By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights advanced to a Class 5A boys sub-state championship game with a 64-47 home semifinal victory over Mill Valley Tuesday night.
Heights will go on the road Friday to face United Kansas Conference rival De Soto in a 7 p.m. sub-championship game. The T-Birds will be playing the Wildcats for the third time this season, including a two-point loss at De Soto the final week of the regular season.
The T-Birds, who improved to 14-7, had four players crack double figures, led by senior Nate Pewe with 21 points.
Senior Nate Pewe (1) led Shawnee Heights with 21 points in the T-Birds' 64-47 Class 5A sub-state semifinal win over Mill Valley Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Pewe hit 8 of 13 shots from the field, including 2 of 2 3-point attempts, and went 3 of 4 at the free throw line.
Freshman Jaret Sanchez and sophomore Jayden Holly added 13 points apiece for Shawnee Heights while sophomore Brennon Dodge had 11.
Sanchez canned three 3-pointers while Holly grabbed eight rebounds and Dodge came up with four steals.
Heights senior point guard Jarin Sanders dished out seven assists and came up with three steals.
Shawnee Heights jumped out in front 15-6 in the first quarter and led 31-21 at the half.
The T-Birds put together a big third quarter to take a 49-31 lead into the fourth quarter and was in control the rest of the way, ending Mill Valley's season at 10-11.
De Soto, a 5A semifinalist a year ago, advanced to the sub-state final with a 55-38 win over UKC member Leavenworth.
Junior Kaeden Bonner scored 18 points with five 3-pointers in Seaman's 73-65 Class 5A sub-state win at Maize South Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
SEAMAN BOYS 73, MAIZE SOUTH 65 -- Seaman continued its late-season hot streak, extending its winning streak to seven games with Tuesday's 73-65 road win at Maize South in a 5A boys sub-state semifinal.
Now 14-7 on the season, the Vikings rode outstanding balance to the win, with five Seaman players cracking double figures.
Junior Kaeden Bonner scored 18 points and hit five 3-pointers while Viking senior Ty Henry also scored 18 points.
Junior Aron Davis added 11 points while senior Gavin Wilhelm scored 10 points with three 3-pointers and senior Mateo Hyman also had 10 points.
Maize South, which ended its season 15-6, led by a point (17-16) at the end of the first quarter and was in still in front by a point at the half, 33-32.
Seaman used a 20-12 third quarter to take a 52-45 lead into the fourth quarter and the Vikings outscored Maize South 21-20 over the final eight minutes.
With Tuesday's win Seaman advanced to Friday's 6 p.m. sub-state championship game to face off with 20-1 Hays, the top 5A West seed, at Hays.
The Indians advanced with a 48-35 win over Arkansas City in a Tuesday semifinal.
Hayden senior Macy Smith scored 21 points as the Wildcats advanced to a Class 4A sub-state final with a 67-51 win at Parsons. [File photo/TSN]
HAYDEN GIRLS 67, PARSONS 51 -- Hayden broke open a close game with a huge third quarter, taking a 67-51 road win at Parsons in a 4A girls sub-state semifinal.
Hayden led by just a 32-29 advantage over Parsons at halftime, but the Wildcats outscored the Vikings 20-5 in the third quarter to take control of the game.
Parsons outscored Hayden by a slight 17-15 edge in the fourth period, but it wasn't near enough to overcome its 52-34 deficit at the start of the quarter.
Senior Macy Smith paced Hayden (11-10) with 21 points while senior Carly Stuke added 13 points.
Riley Schmidtlein chipped in with eight points and Lauren Sandstrom seven for the Wildcats.
Hayden will play for a sub-state title at 7 p.m. Friday at Bishop Miege, the two-time defending 4A state champion.
The Stags improved to 19-2 with a 70-37 semiinal win over Louisburg.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 72, JUNCTION CITY 17 -- Topeka High is a win away from a fourth straight 6A state tournament berth after a 72-17 home semifinal romp past Centennial League rival Junction City Tuesday night.
Tuesday's win was the Trojans third win of the season over the Blue Jays, all by at least 30 points.
Topeka High, which improved to 19-2, advanced to a 6 p.m. sub-state championship game on Friday to host Liberal, a 54-31 semifinal winner over Wichita South.
Junior Faith Shields led Topeka High, second in the 6A state tournament a year ago, with a game-high 24 points while Ladaysha Baird added 13 points and Adisyn Caryl 10.
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 56, ROYAL VALLEY 35 -- The top-ranked Silver Lake girls took a home 56-35 win over Royal Valley in a 3A sub-state quarterfinal Tuesday night.
With the victory the 20-1 Eagles advanced to a 7:30 p.m. semifinal on Friday at Silver Lake to face Jefferson West, a 49-41 quarterfinal winner over Rossville.
The sub-state championship game will be played on Saturday.
Silver Lake advanced to the 3A quarterfinals a year ago.
JEFFERSON WEST GIRLS 49, ROSSVILLE 41 -- The second and third quarters were Rossville's undoing Tuesday night as Jefferson West advanced to Friday's semifinals in the Silver Lake 3A sub-state with a 49-41 victory over the Bulldawgs.
Rossville led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter, but Jeff West outscored the Bulldawgs 14-5 in the second quarter to take a 24-20 advantage and the 15-6 Tigers used a 9-6 avantage in the third quarter to open up a 33-26 edge. Jeff West outscored Rossville 16-15 over the final eight minutes to take the eight-point win.
Sophomore Kinsey Perine led Rossville, which finished the season 11-10, with 12 points while Emma Mitchell added 11 points and Kinley Porter eight.
