By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
In the rarity of city matchups in 2023, Class 6A No. 8-ranked Topeka High made the most of its opportunity Friday night with a 60-25 Centennial League romp at Hayden.
After suffering two straight losses to Emporia and Washburn Rural, Topeka High bounced back with a dominant performance against the Wildcats.
Topeka senior Kiki Smith (23) gets ready to pass the ball in to Ayana Leesman in Friday's 60-25 Centennial League win at Hayden. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
"We took those two losses personally," Topeka High coach Brittany Redmond said. "We went back to the drawing board on defense. Everything we did in practice was stressing our play on defense. We want to win on the defensive end. I think tonight showed what we worked on in practice."
On defense, Topeka High prevented Hayden from scoring double figures in any quarter. Topeka High was a bruising force down low, and the Lady Trojans guarded the perimeter and took away passing lanes well.
The Lady Trojans' willingness to crash the boards, create turnovers and force Hayden to take uncomfortable shots allowed Topeka High to play comfortably.
It's a special night for a player when they have the same amount of points as the entire team they're facing.
For Topeka High standout senior Kiki Smith, her 25 points in three quarters of play boosted the Lady Trojans past Hayden.
In two quarters, Smith was the most unguardable player on the court. However, the 25 points on the offensive end were as good as her defensive effort, where she had five steals and a block to match it.
It was safe to say Smith and the Lady Trojans got their groove back.
Topeka High slammed its foot on the gas early in the first quarter. The Lady Trojans jumped to a 10-2 run with five players scoring before Hayden called a timeout at the four-minute mark. Topeka High made five of seven shots, had four assists and outrebounded Hayden, 5-0.
After the mid-quarter timeout, Hayden played better defensively, only allowing Topeka High one more field goal for the remaining four minutes. Hayden would shoot the ball one of nine from the field but be only within eight points before the conclusion of the opening quarter.
"This whole season, we've been a second-half team," Redmond said. "Against Emporia and Washburn Rural, we were a 'three quarters' team. I really stressed to our team that we had to start playing four quarters of basketball. We focused on coming out and jumping on (Hayden) early from the first quarter to the end."
Although Hayden would play cleaner basketball in the second quarter, Topeka High played better. The Lady Trojans outscored Hayden 19-8 in the quarter.
Smith was one of five shooting in the first quarter but would hit three of four shots in the second quarter, coming up with two steals and a block.
Junior Ayana Leesman would make all four of her shots from the field and gave Topeka High a boost with her passing.
By the time the halftime break arrived, Topeka High had shot 54 percent from the field, while Hayden shot 22.2 percent.
As a result, Topeka High would have a commanding 31-12 lead at the break.
The Lady Trojans opened up the third quarter with a 9-2 run. Smith had four points, Leesman three and Adisyn Caryl two.
Smith would light up the scoreboard with 12 more points in the quarter. From the second quarter to the end of the third quarter, Smith shot nine of 11 (82 percent).
The fourth quarter had a running clock, and younger players got important varsity minutes.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 60, HAYDEN 25.
Topeka High 12 19 24 5 – 60
Hayden 4 8 7 6 – 25
Topeka High (8-3, 2-2) – Leesman 5-6 2-2 14, Baird 3-5 1-1 7, Marshall 1-3 2-2 4, Caryl 1-2 1-2 3, Smith 10-16 1-4 25, Shields 1-3 0-0 3, Benning 1-1 0-0 2, Sharpe 1-1 0-0 2 Totals – 23-37 7-11 60.
Hayden (4-4, 1-3) – Lenherr 0 0-0 0, Sandstrom 3-6 0-2 6, Fulton 4-6 4-10 14, Meier 1-10 3-4 5, Greco 0-1 0-0 0, Grunert 0-4 0-0 0, Cruz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals – 8-28 7-16 25.
3-point goals – Topeka High 7 (Smith 4, Leesman 2, Shields), Hayden 2 (Fulton 2). Total fouls – Topeka High 17, Hayden 12. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
