The red-hot Cair Paravel Lions ran their winning streak to 17 games Thursday, setting themselves up for the post-season with a 64-43 victory over Jefferson County North.
Chase Hastert paced Cair Paravel with 13 points in Thursday's 64-43 win over Jefferson County North. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The 20-2 Lions have not tasted defeat since December 12, when they dropped a hard-fought battle with Axtell, the state’s top-ranked team in Class 1A Div. 2.
Thursday, Cair Paravel overcome a size disadvantage by playing gritty defense and shooting the lights out. The Lions hit 23-47 shots, including eight threes to just two for JCN.
The Lions had to figure out how to stop towering post player Isaac Laird and high-scoring wing man Chance Jenkins. Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer decided to put his tallest player, Blaine Durbin, on the lanky Jenkins, leaving senior Caleb Cleverdon to defend Laird in the paint.
“Coach Johnny McDermott put together a flawless scouting report and they followed it to a T,” Kueffer said. "(The Chargers) were a huge matchup problem, and they’re going to make a run, I would be surprised if they don’t win their sub-state. They’ve got a lot of length and they’ve got matchups.
“Caleb Cleverdon, I mean, he doesn’t look like much of an offensive lineman, but he is. So, we just had him sit on (Laird). He had to have help from behind and we had to talk, big time. Really proud of Caleb for the way he showed up tonight.”
Freshman Mateo Gossard reacts after hitting one of his four 3-pointers Thursday night in Cair Paravel's 64-43 win over JCN. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Lions led 18-9 early in the second period when they got an outburst from freshman Matteo Gossard, the only non-starter to play for the Lions. Gossard nearly brought the roof down when he connected on four consecutive 3-pointers in the quarter.
“Stay ready, you don’t have to get ready,” Kueffer said of Gossard’s contribution. “He’s a player. No surprise to anybody, but so happy for him. He’s been a spark all year, but really happy to see those shots fall for him.”
“Our guards, Chase (Hastert) and Lucas (Marichal), were driving in, creating open lanes for me and then just dishing the ball. Then I just basically had to finish the job,” Gossard said. “So, thanks to them. When I hit the first one, I kind of was like, ‘I might be able to get hot.’ Then my teammates just kept giving me the ball when there was no one on me.”
Trailing 34-15 at halftime, Jefferson County North made some adjustments and appeared energized to make a run. But senior Drew Fay, scoreless in the first half, converted all four of his field goal attempts in the quarter to help the Lions stay in front.
“It was a great team win. This was definitely one of our best games of the season,” Fay said. “I felt like we all worked together, we all played hard, and things were just kind of clicking tonight. Our passes felt crisp. We were hitting shots. It seemed like things were just going our way.”
The Lions’ offense produced balanced scoring Thursday. Hastert led with 13 points, followed by Gossard and Durbin with 12 apiece. Cleverdon and Fay each tallied 10, and Marichal added seven.
The Lions entered the final week of the season as the seventh-ranked team in Class 2A. Having never been ranked before this season, they now enter the postseason in an unfamiliar role – the hunted as opposed to the hunter.
“It’s interesting because we’re starting to get a little bit of attention from people,” Kueffer said. “We just got to make sure that we deflect and redirect all that attention towards Christ because that’s what we stand on. That’s the cornerstone of everything we do. We’re getting attention for the school, which is a great thing, but we got to make sure that the main thing stays the main thing.”
CAIR PARAVEL BOYS 64, JEFFERSON COUNTY NORTH 43
Jefferson County North 7 8 16 12 -- 43
Cair Paravel 10 24 15 15 -- 64
Jefferson County North (16-6) – Van Dyke 2-8 0-0 4, Elias 1-5 0-0 3, Fuhrman 3-9 4-8 10, Jenkins 4-9 1-1 10, Laird 5-5 2-4 12, Lindsay 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 17-39 7-13 43.
3-point goals – Jefferson County North 2 (Elias 1, Jenkins 1), Cair Paravel 8 (Gossard 4, Cleverdon 2, Hastert 2). Total fouls – Jefferson County North 14, Cair Paravel 13. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
The No. 3-ranked Washburn Ichabods clinched their 12th MIAA regular-season title and second straight with a dominant road performance Thursday night, rolling past Central Oklahoma, 82-58.
Washburn junior Jack Bachelor scored 19 points for the Ichabods in Thursday's 82-58 win over UCO while adding nine assists, four steals and hitting 5 of 8 3-point attempts.
Washburn will play its final regular-season road game at Rogers State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Ichabods, who improved to 25-1 overall and 15-1 in the MIAA, set the tone early and never trailed, building a commanding 51-30 halftime advantage while shooting 49 percent from the field (19 of 37), including a blistering 53 percent from 3-point range (9 of 17) in the opening 20 minutes while holding the Bronchos to 9 of 25 shooting at 36 percent.
Washburn's defense clamped down on the Bronchos from behind the 3-point line in the second half, holding UCO to 1 of 13 shooting and just 12 of 36 overall.
Midway through the second half, UCO did cut the Ichabod lead to 14 at 62-48, but Washburn responded with a 20-4 run to slam the door, building its lead to as many as 30 with 95 seconds to play.
The Ichabods picked up their first win at UCO since Jan. 14, 2017, snapping a five-game losing streak in Edmond.
Junior Jack Bachelor scored a team-high 19 points for the Ichabods, 16 in the opening half, while adding nine assists and four steals and hitting 5 of 8 3-point attempts.
Sophomore Marcus Glock added 14 points off the bench, going 4 of 6 from deep, while sophomore Dillon Claussen scored 13 points in 17 minutes and senior Brady Christiansen scored 12 with seven rebounds.
Washburn University women's basketball picked up its eighth win in its last 10 tries and third in a row on Thursday evening with a 63-48 road win at Central Oklahoma.
Senior Yibari Nwidadah led a balanced attack with 14 points as Washburn improved to 18-7 with a 63-48 MIAA win at Central Oklahoma Thursday. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods play on the road for the final time in the regular season at Rogers State on Saturday with a 1 p.m. tipoff.
After a quick start by the Bronchos (9-16 overall, 4-12 MIAA) that saw them in front 8-7, Washburn (18-7, 11-5) took control in the last five minutes of the opening quarter.
The Ichabods finished the quarter on a 7-2 run to take an 18-12 lead at the end of the quarter while shooting 58.3 percent.
A pair of quick buckets by sophomore Brooke Gomez and senior Yibari Nwidadah pushed the Washburn lead to double figures at the 8:23 mark of the second quarter and forced a timeout by Central Oklahoma.
Scoring was scarce for both teams in the quarter after the opening minutes, as the Ichabods held the home squad to 3-11 shooting in the frame. The Ichabods led by as many as 12 points and went into the break leading 31-22.
The Bronchos came out of halftime firing, cutting the lead down to four at 34-30 with 5:12 remaining in the third.
Washburn responded with five points in a row, all from junior Britany Kogbara, and a jumper by Kellyn Hunter pushed the lead back to double figures and Washburn went into the fourth quarter leading 45-35.
Nwidadah got a pair of buckets early in the fourth stanza but the Bronchos cut away at the lead chipping it down to seven.
This time the Ichabods responded with a 10-0 run, capped off by 3-pointers from freshman Kennadi Jackson and senior Gabi Giovannetti, giving WU its largest lead of the game with 4:48 to go. The lead never dipped below 13 points from that point as Washburn closed out the 15-point win.
The Washburn University softball team, off to its best start since 2003, is finally at home, hosting the Washburn Invitational and playing six games Friday through Sunday at Gahnstrom Field.
Sophomore Makenzie Sais has helped lead Washburn softball to a 13-2 record in 2026, leading the nation with 31 stolen bases and ranking fifth with 23 hits. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics.]
The 13-2 start by the Ichabods this season is the best since starting the 2003 season 17-3 en route to a 34-win season.
Overall, the Ichabods have won their last six games after going 5-0 at the Cherokee Classic with three shutout wins.
Brenda Holaday is four wins away from reaching 300 as the Ichabods' head coach in her 10th season at Washburn. The winninest coach in school history, Holaday is 296-172 overall entering the weekend.
Thrilled with the Ichabods' start to the 2026 season, Holaday and the Ichabods will be looking to continue to grow on the confidence they've built moving forward.
"In 15 games we've played one bad game and one bad half inning, and that's kind of the way you have to look at it,'' Holaday said. "I think this group is more mature, more resilient, and I think they're more confident because they've put the work in.
"So their ability to bounce back when they individually have a bad outing or as a team we have a bad outing, we're just a more mature team and I think that comes from the work. You build a lot of confidence in this game with the extra work. That sounds a little cliche, but that's really the difference in this team.''
The Ichabods, 27-3 all-time in their home invitational, will open its weekend with a 2 p.m. Friday game against Montana State, followed by a 4 o'clock contest against Wayne State.
On Saturday Washburn will take on Minnesota State at 2 p.m. and Drury at 6 o'clock before closing out the weekend on Sunday with a 12 p.m. game against Minnesota-Crookston and a 4 p.m. game against Lincoln.
"I know they're excited to play in front of their fans, even thought it's going to be a little chilly out,'' Holaday said.
Washburn sophomore Makenzie Sais leads the nation with 31 stolen bases, 15 ahead of the No. 2-ranked player on the chart. Sais' 31 stolen bases are two shy of tying the Ichabod single-season record only 15 games into the season.
The Washburn single-season record has stood since 1999 when Torrie Beauchamp went 33 of 37 in stolen base attempts. Sais is currently tied for second on the single-season chart with Samantha Stallbaumer, who stole 31 bases in 2018 and 2019.
As a team the Ichabods are ranked second in the NCAA with 44 total stolen bases, behind Missouri Southern's 49.
Sais is also fifth in the nation in hits with 23 and 12th in runs scored with 16.
Washburn's Dalaney Anderson ranks fourth in the NCAA ranks and tied for the MIAA lead with 21 runs batted in and her four home runs are 16th in the national stats.
Pitcher Kierra Goos leads the nation in starts with eight and senior Sadie Walker is 16th with six starts.
Senior pitcher Sadie Walker ranks among the national leaders in multiple categories for the 13-2 Ichabods. [File photo/TSN]
Walker is fourth nationally in innings pitched (45.6), fifth in appearances (10), first in shutouts (3), ninth in strikeouts (45) and second in wins (7).
In the NCAA team rankings the Ichabods are fourth in doubles with 31, 11th in fielding percentage (.982), 11th in hits (130), eighth in RBI (92), fourth in shutouts (4) and third in walks (65).
Washburn University baseball opens MIAA play with a three-game series against Newman in Wichita Friday through Sunday, with the Ichabods looking to bounce back from a 2-5 start to the 2026 campaign.
Washburn baseball opens MIAA play this weekend at Newman, looking to bounce back from a 2-5 start to the 2026 season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will take on the Jets at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.
Washburn will be looking to get its MIAA season off to a productive start after going 1-2 last week at home in the Steve Anson Classic.
"I know we're young and inexperienced in places and I know we are going to make mistakes, but I think the level of fight and grit wasn't Washburn baseball and that's not how we play,'' Ichabod coach Harley Douglas said.
"I think we got very individually focused and not focusing on what the task was for us as a program and as a team. That was the hardest part is these guys not believing in themselves and there's been no reason for them to not.''
Now the goal is to bounce back against a Newman team that is 2-7 on the season after posting a 10-36 record a year ago.
"I know Newman's probably not having the season that they were hoping to start with, but it's a new coach, a new situation,'' Douglas said. "But every time we play Newman it's a good series.
"They always play tough, they always play hard and we need to be able to go down there and play. Traditionally we've had some good games down there and we need to be able to go out and try to handle our business and put it all together.''
The Ichabods are coming off a fourth straight winning season in 2025, going 28-25 overall and 18-18 ins the MIAA. Washburn finished seventh in the regular season and won two games in the MIAA Tournament before falling in the semifinal round.
Washburn was picked to finish fifth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll for a second straight year.
Washburn is scoring 6.14 runs per game on the year while opponents are scoring 7.29 runs per game.
At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .217 with a .380 on base percentage and a .327 slugging percentage. Washburn has tallied three home runs with 47 total walks.
The WU pitching staff has a 5.88 earned run average with 57 strikeouts across 59.2 innings. The Ichabods have allowed 69 hits and issued 29 walks.
Washburn has a .962 fielding percentage as a team with 10 errors and three turned double plays.
Ian Luce and Jarrett Herrmann both have four-game hitting streaks entering the weekend while Luce, who is hitting .333, has reached base in all seven Ichabod games with three multi-hit games.
Herrmann has played in five games, making four starts, and is hitting a team-high .357.
Seaman product Maclane Finley has thrown a team-high 11.0 innings in his two starts. He has a 4.09 ERA with six strikeouts and a .211 opponent batting average. He is 0-1 on the year with a 1.18 WHIP. He is 13th in the MIAA in hits allowed per nine innings.
Kai Bennett has a pair of starts this year, throwing 10.0 innings. He has a .200 opponents batting average with a 2.70 ERA. The Liberty, Mo. native has struck out eight this season while going 0-1. He ranks 9th in the MIAA in hits allowed per nine innings.
Caleb Lunnon has made two starts for the Ichabods throwing 10.1 innings on the year. He has a team-high nine strikeouts with a 2.61 ERA for a 1-0 record.
Douglas enters his 12th season as Washburn's coach and carries an all-time record of 286-247 with seven appearances in the MIAA Tournament. He led the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2022.
Washburn junior Jack Bachelor scored 19 points for the Ichabods in Thursday's 82-58 win over UCO while adding nine assists, four steals and hitting 5 of 8 3-point attempts. 
