By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
The Topeka High girls basketball team opened Class 6A sub-state play in exhilarating fashion, nearly losing a late lead but hanging on for a 44-41 victory over Wichita South on Wednesday night in The Dungeon at Topeka High School.
Sophomore Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 17 points in Wednesday's 44-41 Topeka High home sub-state win over Wichita South. [File photo/TSN]
Freshman Hailey Caryl (40) scored 14 points in Topeka High's 44-41 sub-state win over Wichita South Wednesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Both teams struggled to put up points in the opening minutes of the contest, but freshman Hailey Caryl put the Trojans on the board first with a layup and foul, hitting the free throw to convert the three-point play.
Topeka High looked to break the game open early, with layups from Keimara Marshall and Ahsieryrhuajh Rayton giving the Trojans a 7-2 lead and forcing a timeout from the visiting Titans with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter.
The break in the action did not deter the Trojans, with Rayton knocking down a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 10-2.
Down by eight early, Wichita South went on a run of its own, with Valentina Hart finishing a layup after an offensive rebound to cut the deficit to 11-9 at the end of the period.
The second quarter opened with an excellent defensive play from Marshall, blocking Janiah Cathey’s game-tying layup attempt. But the Titans would take the lead a minute later with a 3-pointer from Mahogany Butler, forcing a timeout from Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker.
The teams would trade leads for the remainder of the half, before a late layup from Wichita South’s Sa’Kirra Brown gave the visitors a 21-19 advantage at halftime.
Brown scored all seven of her points on the evening in the quarter. Coming out of the locker room, the Trojans stormed back, going on a 7-0 run to force a Titan timeout just under two minutes into the second half.
Topeka High tightened up its defense in the quarter, only allowing Wichita South to score four points in the frame. The cold spell did not carry over into the fourth quarter for the Titans, with Butler knocking down a 3-pointer to cut the Topeka High lead down to two.
The hosts answered with another 7-0 run, capped off by Rayton’s second 3-pointer of the evening to give the Trojans their largest lead of the night.
Wichita South refused to go quietly, with D Chiles hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Hart converting a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one.
With the offense struggling to score from the field, Topeka High closed out the contest by attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. The Trojans’ final seven points came from the charity stripe, helping secure the three-point victory.
Rayton led Topeka High with 17 points, shooting 50 percent from the field on the evening. Caryl added 14 points along with seven rebounds. Jo’Mhara Benning led the Trojans on the glass, pulling down eight rebounds.
Butler paced Wichita South with 13 points, knocking down four 3-pointers. Hart narrowly missed out on a double-double, scoring nine points and adding 10 rebounds.
The Titans finish their season with an 8-13 record.
Despite the victory, Slaymaker acknowledged that his team did not play its best basketball. But the veteran coach praised his squad for stepping up in big moments to get the win.
“We made plays when we had to make them, we made free throws when we had to make them, we got defensive stops when we had to, and still won the game. That’s the important thing,” Slaymaker said.
With the win, Topeka High earns a Saturday date with No. 2 West seed Wichita Heights. To pull off a major upset on the road, Slaymaker knows his team must play stout defense and play clean basketball.
“We’d like to hang our hat on defense,” Slaymaker said. “We’ve got to play better defense, stopping the three, stopping the drive. This is a team that has not fouled a lot, we haven’t turned it over a lot. There are times I’m astounded by how well we have done those things.”
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 44, WICHITA SOUTH 41
Wichita South 9 12 4 16 -- 41
Topeka High 11 8 11 14 - 44
Wichita South (8-13) -- Brown 2-4 2-2 7, Gary 1-10 1-4 3, Butler 4-14 1-2 13, Hart 3-7 3-5 9, Chiles 2-9 1-4 7, Kennedy 0-0 0-0 0, Cathey 1-2 0-3 2. Totals 13-46 8-20 41.
Topeka High (14-7) -- Triplett 0-1 0-0 0, Short 1-3 2-5 4, Marshall 2-7 3-8 8, Rayton 7-14 1-2 17, Gotru 0-0 0-0 0, Caryl 5-12 4-5 14, Benning 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 15-37 11-22 44.
3-point goals -- Wichita South 7 (Butler 4, Chiles 2, Brown), Topeka High 3 (Rayton 2, Marshall). Total fouls -- Wichita South 23, Topeka High 17. Fouled out -- Gary, Short. Technical fouls -- none.
