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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High junior Da'Mykel Hales and Washburn Rural freshman Maddie Vickery 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 2023-2024 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Hales and Vickery over the past week:
Topeka High junior Da'Mykel Hales was named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency boys Rising Star of the Week after scoring a game-high 16 points in the Trojans' 63-49 Centennial League win over Hayden. [File photo/TSN]
DA'MYKEL HALES, Topeka High
A 6-foot-1 junior, Hales scored 16 points in last Friday's 63-49 Centennial League win over city rival Hayden at High.
Hales went 5 of 11 from the field and hit all six of his free throw attempts to lead all scorers.
Hales helped the Trojans post their fourth win of the season, which surpassed their win total for the entire 2022-2023 season.
Washburn Rural freshman Maddie Vickery has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency girls Rising Star of the Week after recording a double-double in Rural's 56-26 Centennial League win over Topeka High. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
MADDIE VICKERY, Washburn Rural
Vickery, a 6-foot-1 freshman, continued her outstanding debut season for the Junior Blues with a double-double in Washburn Rural's 56-26 Centennial League romp past Topeka High last Wednesday.
Vickery scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help lead the Junior Blues to the decisive victory.
Vickery, who ranks among the city leaders in multiple categories, helped Washburn Rural improve to 6-2 on the season.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights junior standout Jaret Sanchez scored 32 points to lead the way as the T-Bird boys basketball team ran its winning streak to seven games with an 80-51 romp past Ozark, Mo. in the second round of the Shawnee Mission West Invitational Thursday.
Shawnee Heights junior Jaret Sanchez (23) scored 32 points Thursday as the T-Birds rolled to an 80-51 win over Ozark, Mo. [File photo/TSN]
Sanchez's big night came after he missed the T-Birds' previous game, a win over tournament host SM West, with a slight ankle injury.
Senior Brennon Dodge added 15 points for the 7-2 T-Birds while junior Deacon Pomeroy and sophomore Ontarius Emmot added 10 points apiece for Shawnee Heights.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' boys basketball team opened its bid in the Shawnee Mission West Invitational with an 85-41 romp past tournament host Shawnee Mission West Wednesday night, pushing their win streak to six games.
Senior Brennon Dodge (11) scored 24 points Wednesday night as Shawnee Heights rolled to an 85-41 win over SM West. [File photo/TSN]
With Wednesday's win Shawnee Heights advanced to a 7 p.m. game Thursday against Ozark, Mo.
Senior Brennon Dodge led the T-Birds with 21 points, while junior Deacon Pomeroy added 15 points and eight rebounds.
Camron Ross also cracked double figures with 10 points while Ontarius Emmot scored nine points.
The T-Birds played without junior standout Jaret Sanchez, who missed the game with a minor injury.
After a day off on Friday, Shawnee Heights (6-2) will wrap up tournament play on Saturday.
ROSSVILLE BOYS TAKE 71-38 WIN AT OSKALOOSA
Junior Tayson Horak and sophomore Jack Donovan combined for 39 points as Rossville improved to 5-4 with a 71-38 win over tournament host Oskaloosa in the Oskaloosa Invitational.
Junior Tayson Horak led the Bulldawgs with 20 points, including four 3-pointers, while sophomore Jack Donovan added 19 points with three 3s and sophomore Cameron Miller had 11 points.
Rossville will return to action at 6 p.m. Friday.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's men's basketball team was far from perfect shooting the ball Wednesday night, including a dismal seven of 32 showing from 3-point range.
But the Ichabods made up for that with a solid performance in other areas, including a perfect 15 of 15 night at the free throw line, to take a 70-65 MIAA win over Missouri Southern in Lee Arena.
Jack Bachelor (14) and his Washburn teammates celebrate a 3-pointer by the Ichabod freshman in Wednesday's 70-65 MIAA win over Missouri Southern. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
In a game that included eight lead changes and five ties, Washburn trailed 30-29 at the half after leading by as many as 12 points and fell behind by seven early in the second half before taking control down the stretch to improve to 11-5 overall and 7-3 in the MIAA.
"It was a game of runs and I'm really proud of our team for finding a way to win on a night we shot it miserably,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said.
The Lions (6-10, 4-6) rallied from an 8-point deficit to tie the game at 58-all and the game was also deadlocked at 60-60 after a Southern basket with 2:24 remaining, but freshman Jack Bachelor canned two charities with 2:11 remaining to put the Ichabods ahead to stay and WU held off Southern the rest of the way, scoring 10 of its final 12 points at the free throw line.
"I'm really proud of how we battled the last three minutes,'' Ballard said. "When they made that last run and tied it up I thought we were out of gas. We looked tired but our guys dug in and got stops and made plays late.''
Bachelor went six of six from the free throw line over the final 7:12, including the game-clinching free throws with 11 seconds left, while sophomore Brady Christiansen also went six of six at the charity stripe, with all six of his makes coming over the final 2:47 and four over the final 31 seconds.
"Pressure free throws and that was big,'' Ballard said. "They stepped up and made some big free throws.''
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
While many other Shawnee County basketball teams have sat idle during the recent run of inclement weather in the area, Hayden's girls have been able to get in two games over the past four days.
Hayden senior Lauren Sandstrom (5) registered game-highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 55-29 win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And the second-ranked (Class 3A) Wildcats have taken full advantage of that opportunity, running their record to 8-1 with a pair of lopsided wins, including Tuesday's 55-29 non-league decision over city rival Shawnee Heights at the Bueltel Activity Center.
"It's nice playing,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "We all hate having games cancelled because the girls work really hard at practice and love the game so it's been nice that we've been able to play.''
After taking a 61-32 Centennial League win at Topeka High last Friday, Hayden picked up where it left off Tuesday night, running its win streak to three game while trailing just once in the game, at 2-0.
Hayden ended the opening quarter with a 16-2 run to open up a commanding 16-4 advantage and the Wildcats built a 33-15 cushion at the half.
"I was really happy with our energy tonight,'' Reynoldson said. "I wasn't real happy with how we played Friday, and especially early. We got beat to some 50-50 balls that we normally don't and tonight we were really, really good at being the first to the ball.''
