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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Friday wasn't Norma Greco's night ... until it counted the most.
Hayden's 5-foot-6 senior guard missed her first eight shots from the field and went 1 of 10 on the night in Friday's Centennial League battle against Washburn Rural.
Hayden senior Norma Greco (30) scored all seven of her points down the stretch in the Wildcats' 46-44 Centennial League win over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But Greco scored all seven of her points in the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds, including five straight to put Hayden ahead to stay as the third-ranked (Class 4A) Wildcats took a 46-44 nailbiter over the third-ranked (6A) Junior Blues at the Bueltel Activity Center.
"Obviously I was a little frustrated, but also I was like, 'I can't not play because my team needs me,' so I had to keep going,'' Greco said. "My shots were going to fall at some point, so I had to keep shooting, keep passing, keep dribbling and keep playing.''
Greco hit her first basket of the night, a 3-pointer, with 2:35 remaining to give Hayden a 40-38 lead and hit two free throws at the 1:49 mark to put the Wildcats up by four points.
"It felt good,'' Greco said about the crucial 3-pointer. "I felt a little bit of relief that one finally dropped for me. It's always a good game between us and Washburn so we were happy to get a win.''
Greco added a pair of free throws over the final 49.5 seconds, including the Wildcats' final point with 3.5 seconds remaining, as Hayden improved to 7-0 and picked up a big league win in its Centennial opener.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 2-ranked Washburn University men are back in action on Saturday afternoon, hosting Northwest Missouri at 3 p.m. in Lee Arena.
Senior Andrew Orr needs just four points in Saturday's game against Northwest Missouri to move into 19th all-time on Washburn's career scoring chart. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods improved to 14-0 overall and 5-0 in the MIAA after rolling over Missouri Western 92-74 on Wednesday in Lee Arena. The Bearcats are 4-10 this season and 2-3 in the MIAA after a 63-62 win at Central Missouri on Thursday night in Warrensburg, hitting a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds to play to snap a three-game losing streak.
The No. 2 national ranking is the highest by an Ichabod team since earning a No. 2 on Dec. 18, 2012.
Washburn is off to its best start to begin a season since starting the 2003-04 season 16-0 en route to the MIAA regular- season championship.
The Ichabods are now one of three undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA Division II ranks, joining No. 4 Minot State (17-0), and No. 3 Daemen (12-0). The No. 1 team, Nova Southeastern, lost its first game of the season on Wednesday to Palm Beach Atlantic 89-66 on the road.
WU senior Andrew Orr now has 1,079 career points, moving into 20th all time, and is just three points behind former Topeka West star Alex North on the scoring chart. North scored 1,082 points from 2010-15.
Senior Jacob Hanna is closing in on 1,000 points in his collegiate career between Washburn and Illinois-Springfield, scoring 949 career points.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball will put its undefeated home record and two-game MIAA win streak on the line Saturday when the Ichabods host Northwest Missouri State for a 1 p.m. contest in Lee Arena.
Washburn's women will host Northwest Missouri at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the Ichabods looking for their third straight MIAA win. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is 8-7 on the year overall and 2-3 in the MIAA after an 88-73 takedown of Missouri Western on Wednesday. Northwest Missouri ended a six-game losing streak and picked up its first MIAA win to move to 8-7 on the year and 1-4 in conference after defeating Central Missouri 66-58 on Thursday in Warrensburg.
Saturday's meeting with Northwest Missouri will be the 79th all-time meeting between the two teams. Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams, 62-14. The Ichabods have gone 35-4 against the Bearcats inside of Lee Arena.
Yibari Nwidadah is averaging 17 points to lead Washburn while also shooting a team-high 70.1 percent from the field and grabbing a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game.The junior has started all 13 games she has played in, logging 26.1 minutes per game.
Nwidadah has shot at or above 50.0 percent in every game this season and has three double-doubles. The Olathe native has the best field goal percentage in the nation while ranking third in the MIAA in points per game and sixth in rebounding average.
Junior Payton Sterk is averaging 15.9 points while starting all 15 contests and playing a team-high 30.6 minutes per gamee. She is shooting 43.2 percent from the floor and a team-high 37.3 percent from deep and drilling a team-high 31 3-pointers.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Ryan Schmidt, who retired this past spring as Shawnee Heights' baseball coach after an outstanding run with the T-Birds, was inducted into the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame Thursday night in Manhattan.
Longtime former Shawnee Heights baseball coach Ryan Schmidt was inducted into the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame Thursday night. [Submitted photo]
Former Shawnee Heights baseball coach Ryan Schmidt (second from right) was inducted into the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame Thursday night as part of the class of 2025. [KABC photo]
Schmidt led the T-Birds to a pair of Class 5A state championships in his 25-year stint as Heights' head coach while also having a hand in two other state titles during his six years as an assistant under Craig Cox.
Schmidt, who coached multiple players who went on to play professional baseball, ended his coaching career with an appearance in the 2024 state tournament at Eck Stadium in Wichita.
Schmidt compiled a career record of 390-141 at Heights, leading the T-Birds to nine league championships, 15 regional titles and seven final-four finishes in the state tournament.
The Heights great was a member of the 2025 KABC Hall of Fame class along with Joe Auer (Wichita Heights), Dee Kolzow (Southeast-Saline, Salina Central), Lorne Parks (Kansas City-Sumner Academy, St. Thomas Aquinas) and Bill Shaw (Derby, Wellington, El Dorado).
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: School closures/inclement weather have resulted in multiple postponements again Friday. Games involving Cair Paravel Latin, Highland Park, Silver Lake, Topeka High and Topeka West have all been postponed while other Shawnee County schools are scheduled to be in action.
GIRLS
Washburn Rural sophomore Maddie Vickery leads the city in scoring with a 22.6 average. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Senior Millie Ramsey had 15 points and 11 rebounds in Hayden's 60-47 win over Shawnee Heights to open 2025. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
WASHBURN RURAL (4-1, 0-0 Centennial League) at HAYDEN (6-0, 0-0 Centennial League)
Friday's game matches Washburn Rural, ranked No. 3 in Class 6A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, against Hayden, No. 3 in 4A, in what will be the Centennial League opener for both schools. Hayden opened 2025 with a 60-47 home non-league win over Shawnee Heights, with senior Norma Greco scoring 17 points, seniors Brylee Meier and Millie Ramsey 15 points each and freshman Hailey Schmidtlein 13. Washburn Rural has not played since a 59-38 win over Shawnee Mission Northwest in its final game before the Christmas break, with games against Olathe North and Junction City postponed earlier this week. Sophomore Maddie Vickery averages a city-high 22.6 points for the Junior Blues while also pulling down 9.2 rebounds per game. Game time: 6:15 p.m.
Seaman Anna Becker averages a team-high 18.6 points with 6.4 assists for the 5-0 Vikings. [File photo/TSN]
SEAMAN (5-0, 5-0 United Kansas Conference) at LANSING (0-4, 0-3 United Kansas Conference)
Seaman, the defending Class 5A state champion, is top-ranked in 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. The Vikings have been idle since a 53-50 United Kansas Conference win over De Soto on Dec. 20, with a Tuesday night matchup with St. James Academy postponed. Senior Anna Becker averages a team-high 18.6 points and a city-best 6.4 assists. Junior Maddie Gragg averages 13.2 points while senior Ava Esser averages 12 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Vikings. Game time: 5:45 p.m.
ROSSVILLE (3-2, 0-2 Big East League) at HIAWATHA (3-3, 2-2 Big East League)
Rossville has been off since a 71-61 Big East League loss to Holton on Dec. 20 while Hiawatha returned to action last Friday, falling to Holton 54-40 in a league game. Bulldawg junior Rylee Dick is averaging 24.8 points with 25 3-pointers, shooting 51 percent from outside the arc while sophomore Nora Burdiek is averaging 18.2 points and 12.2 rebounds for the Bulldawgs. Game time: 6 p.m.
