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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Underdog Hutchinson got Topeka West's attention with a strong first quarter in Tuesday's Class 5A West sub-state semifinal.

But that proved to be the Salthawks' undoing, with the No. 2-seeded Chargers outscoring No. 15 seed Hutch 34-10 over the middle two quarters en route to a 55-32 win at West.

Senior Keimani Paul scored a game-high 16 points in Topeka West's 55-32 Class 5A sub-state win over Hutchinson Tuesday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"We came out a little bit slow the first quarter and we just knew that our defense was going to keep us in the game,'' said Topeka West senior Keimani Paul, who scored a game-high 16 points. "If we're not making shots, the defense was going to keep us in the game for sure.''

With the win the 21-3 Chargers advanced to a 6 p.m. sub-state final on Friday at West to face No. 7 seed Bishop Carroll (16-7). The Eagles advanced with a 62-53 win over Andover.

Hutchinson, which finished its season 7-16, led through most of the opening quarter and the game was tied at 12-all at the start of the second period.

"Their coach (Bryan Miller) did a great job,'' West coach Christian Ulsaker said. "I felt like they knew our offense better than we did at times. He was calling out everything, so our guys did a great job of adjusting to that and defensively we threw some different things at them to try to confuse them a little bit and get out and run.''

But at that point Topeka West took control, outscoring the Salthawks 18-6 in the second quarter to take a 30-18 lead at the half.

The Chargers then put the game away with a dominant 16-4 third quarter, taking a 46-22 lead into the fourth stanza and forcing a running clock at 55-24 with 4:44 remaining on a 3-pointer from senior Malakyah Duncan.

"We just wanted to get this game out of the way, quick, easy, and get ready for Bishop Carroll,'' Paul said.

"The guys came out a little jittery in the first quarter, but I feel like they settled in and did what they needed to do to get the win and move on to a team (Carroll) that we've kind of had circled now for about a week and a half,'' Ulsaker said.

"We knew this was a possiblity that we'd meet up with Bishop Carroll. They're very well-coached and will be ready to play.''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University senior women's basketball standouts Yibari Nwidadah, Payton Sterk and Gabi Giovannetti, who helped lead the Ichabods to a 21-7 regular-season record, received All-MIAA recognition on Tuesday.

The three Ichabods on the All-MIAA team are the most for the program since 2018-19.

Yibari Nwidadah, Washburn University

Nwidadah earned first-team all-conference honors along with being named to the All-Defensive team. Nwidadah moved up to the first team after being a second-team pick in 2024-2025.

Payton Sterk, Washburn University

Gabi Giovannetti, Washburn University

Sterk was named to the second team for the second straight year in a row while Giovannetti received honorable mention for the first time in her career.

Nwidadah became Washburn's first All-MIAA first-team selection since Laura Kinderknecht in the 2012-13 season. She was also selected to the five-member MIAA All-Defensive team for the second year in a row. She joins Crystal Walker in 2002-03 as the only Ichabod to be named a first team All-MIAA selection and earn All-Defensive team honors as well.

Nwidadah is second on the team with an 11.5 scoring average while shooting a team-high 57.5 percent and grabbing a team-high 7.3 rebounds.

The Olathe native is ninth in the MIAA in rebounding while helping anchor a defense that leads the conference in turnovers forced at 17.79 per game and holds opponents to 57.6 points per game, best in the MIAA.

Sterk leading the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game while shooting 38.0 percent from the floor and 34.5 percent from 3-point range. The Colorado Springs, Colo. native has started in all 28 games, logging a team-high 31.4 minutes per game. Sterk is 10th in the MIAA in 3-pointers per game.

Giovannetti earned the first All-MIAA honor of her career after averaging 11.1 points while shooting 41.1 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from deep. The Shawnee native leads the team with 1.6 steals per game.

Washburn went 14-5 in the MIAA to earn the third seed in the conference tournament and will face the No. 6 seed Pittsburg State to begin postseason play in Kansas City, Mo. at 2:15 p.m. Friday in Municipal Auditorium.

ALL-MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

MIAA regular-season champion Washburn University earned seven awards from the conference coaches Tuesday, including the Defensive Player of the Year, the MIAA Coach of the Year, two first-team All-MIAA selections, a third-team All-MIAA pick, an MIAA honorable mention selection and an MIAA All-Defensive team pick.

Junior guard Jack Bachelor was named first-team All-MIAA along with sophomore forward Dillon Claussen. Junior guard Jeremiah Jones was honored three times, being named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year, a member of the MIAA All-Defensive Team and a third-team All-MIAA selection.

Earning honorable mention All-MIAA honors was senior guard Bryson Smith and Ichabod coach Brett Ballard was named the MIAA Coach of the Year for the second straight season in a row.

Jack Bachelor, WashJburn University

Bachelor is a repeat first-team selection, averaging 15.1 points with 127 assists (4.4 per game). He is 19^th in the nation in assist to turnover ratio and 31^st in the nation in 3-pointers made with 79.

Dillon Claussen, Washburn University

Claussen leads the Ichabods in scoring at 15.4 points per game and averages a team-high 6.2 rebounds with 43 total blocks. He is 12^th in the nation in field goal percentage at 61.5 percent.

Jeremiah Jones, Washburn University

The Ichabods recorded their second straight MIAA Defensive Player of the Year as Jones joins Jacob Hanna from last season.

Jones leads the nation in steals with 87 and his 3.00 steals per game is third overall. Jones also averages 9.6 points with 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Bryson Smith, Washburn University

Smith has averaged 11.3 points with 2.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists this season through 29 games. In his lone season as an Ichabod, Smith scored a career-high 26 points against Rogers State on Feb. 21 earlier this season.

Brett Ballard, Washburn University

Ballard repeated as the MIAA Coach of the Year after leading the Ichabods to a second consecutive MIAA regular season title after going 18-1 in MIAA play and 28-1 overall.

For the second season in a row the Ichabods won their first 22 games of the season and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for six weeks and currently ranked No. 3.

Last season, Ballard led the Ichabods to a 30-4 overall record with the 2025 NCAA Central Regional title and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 2001.

Former Seaman star Ty Henry, a junior at Missouri Western, was named to the All-MIAA third team.

The Ichabods will open the MIAA Championship Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. on Thursday night at 6 p.m.

ALL-MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL

Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell shared a special senior night with son, Jakoby.

Key Performers of the Week

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Welcome to Top Sports News

No. 2 seed West rolls to Class 5A sub-state final with 55-32 win over Hutch

Nwidadah, Sterk, Giovannetti earn All-MIAA women's recognition

MIAA champion Washburn men dominate all-conference team