn women’s basketball was looking for answers as they wrapped up the first week of MIAA play against No. 21 Nebraska-Kearney.
And like it has all season the basket closed in the second half and leads slipped away late, with the Lopers taking a 49-43 victory Saturday at Lee Arena.
“It’s just so hard because we are trying to catch a win, and the bottom line is there are no moral victories,” said Washburn coach Ron McHenry.
Washburn got off to a fast start offensively, scoring nine in the first three and a half minutes to take a lead, led by five points from freshman Mackenzie Gamble. Five turnovers in the quarter for the Ichabods derailed the fast start as they stumbled into a 16-11 deficit after 10 minutes.
Washburn senior Hunter Bentley works around a Nebraska-Kearney defender in Saturday's 49-43 Ichabod loss to the Lopers. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/TSN]
The defense from both sides was strong to start the second quarter but Washburn’s was able to break free late, going on a 7-0 run over three possessions. It was capped off with the second and-one basket of the quarter by senior Hunter Bentley, giving the Ichabods a lead. They would carry it into halftime, leading 27-26.
“Our defense and our offense are much better when we are pressuring up and being able to get in transition because that is what we are good at,” Bentley said.
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
After dropping its first conference matchup Washburn men’s basketball was looking to avoid falling into a hole early in conference play against Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday at Lee Arena.
Thanks to strong bench contributions and one clutch bucket from sophomore Connor Deffebaugh the Ichabods accomplished that objective with a 79-77 MIAA victory.
“This is a game, they are all important, but it felt like it was a big one from the standpoint that it gave us confidence,” Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. “You can’t dig yourself too much of a hole in this conference if you want to compete for a championship.”
Connor Deffebaugh scored the game-winning basket in the closing seconds Saturday, giving Washburn a 79-77 MIAA victory at Lee Arena. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/TSN]
Saturday's win moved the Ichabods to 4-4 on the year and 1-1 in the MIAA.
But the high scoring game did not start that way as Washburn managed only four points in the first five plus minutes of action, trailing by as many as eight points early on.
A run of seven early points by Deffebaugh kept the Ichabods in the action while its defense slipped.
Freshman Michael Keegan helped shore up the defense with two big blocks in the first half along with back-to-back layups that gave Washburn a 25-24 lead.
Kearney shot well from outside, knocking down five triples in the first half, taking a 34-32 lead into the break.
Offense came easy from both sides to begin the second half, with a combined 30 points in the first six minutes. Keegan and Deffebaugh continued to play fast, pushing pace and picking up four points each in that period, while freshman Andrew Orr also put in four points.
“Kearney plays guys a lot of minutes and so we always wanted to play with pace and we did want to wear them down,'' Ballard said. "I thought we got some opportunistic transition opportunities which was good.''
The initial flurry of points tied the game but the Ichabods broke the seal with a 7-2 run with back-to-back three-pointers by Deffebaugh and senior Jeremy Harrell who finished with 10 points off the bench, all in the second half.
“Just coming in, in the first half we were kind of dead, and I knew we needed that spark on the defensive end, so that is what I did,” Harrell said.
Another member of the bench mob, sophomore Kevaughn Ellis, added seven second-half points by getting into the lane to keep the offense going inside the five-minute mark.
“We finally had the free throw advantage which was obviously huge and we are still missing some pretty wide-open threes which I think are going to go down pretty soon. We knock some of those down and hopefully our offense will click even better,” Ballard said.
The Lopers started getting to the line, taking a small lead that was erased by a corner three from freshman Levi Braun at the 2:52 mark, providing a two-point cushion.
Four straight points by Keegan extended the lead to six points. After cutting it in half with one three, Kearney executed an out of bounds play to free up junior David Simental to score three of his game-high 21 points and tie the game with 27.7 left.
Washburn held for the last shot, allowing Deffebaugh to wind down the clock and attack with ten seconds on the clock as the lefty drove right and put in the game-winning basket with his right hand with two second left.
“We needed a bucket, coach called a play, tie game, I wanted to get something downhill, get to the rim, hopefully get fouled and then I made the shot,” Deffebaugh said. “We have been going through a lot this past week as a team, just going through adversity, so this game was just real good for us to come together.”
Kearney's fullcourt heave did not fall and the Ichabods escaped with the hard-earned victory.
“It’s starting to really click, guys starting to play. Kevaughn Ellis played really good, Jerm (Jeremy Harrell) came off the bench, had a spark, had real good energy and Mike (Michael Keegan) been doing what he been doing all year,” Deffebaugh said.
Michael Keegan scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Washburn's 79-77 MIAA win over Nebraska-Kearney Saturday. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/TSN]
Deffebaugh led WU with 19 points on eight of 10 shooting, while dishing out a team-high five assists as well. Keegan added a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds while Ellis and Harrell finished with 11 and 10 respectively.
Next up for Washburn is a trip to Edmond, Oklahoma to face the University of Central Oklahoma next Thursday.
WASHBURN MEN 79, NEBRSKA-KEARNEY 77
Nebraska-Kearney 34 43 -- 77
Washburn 32 47 -- 79
NEBRASKA-KEARNEY (3-4 0-1)
Nebeker 8-10 3-4 20, Murphy 4-6 1-2 9, Luger 5-13 0-0 12, Simental 8-20 0-0 21, Evans 3-7 2-2 8, Cook 2-5 0-0 4, Brien 1-1 0-0 3, Badding 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 6-8 77.
WASHBURN (4-4 1-1)
Orr 4-9 0-0 8, Thorne 1-1 0-0 2, Deffebaugh 8-10 1-2 19, Lewis 1-9 2-2 5, Keegan 6-12 6-7 18, Braun 2-4 0-0 6, Harrell 4-7 0-0 10, Ellis 4-7 3-3 11, Carter 0-1 0-0 0, Ross 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-60 12-14 79.
3-point-shots – Kearney: 9-27 (Nebeker 1-1, Murphy 0-2, Luger 2-7, Simental 5-11, Evans 0-4, Cook 0-1, Brien 1-1). Washburn 7-19 (Deffebaugh 2-3, Lewis 1-5, Keegan 0-2, Braun 2-4, Harrell 2-4, Ellis 0-1). Rebounds – Kearney 31 (Murphy 8), Washburn 30 (Keegan 8). Assists – Kearney 14 (Evans 5), Washburn 16 (Deffebaugh 5). Turnovers – Kearney 7, Washburn 8. Total fouls – Kearney 13, Washburn 10. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West was obviously thrilled to capture the team title in Saturday's Highland Park Invitational wrestling tournament.
But for West and fellow Unified School District 501 schools Highland Park and Topeka High, Saturday wasn't as much about winning as it was about having the chance to compete, something the three 501 schools waited nearly two years for.
Topeka West's wrestling team poses for a team picture after winning the team championship in Saturday's Highland Park Invitational by a 112-202 margin over St. Marys. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Prior to the 2020-2021 season the USD 501 school board made the decision to put district wrestling on hold due to concerns over COVID-19, a ruling that kept Hi Park, High and West on the sidelines for the entire season.
And although the Scots, Trojans and Chargers are still playing catchup after the long layoff, all three schools were thrilled to be back on the mats Saturday for their first tournament of the season.
"It's just nice to be out here wrestling, and having kids coming to meets and things like that,'' Topeka High coach Tony Canacari said. "I'm just happy to be wrestling, absolutely.''
"That's all (the kids) have wanted,'' Topeka West coach Brandon Gengler said. "That's all I've heard for a year and a half, that they wanted to be back.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sophomore Brennon Dodge singed the nets for a career-high 33 points and hit seven 3-pointers as Shawnee Heights' boys basketball team rolled to a 74-37 non-league win over Bishop Seabury in Friday's 2021-2022 season-opener at Heights.
Senior Nate Pewe backed Dodge with 15 points as nine players scored for the T-Birds.
Shawnee Heights built an 18-11 lead at the end of the opening quarter, used a 20-7 second quarter to take a 38-18 halftime advantage and rode a 24-13 third quarter to a huge 62-31 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
SEAMAN GIRLS 69, JUNCTION CITY 12 -- Seaman opened its season with a 69-12 road Centennial League romp at Junction City, with nine players cracking the scoring column.
Anna Becker
Taylin Stallbaumer
Freshman Anna Becker paced the Vikings with a game-high 15 points while sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer, last season's Shawnee County newcomer of the year, added 14 points and sophomore Brooklyn Gormley 11.
Seaman will return to action next Tuesday at home against Topeka West.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 63, MANHATTAN 41 -- Senior Talayah Thomas scored 21 points with three 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds as Topeka High opened its season with a decisive 63-41 Centennial League win at Manhattan.
Talayah Thomas
Junior Kiki Smith added 17 points and dished out six assists while junior Faith Shields had 13 points for the Trojans, who are ranked No. 8 in Class 6A after finishing second in the state tournament at year ago.
Senior Dayshauna Wiley led Topeka High with seven rebounds.
JUNCTION CITY BOYS 80, SEAMAN 63 -- Junction City used a 31-point fourth quarter to put Seaman away in an 80-63 Centennial League win Friday night at Junction City.
Seaman 14-13 at the end of the first quarter but Junction City used a 24-13 second quarter to take a 37-27 halftime lead.
Seaman outscored the Blue Jays 15-12 in the third quarter to cut Junction City's advantage to 49-42, but the hosts outscored the Vikings 31-21 the rest of the way.
Mateo Hyman scored 20 points and Ty Henry 14 for Seaman, while Gavin Wilhelm added nine points on three 3-pointers and Kaeden Bonner also scored nine points.
Howard Johnson scored a game-high 30 points for the Blue Jays, one of four Junction City players in double figures.
MANHATTAN BOYS 67, TOPEKA HIGH 46 -- Manhattan opened its season with a 67-46 home Centennial League win over Topeka High, putting a damper on Ty Baumgartner's debut as the Trojans head coach.
Topeka High trailed by just a 30-28 margin at the half before Manhattan boosted its advantage to 45-37 at the end of the third quarter and put the Trojans away with a 22-9 fourth quarter.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
An improved Highland Park girls basketball team couldn’t keep up with state-ranked Emporia Friday night, with the Spartans taking a 59-21 Centennial League decision at Hi Park.
Despite Friday's loss Highland Park showed positive steps after dropping n 81-6 decision to the Spartans in their previous meeting last season.
The game was tied 7-7 at one point in the first quarter, but the Spartans used an 8-0 run to extend their lead to15-7.
The Scots would continued to battle througho9ut the opening half, trailing by 11 at the break, 28-17.
“We started off razzled and frazzled,'' Emporia coach Carolyn Dorsey said. "They’re much improved. They have gotten a lot better and progressed. I thought we struggled against Highland (Park) at first. Our shots were really sped up. We knew we needed to fix our tempo.''
Emporia took complete control in the second half, holding Highland Park to just four points in a 31-4 half.
“We were in significant foul trouble in the first half. It was frustrating because we knew they were going to drive, we knew they were going to be fast, and we couldn’t stop fouling them (Highland Park),'' Dorsey said. "In the second half, we were able to get good stops without the foul trouble. Our shots were much better as well.''
Highland Park coach Robert Brown was disappointed in the result, but wasn't discouraged.
“I knew coming in it was going to be a tough one,'' Brown said. "Emporia is ranked number 10 (in Class 5A) for a reason. Our girls are disappointed, but we will come back to practice and get ready for Hayden on Tuesday.''
“We took what we could from the game. We will learn from it and this will make us better.''
Gracie Gilpin paced Emporia with a game-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers.
Highland Park (0-1) will host the Hayden Wildcats (0-0) on Tuesday.
EMPORIA GIRLS 59, HIGHLAND PARK 21
Emporia 15 13 21 10 -- 59
Highland Park 7 10 2 2 -- 21
Emporia (1-0, 1-0) -- Gilpin 7 1-2 19, Snyder 4 2-2, 10, Stewart 3 0-0 8, Kirmer 3 0-0 7, Herfkens 1 2-5 4, T. Baker 1 0-0 3, Wiltz 0 2-2, 2, Garcia, 1 0-0, 2, A. Baker 1, 0-0, 2, Gutierrez 0 2-2 2.
Highland Park (0-1, 0-1) -- Ramsey 3 6-7 12, Sanders 2 1-3 6, Taylor 1 0-0 3.
3 Point Goals -- Emporia 8 (Gilpin, 4, Stewart, 2, Kirmer, T. Baker). Highland Park 2 (Sanders, Taylor). Total fouls -- Highland Park 17, Emporia 16.
