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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights girls basketball got off to a bit of a rough start this season while wading through a rugged opening stretch that included a pair of games against Class 6A schools, including No. 2 Shawnee Mission South, as well as a United Kansas Conference matchup with state-ranked 5A power Piper.
Shawnee Heights senior Imani McGlory drives to the basket in Friday's 67-30 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But after starting the year 1-3, Bob Wells' T-Birds enter the holiday break with momentum after reaching the .500 level with back-to-back United Kansas Conference routs.
Shawnee Heights started the week with a tough three-point overtime loss to Manhattan, but bounced back with a 77-point win over Lansing before rolling past Topeka West 67-30 Friday night at Heights.
"We needed to come out and play well,'' Wells said. "What I told them is, 'I don't care what the score is, we need to come out and execute and do the things we've been working on in practice,' and offensively we saw that.
"We've got a long ways to go defensively and just working on defense and working on talking and doing some of those fundamental things a little bit better, but that's something that people have to learn and we've got to do a better job teaching them to get them to where we want them to be ... defensively we're a work in progress.''
The T-Birds, now 3-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference, never trailed Friday after Heights juniors KK Emmot and Sami Baum opened the game with 3-pointers.
Shawnee Heights went on to open up a commanding 22-8 lead by the end of the opening quarter and took a 40-13 advantage to the locker room at the half.
The T-Birds boosted their margin to 60-25 in the third quarter, forcing a running clock throughout the entire fourth quarter.
All five starters had at least eight points for Shawnee Heights, led by Emmot with a game-high 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Baum and junior Pearmella Carter added 11 points apiece while seniors Reianna Vega and Imani McGlory scored nine and eight points, respectively.
Topeka West (1-5, 0-4) got 15 points from junior Sydney VanDyke while VanDyke and senior Addaline Hall grabbed eight rebounds apiece.
Shawnee Heights will return to action Jan. 2 to host 4A power Hayden in a non-league game while Topeka West will travel to Leavenworth for a UKC game on Jan. 6.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS 67, TOPEKA WEST 30
Topeka West 8 5 12 5 -- 30
Shawnee Heights 22 18 20 7 -- 67
Topeka West (1-5, 0-4) – Gonzales 0-5 0-0 0, VanDyke 4-8 7-8 15, Ogles 1-6 0-0 2, Hall 2-7 0-0 4, McGlory 1-11 0-0 3, Allen 0-1 0-0 0, Kutina 1-2 0-0 2, Traylor 1-4 2-4 4, Fox 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 10-45 9-12 30.
Shawnee Heights (3-3, 3-1) – Emmot 6-13 3-5 17, McGlory 3-6 0-0 8, Carter 2-9 7-8 11, Baum 5-7 0-0 11, Vega 4-5 0-0 9, Hamilton 2-5 1-2 5, Schmidt 2-5 0-0 4, Karlyle 1-1 0-0 2, Moeder 0-1 0-0 0, Doby 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 11-15 67.
3-point goals – Topeka West 1 (A. McGlory), Shawnee Heights 6 (Emmot 2, I. McGlory 2, Baum, Vega). Total fouls – Topeka West 13, Shawnee Heights 9. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Silver Lake sophomore girls basketball standout Karys Deiter and Topeka West junior basketball standout Prince Lassiter have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.
Here's a brief look at the recent accomplishments of Deiter and Lassiter over the past week.
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake
KARYS DEITER, Silver Lake
A 5-foot-6 sophomore, Deiter has helped lead No. 2-ranked (Class 3A) Silver Lake to a perfect 4-0 start in basketball after playing a major role this fall as the Eagles won the state championship in volleyball.
Deiter scored a team-high 18 points on Tuesday as Silver Lake posted a 69-53 win over rival Rossville, the Eagles' fourth straight double-digit victory.
Deiter hit 6 of 13 shots from the field with two 3-pointers and went 4 of 4 from the free throw line in Tuesday's victory.
Prince Lassiter, Topeka West
PRINCE LASSITER, Topeka West
The lone underclassman in Topeka West's starting lineup, the 6-foot-6 junior has scored between 9 and 18 points in all four games for the No. 2-ranked (Class 5A) Chargers this season as West has posted a 4-0 record with four straight double-digit wins.
Lassiter opened the season with 18 points in an 81-54 win over De Soto, had 11 points in a 79-44 win over Shawnee Mission West, 11 points in a 71-57 win over Seaman and had 9 points in Tuesday's 72-62 victory over Piper.
As a sophomore Lassiter helped Topeka West advance to the 5A state tournament.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Off to a rough start with four straight losses to open the 2025-2026 season, Topeka High girls basketball ended its pre-holiday slate with its first victory of the season Thursday night, rolling to a 65-35 home non-league decision over USD 501 rival Highland Park.
Sophomore Hailey Caryl, battling for a loose ball, scored 13 points Thursday in Topeka High's 65-35 win over Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"We were 0-4 and I would not have predicted the 0-4, but we did play four decent teams,'' Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said. "I thought we could have, should have, would have won two of them, but we didn't play well.
"We had too many outside distractions and we just didn't have a good three weeks of preseason practices, but the last three or four have been very good. They brought it to the gym and that's what it's supposed to be. I was more than happy with the effort tonight. Our passing was better and our defense got us a lot of baskets.''
The Trojans, who played without junior standout Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton, took control early, scoring the first seven points of the game and building 15-2 and 19-4 leads before taking a 21-6 advantage into the second quarter.
Highland Park, coming off a 42-40 win over Shawnee Mission West Tuesday night, came to life with 12 points in the second stanza but Topeka High still led by 18 points at the break, doubling up the Scots 36-18.
Senior Keimara Marshall scored 19 points in Topeka High's 65-35 win over Highland Park Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High boosted its lead to 53-25 with a 17-7 third quarter and the Trojans forced a running clock with 5:08 remaining after a hoop from senior Keimara Marshall.
Junior Sasha Gotru scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Topeka High's 65-35 win over Highland Park Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sasha Gotru, a 5-foot-11 junior, had a career night for the Trojans, scoring a game-high 22 points on 11 of 15 shooting from the field while recording a double-double with 12 rebounds.
Marshall added 19 points, including a 5 of 5 performance at the free throw line, while sophomore Hailey Caryl scored 13 points with High's only 3-pointer in her first game of the season after missing the Trojans' first four games of the year with an injury.
Senior Koralee Jones (13) scored a team-high 15 points in Thursday's 65-35 loss to Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Koralee Jones led Highland Park (1-2) with 15 points while junior Zayah Kincaid added eight, including a pair of 3-pointers.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball heads to Lawton, Okla. this weekend for its final two non-conference games of the regular season, taking on Western Colorado at 5 p.m. Friday and Cameron at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Fairfield Inn and Suites Holiday Classic.
Washburn, 7-3 on the season, will be in Oklahoma this weekend for its final two non-conference games of the regular season. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn is 7-3 on the season while Western Colorado enters Friday's game with a 5-3 record and Cameron enters its tournament 0-9.
Washburn coach Lora Westling wasn't pleased with the Ichabods' play, particularly in the first half, in Tuesday's non-conference game against Truman State, but the WU coach acknowledged that the fact that the Ichabods were still able to post a 16-point win without being at their best was a sign of continuing progress for the program.
"The win's huge and we've got to have that,'' Westling said. "I've been on the other side of effort like that and it's like a smack in the face twice, so I am proud that we did enough to find a way to win a region game.
"I know we've had a little adversity this week, but we'll be better. I know these kids, I know they want to do well, but we are also going to take this (the performance against Truman) very seriously and understand it's not acceptable.''
Senior Yibari Nwidadah, who missed the Truman State game with an injury, averages a team-high 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds for Washburn while shooting 55.7 percent from the floor. Nwidadah is expected to play this weekend.
Senior Payton Sterk averages 12.6 points and a team-high 1.8 steals while hitting 17 3-pointers and senior Gabi Giovannetti averages 12.5 points with a team-high 20 3-pointers.
Juniors Britany Kogbara and Madelyn Amekporfor average 8.7 and 6.4 points for the Ichabods.
Four players cracked double figures for the Ichabods in Tuesday's win over Truman State, led by 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting by Kogbara, who added five rebounds and two blocks. Amekporfor had 13 points on 6-9 shooting, Giovannetti 12 points and Sterk 10.
Senior Aniah Wayne scored seven points while adding a career-high 10 rebounds and swiping four steals.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Junior Jack Bachelor led the way Wednesday as newly-named No. 1-ranked Washburn University men's basketball raced past No. 4 West Texas A&M, 74-48, in San Antonio as the Ichabods topped their second straight No. 4-ranked foe.
Junior Jack Bachelor scored a game-high 19 points Wednesday to join Washburn's 1,000-point club for career points. [File photo/TSN]
Bachelor's first basket of the game – a 3-pointer with 15:33 to go in the first half – pushed him over the career 1,000-point mark for his career at Washburn, becoming the 30th Ichabod in program history to reach 1,000 points.
The former Washburn Rural star went on to score a game-high 19 points, hitting 5 of 10 shots from the floor and going a perfect 6 of 6 at the free throw line while adding five assists.
Bachelor now has 1,017 career points in 77 career games and he is tied with former teammate Michael Keegan at No. 24 overall on Washburn's all-time scoring chart.
Now 13-0 on the season, Washburn seized control in the opening minutes, answering an early West Texas A&M push with a 12-0 run midway through the first half to take control.
The Ichabods shot a sizzling 58.6 percent from the floor in the first half and knocked down seven three-pointers, opening up a commanding 44-24 advantage at the break.
The Ichabods turned 11 Buffs first-half turnovers into 19 points, leading to a 16-0 advantage in fastbreak points.
Bachelor and junior Jeremiah Jones led the Ichabods' first-half charge with with 10 points apiece while sophomore Tyson Ruud added nine points.
The Ichabods maintained control in the second half, weathering a brief West Texas A&M rally before responding with timely baskets and defensive stops.
Washburn outscored the Buffs 30-24 after the break, holding the Buffs to 33.3 percent shooting (6 of 18) shooting while continuing to generate offense off turnovers and in the paint.
The WU lead ballooned to as many as 27 points late.
