By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High rolled to a 69-34 first-round win over Wichita Northwest Thursday night at Free State, advancing to a Friday semifinal in the Firebird Classic.
Senior Kiki Smith scored 21 points in Topeka High's 69-34 win over Wichita Northwest Thursday in the first round of the Firebird Classic. [File photo/TSN]
The seventh-ranked (Class 6A) Trojans, who improved to 9-3, put the game away with a 24-8 first quarter and opened up a 39-17 halftime advantage over Northwest (5-7).
Topeka High used a 24-10 third quarter to take a 63-26 lead and force a running clock throughout the fourth quarter.
Trojan senior star Kiki Smith scored a game-high 21 points for the Trojans while sophomore Jo'Mhara Benning added 13 points and junior Ladaysha Baird 11.
Topeka High will face 8-2 Eisenhower in a 7:30 p.m. Friday semifinal, with the Tigers advancing with a 54-14 first-round win over Free State.
HAYDEN GIRLS 47, NEMAHA CENTRAL 40 -- No. 10-ranked (Class 4A) Hayden posted its third straight victory Thursday night in the Wellsville Top Gun Tournament, taking a 47-40 win over No. 3-ranked (3A) and previously-unbeaten Nemaha Central.
Sophomore Norma Greco led Hayden (7-4) with 14 points while sophomore Kaliya Fulton added 13 points, sophomore Brylee Meier 11 and junior Lauren Sandstrom nine points.
Nemaha Central suffered its first loss in 11 starts on the year.
Hayden will play Spring Hill for the tournament championship at 5 p.m. Saturday.
SEAMAN 60, SHAWNEE MISSION WEST 52 -- No. 1-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman held off Shawnee Mission West down the stretch for a first-round victory Thursday in the Glaciers Edge Tournament at Emporia.
Seaman got down 19-6 early and trailed 28-26 at the half before taking a 41-39 lead at the end of the third quarter and outscoring SM West (2-8) by a 19-13 margin over the final eight minutes to improve to 9-1.
Seaman was outstanding at the free throw line, hitting 22 of 26 attempts.
Freshman Maddie Gragg scored 18 points while sophomore Jaida Stallbaumer scored 15 points and went seven of seven at the line and sophomore Anna Becker scored 15 points with seven rebounds and six assists
Seaman will play a 6:15 p.m. Friday semifinal against Derby, a 61-43 winner over Shawnee Mission East in the first round.
LAWRENCE 41, TOPEKA WEST 33 -- Topeka West pushed No. 5-ranked (Class 6A) Lawrence to the limit in Thursday night's opening round of the Firebird Classic at Free State before the Lions took control down the stretch for a 41-33 victory.
Topeka West, which fell to 2-9 on the season, was within four points with less than two minutes left before the Lions (9-1) held on for the win.
Lawrence will play the winner of the Blue Valley-Great Bend winner in a 6 p.m. semifinal Friday while Topeka West will play the Blue Valley-Great Bend loser in a 3 p.m. consolation game.
