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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After spending their whole lives growing up in one town, a lot of high school athletes have their hearts set on getting away and seeing somewhere new when it comes time to pick a college.

Taylor Brees

Former Shawnee Heights multi-sport standout Taylor Brees was one of those student-athletes, but after a lot of thinking, Brees decided she wasn't going anywhere, a decision that has paid immediate dividends for both Brees and Brenda Holaday's 13-2 Washburn University softball team.

"I didn't want to stay here and Washburn actually never even crossed my mind,'' Brees said. "I was looking at St. Louis University and I was pretty heavily leaning on that. And then I just got a random text one day from Holaday and she wanted me to come on a visit.

"I was like, 'Oh yeah, I'll go but I'm not really thinking that's where I'll end up,' because I was so heavy on SLU (an NCAA Division I school)  at that point. Then I came and I was like, 'Oh, this is not what I thought it was.' I was pleasantly surprised and I ended up deciding that this was probably my best fit.''

Brees was told that she would have an opportunity to play this spring as a freshman for the Ichabods, which helped cement her decision.

"That was a big thing that went into my decision was that (coach Holaday) basically told me that I could have an almost immediate impact whereas SLU, they were kind of a little bit more wishy washy about that,'' Brees said. "And Washburn also has such great facilities, so it was kind of a combination of those things.''

The 5-foot-3 Brees knew she had to earn her way into the Washburn lineup and went about doing that over the fall and winter while also making the position switch from second base to right field. 

"I was really nervous that first game and, honestly, all fall and winter I wasn't really sure that I would be starting,'' she said. "I was kind of like on the bubble there, like that 10th man in softball terms. But the day before we were leaving for Texas, they put me in lineup. So I kind of only had a day before I knew.

"That first game I was really nervous and when I heard my name in the lineup I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is really happening.' But I went up there and I got a hit my first at bat and after that hit I was like, 'OK, you're fine, you can do this.' ''

Holaday, a former state-champion coach at Washburn Rural and the winningest coach in Washburn softball history, said Brees has taken advantage of every opportunity she's been given.

"She absolutely has,'' Holaday said. "To be a freshman and come into a program with a lot of established kids that should be tabbed for certain starting positions and all the transition that goes into playing at the college level and being a college student and moving away from home, the transition and the changes that she's made are a credit to her.

"She's extremely, extremely coachable, so when we saw what her bat was giving us in the fall and we had Dalaney Anderson at second we decided we would try to convert her to an outfielder. She loves second base and if she had her way she'd be at second base, but she loves playing more, so she started working at the outfield.''

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

A father coaching his son can be complicated. It can also produce some unforgettable moments. Tuesday night’s meeting between rivals Silver Lake and Rossville ended with one of those moments.

Senior Jakoby McDonnell celebrates his game-winning basket in Rossville's 51-50 win over Silver Lake Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]  

Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell shared a special Senior Night memory with his son, Jakoby, in Tuesday's 51-50 win over rival Silver Lake. [File photo/TSN]

Trailing by one point with 8.7 seconds remaining, Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell called a play to produce a shot for the win. The play broke down due to the roar in the crazed Rossville gymnasium. The coach could do nothing but watch helplessly as his son Jakoby improvised. The senior decided it was up to him to win the game.

“At that point, with just (a few) seconds left, you just got to go down the court and get to the basket, either make it or get fouled,” Jakoby McDonnell said. “I knew once I saw a little bit of space, I was going to get downhill and try to get fouled or get the basket.”

The senior stands just 5-foot-6, but he drove into the teeth of the Silver Lake defense, bounced off the chest of an Eagle defender, and banked a jumper through the rim as the buzzer sounded.

“I’ve been smaller my whole life and I’ve been playing against bigger people,” Jakoby McDonnell said. “So, the only way for me to make something happen…is to go downhill, get a little bit of contact and score or get to the free throw line. It’s just something I’ve always done.”

The shot by McDonnell the player gave McDonnell the coach one of the biggest wins in his four seasons as head coach of the Bulldawgs. And it came just shortly after the McDonnells participated in Rossville’s Senior Night ceremony.

“It was definitely a special moment for me because he’s coached me my entire life and especially on Senior Night and still playing for him,” Jakoby McDonnell said. “Just getting him that (win) with this rivalry, it was just great for both of us.”

“As a dad, you know, he hits that shot and the only thing I could think about is, holy hell, man that was awesome,” Brandon McDonnell said.

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