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Emporia girls top Hi Park 59-21 in Brown's debut with Scots

Details: Created: Saturday, 04 December 2021 05:45

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.

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Highland Park boys roll past Emporia 79-45 in Centennial opener

Details: Created: Saturday, 04 December 2021 05:45

By ISAAC DEER

TopSports.news

Opening night couldn’t have gone much better for the Highland Park boys basketball team Friday night, with the Scots opening with a 79-45 home Centennial League win over Emporia,.

Highland Park showed a great deal of athleticism in the win -- alleyoops off the backboard, successful stepback 3-point shots and much more.

Scots assistant coach Clarence Tyson was pleased with the opening night outcome.

“We opened the season with a fantastic win,'' he said. "We went through a lot of adversity the last few weeks. To have these guys come together and come out getting the win was special.''

Highland Park's boys warm up before Friday's season-opening 79-45 win over Emporia. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]

The fastbreak offense from the Scots was working right away.

Leading the way was Ketraleus Aldridge, who converted four out of his first five shots to begin the game on the way to 23 points on the night.

“My main focus was getting the win with my team (Highland Park). I just needed to execute my role and do my part. We came out with a great team win,” said Aldridge.

Highland Park’s offense was sharpshooters in the win. The Scots hit seven shots beyond the arc.

Senior Juan’Tario Roberts hit five 3-pointers shots and finished with a game-high 27 points, while Aldridge and Quentin Adams also had 3-point conversions.

Emporia forced Highland Park to be in some uncomfortable situations down in the paint. The Spartans forced a couple of key charges against Aldridge and forced the Scots to make contested shots underneath the basket.

As a team, Highland Park played well, but the Scots aren’t completely satisfied with their stamina.

“We definitely have a disadvantage getting in shape. We aren’t running as well as we need to. We need to trail the ball better in the paint. We also got caught in a few charges and put into bad spots. We will get better,” said Aldridge.

Tyson believes that Hi Park has work to do going into next Tuesday’s matchup against Hayden.

“We need to get back into the transition of things. We need to put more bodies on people. When we are physical, we are at our best,” said Tyson.

Highland Park (1-0) will host the Hayden Wildcats (0-0) on Tuesday.

HIGHLAND PARK BOYS 79, EMPORIA 45

Highland Park 25 23 13 18 -- 79

Emporia 11 15 14 5 -- 45

Highland Park (1-0) -- Aldridge 10 2-4 23, Roberts 9 4-6 27, Richardson 5 4-4 14, Kingcannon, 2 2-2, 6, Drew-Gregory 1 0-0 2, Robinson 1-2 0-2 2, Adams 1 0-0 3, Davis 1 0-0 2. Totals 30 12-18 79.

Emporia (0-1) -- Rech 6 2-3,14, Leeds 5 4-8, 16, Peters 3 2-3 8, Seeley 1 0-0 3, Cooper 1 0-0 3, Hess 0 1-2 1. Totals 16 9-16 45.

3 Point goals -- Highland Park, 7 (Roberts 5, Aldridge, Adams), Emporia 4 (Leeds 2, Seeley, Cooper).

Total fouls -- Emporia 15, Highland Park 17.