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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
A spot in the Class 5A state tournament was on the line as the Topeka West Chargers hosted the Valley Center Hornets on Saturday night. It was a tight contest over the first 16, but in the second half Topeka West picked up the defensive pressure and won the game in dominating fashion, 81-54.
Senior Jalen Foy scored a game-high 21 points in Saturday's 81-54 Class 5A sub-state win over Valley Center. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Kamoni Ford scored 15 points in Saturday's 81-54 Topeka West Class 5A sub-state win. [File photo/TSN]
The Chargers will travel to Emporia for Thursday’s first round of the 5A state tournament.
“The team was focused tonight, listening and following the game plan,'' first-year Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker said.
As the game began, it seemed that Topeka West was going to run away with the contest, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the first 2:30 of the game, forcing Valley Center to call a timeout. However, Valley Center responded with a 5-0 run of its own, cutting the Chargers lead to 8-5. The quarter ended with the Hornets having the lead, 18-16, thanks to four 3-pointers in the quarter.
The second quarter matched the intensity of the first quarter. Valley Center extended its lead to four points early in the quarter, but Topeka West responded by scoring six straight points to take the lead, 22-20. For the rest of the first half, both teams traded baskets and the Chargers took a one point lead to the locker room, 33-32.
"In the first quarter, Valley Center came out aggressive and hit four 3-pointers and we were able to adjust and take that away in the second quarter, but we still only led 33-32 at the half,'' Ulsaker said.
The complexion of the game changed in the third quarter. On offense, the Chargers made a change as noted by Ulsaker. “We moved Keimani Paul inside and moved Kamoni Ford outside and told Keimani to attack when he caught the ball in the short corner,'' Ulsaker said.
Defensively, the Chargers got into the passing lanes, forcing eight turnovers, which led to multiple layups in transition. West out-scored the Hornets 24-9 and took a commanding 57-41 lead into the final quarter.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's always tough to try to beat a team three times in the same season, a task that Washburn Rural faced in Saturday's Class 6A sub-state final against Centennial League rival Manhattan.
But the Junior Blues, the No. 3 West seed, were up to the challenge, riding fast starts in both halves to a 46-31 home win over the No. 6-seeded Indians.
Washburn Rural's girls are headed to the Class 6A state tournament for the fourth straight season after Saturday's 46-31 sub-state win over Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural's girls will open this season's Class 6A state tournament bid at 8 p.m. Thursday against Blue Valley North in Wichita. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural, which improved to 16-6, earned its fourth straight trip to state and will looking for its fourth straight berth in the 6A state final. Rural, the No. 6 state seed, will open this year's state bid at 8 p.m. Thursday against No. 3 Blue Valley North (18-4) in Wichita's Koch Arena.
"We'll see what happens Thursday and hopefully we can have three good days of practice and kind of get some things more solidified, but we're excited,'' Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said.
The Junior Blues, intent on pounding the ball inside to sophomore standout Maddie Vickery, never trailed after scoring the first seven points, all by Vickery, before Manhattan got on the scoreboard two and a half minutes into the game.
Rural went on to go in front 14-2 on a Tenly Bunck 3-pointer at the 2:50 mark before Manhattan (14-8) scored the final three points of the quarter.
Vickery scored five more points early in the second quarter as the Junior Blues pushed their advantage to 20-5 with 5:08 left in the first half on the way to a 23-12 halftime lead.
Washburn Rural opened the second half with four straight points to push its lead back to 15 (27-12) and led 37-24 at the start of the fourth stanza.
Manhattan clawed its way within seven points (38-31) with 2:10 left, but Rural ran off the final eight points of the game after the Indians were whistled for an intentional foul with 1:28 left.
Kate Hinck hit two free throws followed by two charities from Brooklyn Rutherford and a hoop from Gracie Hayes to end the scoring.
"I think when we followed the game plan a little closer to getting the ball inside and getting some paint touches I thought things were working really well,'' Bordewick said. "Then we kind of got away from that and got back to it so it was just kind of an ebb and flow.
"We've got to get in a better rhythm of working inside out, but we got off to a good start.''
Sophomore Maddie Vickery registered a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds in Washburn Rural's 46-31 sub-state win over Manhattan Saturday. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Vickery, a Kansas State commit, registered a double-double with game-high totals of 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Junior Blues while Bunck added nine points.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights boys survived a knock-down-drag-out Class 5A sub-state battle with St. Thomas Aquinas 49-42 Saturday night to earn a return trip to the Class 5A state tournament.
Shawnee Heights senior standout Jaret Sanchez cuts down the nets after Saturday's 49-42 Class 5A sub-state win over St. Thomas Aquinas. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Shawnee Heights poses for a team picture after Saturday's 49-42 Class 5A sub-state win over St. Thomas Aquinas. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
The T-Birds utilized a new defense to stymie the Saints in the first half. In a low scoring struggle, Shawnee Heights held the visitors scoreless for all but 2.7 seconds of the second period to build a 16-10 halftime lead.
The T-Birds led by as many as nine points in the third period, and as many as 10 midway through the fourth period. But the Saints wouldn’t fold. They closed to within three points with just under two minutes remaining. But Shawnee Heights held on to punch their ticket for the state tournament, which tips off next Wednesday at Emporia’s White Auditorium.
“We’re feeling great. We know that hard work pays off,” said Shawnee Heights senior Jaret Sanchez. “But now it starts over here. The new season has begun.”
Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting prepared his team for just such a moment as this.
“This is the first time we played zone all year,” Darting said. “It might be about the fifth time in the history of my 50 years, but we’ve been practicing it all year for this game and for the state.”
“Coach (Darting) said back at Christmas break that the 3-2 and 2-3 zone is going to win us the state,” said Sanchez. “We saw that in the first round, (Aquinas) struggled against zone. So, we just knew that we were going to come out here and play it to the best of our ability.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn University women's basketball secured a trip to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament as they knocked off the No. 4 seeded Nebraska-Kearney Lopers 78-65 on Friday night in the quarterfinal round.
Junior Yibari Nwidadah had 28 points and 15 rebounds in Washburn's 78-65 Friday's MIAA tournament win over Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]
The No. 5 seed Ichabods will face the top seed and No. 9 nationally-ranked Pittsburg State at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The first four points of the game came from Washburn (18-12) on buckets from Yibari Nwidadah and Gabi Giovannetti.
The Lopers (19-9) were held off the board until the 7:32 mark in the first quarter and did not make a field goal until the game was nearly five minutes old.
After a basket by Giovannetti put the Ichabods up 8-3 Nebraska-Kearney scored the next eight points to go ahead by three. The lead changed hands twice more in the opening quarter with the Lopers in front 16-14.
A 5-0 run early in the second quarter tied the game for Washburn after a layup by Madelyn Amekporfor.
After two more lead changes the Ichabods took a lead they would never relinquish with a 3-pointer by Aniyah Wayne the five-minute mark. The run continued with the final nine points of the quarter, finished by a buzzer-beating layup by Amaya Davison to go into the break leading 33-24. Washburn outscored Nebraska Kearney 19-8 in the quarter, shooting 8-12 from the field.
The run continued into the second half, with Nwidadah and Giovannetti each with buckets, forcing a Loper timeout. A fast break layup by Amekporfor pushed the lead to a game-high 16 points with 7:42 left in the quarter. Nebraska-Kearney responded, heating up from deep with three made triples in the quarter cutting the lead to as little as six. A 3-pointer from the Lopers on the final possession made it 52-44 going into the fourth.
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
For the third year in a row, the Seaman Lady Vikings found themselves in the same position -- the sub-state final with a berth in the Class 5A state championships on the line.
Seaman is headed back to the Class 5A state tournament for the third straight season after winning Friday's sub-state championship with a 55-47 win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman poses for a team picture after capturing a 55-47 win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel in a Class 5A sub-state final Friday night at Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
And for the third year in a row -- and six times in eight years -- the Vikings will be heading to Emporia for the state tournament after a hard fought 55-47 victory over Kapaun Mt. Carmel Friday night at Seaman.
"This is always a tough game,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "There’s so much on the line -- win and you go to state. Our mindset was to attack and take the game, not just to get through the game. That’s a good team and we knew they were a good team, but the girls stepped up to the challenge.”
The first quarter began with the Crusaders taking their only lead of the game in the first 20 seconds, but the Lady Vikes immediately went on an 8-1 run over the next two minutes to take an 8-3 lead. The Crusaders were able to cut the lead to one on two different occasions, but the Lady Vikes built the lead back to five, 16-11, at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter remained close for the first seven minutes, but the final minute saw Seaman hit two 3-pointers -- from seniors Kinley Wilhelm and Jaida Stallbaumer -- to extend the lead to 30-20 as the teams headed to the locker room.
In the third quarter, senior Anna Becker made her first field goal of the game with 2:30 left in the quarter and followed it up with a 3-pointer just 40 seconds later.
Those ended up being the only two field goals she made in the game. Yet, the strength of this Viking team is their togetherness and how the players will step up for one another.
“That’s the sign of a good team, it’s always been we over me and they are a tight knit group and competitors,” Tinsley said.
The Crusaders were able to out-score the Lady Vikes 16-11 and cut the lead in half heading into the final quarter, 41-36.
The first four minutes of the fourth quarter saw Kapaun cut the lead down to three on four different occasions. But with 3:46 remaining in the game, senior Ava Esser scored on a brilliant pass from junior Maddie Gragg to extend the lead back to five, 49-44.
Kapaun would get no closer as Seaman made 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to win by eight.
The Lady Vikes' starting five all played a part in last year’s trip to state and commented on what this year means to them and the team.
“It’s an amazing feeling to play my last home game and get to play again in Emporia and with my teammates,” Stallbaumer said.
“I’m really proud of our team,'' Becker said. "It shows our hard work and commitment. We will take it one practice at a time and get ready for the state tournament.”
