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Shawnee Heights girls continue hot streak with 63-56 win over Piper
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' girls basketball team avenged its only United Kansas Conference loss of the season Tuesday night, postin a 63-56 home victory over Piper.
“Majority of the time, we kept the ball moving and any time they would try to come double, we would move the ball out of their double teams and a lot of times we got layups because of it,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. "I just liked their overall composure.
“We made substitutions to keep the girls fresh and avoid turnovers and came back and held their composure,which is a testament to them.”
“I liked how everyone just stayed calm and we knew that we worked on it and we knew that we had to do what we did in practice,” said junior KK Emmot, who led the T-Birds with 15 points.
Emmot started out strong in the first quarter, nabbing the game's first bucket and would push SHHS out to an early 6-2 lead.
Piper’s Giuliana Benedetto hit a triple to make it 6-5 but Emmot’s 3-pointer later in the quarter from the top of the key made it 11-5 and the T-Birds led by six after one quarter.
Both teams were playing 2-3 zone on defense, which caused some fits for both teams creating turnovers and rushed possessions. The T-Birds were able to get out and run a little bit when getting a steal and lead to some points on the other end.
Piper’s Faith McCallop trimmed Shawnee Heights' lead to two at 16-14 after a mid-range jumper, with the Pirates going on a mini 6-2 run.
One thing that helped Shawnee Heights stay ahead in the first half was offensive rebounds and creating second chances. Senior Reianna Vega was one example, following the shot of senior Aubrey Hamilton in the paint and banking it off the glass for two.
“That was something we had talked about, that I thought that rebounding was going to be a big part of this game,” Wells said. “I think our girls took that to heart and we did a good job rebounding for the majority of the time.”
After a steal from Emmot, the T-Birds were able to run in transition as freshman Bijou Schmidt finished for a bucket, pushing the lead to seven, 23-16.
Emmot nailed another trey to give Heights a 26-18 advantage with three minutes left before halftime. In the winding seconds of the quarter, both teams traded buckets and SHHS led 29-25.
The third quarter was Vega’s quarter, scoring six straight, but and despite a brief cold spell, the T-Birds took a 39-32 lead.
Shawnee Heights extended its lead with a Imani McGlory 3-pointer off an inbounds play on the left wing and then SHHS forced a turnover, leading to another bucket from the senior, with the T-Birds reaching a 13 point lead at 46-33 and going into the fourth up 46-35.
In the fourth, Piper went on a 8-0 run, forcing Wells to call a timeout with 6:18 left.
Emmot picked up her fourth foul shortly after the timeout and had to sit for a couple of minutes to avoid the fifth foul.
But Heights was able to stave off the Pirates, asMcGlory hit a clutch 3 with 4:45 to stop the Piper run, 53-45.
After that, junior Permella Carter put the nail in the coffin with a baseline floater and then it became the foul game for Piper as the T-Birds picked up their seventh win of the season.
“Everyone was hype because practically beating them means we win the league pretty much and that’s our goal and we knew we had to beat them to get there,” Emmot said.
“Everyone of them had opportunities and took advantage of it whether it was a perimeter shot or taking it to the basket and it was a great team effort in practice and in the game to get this win,” Wells said.
Emmot led the T-Birds with 15, while McGlory and Carter both had 13 points and Vega added 12.
Piper's Faith McCallop led all scorers with 28 points for Piper and Brylee Gerber added 11.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 63, PIPER 56
Piper 8 17 10 21 – 56
Shawnee Heights 14 15 17 17 – 63
Piper (6-3, 5-1) – Benedetto 3 0-0 6, McPerson 1 0-0 2, F. McCallop 9 8-12 28, H. McCallop 1 0-2 2, Hollinshed 3 1-4 7, Gerber 4 2-2 11.
Shawnee Heights (7-3, 6-1) – Emmot 6 1-2 15, Brees 1 0-0 2, McGlory 5 1-2 13, Schmidt 1 0-0 2, Carter 3 7-10 13, Baum 2 2-4 6, Vega 6 0-0 12.
3-point goals – Piper 3 (F McCallop 2, Gerber 1), Shawnee Heights 4 (Emmot 2, McGlory 2). Total fouls – Piper 17, Shawnee Heights 17. Fouled out – none. Technical foul -- none.
A look at Tuesday's Shawnee County girls basketball games
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
TUESDAY'S GAMES
Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton, Topeka High
Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden
TOPEKA HIGH (3-5, 0-1 Centennial) at HAYDEN (8-2, 2-0 Centennial)
Hayden is coming off a 38-35 Centennial League win at Washburn Rural last Friday while Topeka High had its three-game winning streak snapped by league foe Manhattan, 67-55. Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein led Hayden with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, against Rural while senior Lauren Borjon added 8 points with a pair of 3s. Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton led Topeka High with 21 points against Manhattan while sophomore Hailey Caryl added 17 points with three 3-pointers.
SEAMAN (5-2, 5-1 Centennial) at TOPEKA WEST (1-7, 0-6 Centennial)
Seaman is coming off a 54-12 United Kansas Conference win over Lansing last Friday while Topeka West dropped a 69-36 conference decision at Basehor-Linwood. Junior Brynn Spencer led Seaman with 15 points against Lansing while Baylee Ayres and Lydia Dreher added 10 points. Seaman took a 45-26 win over Topeka West on Dec. 12. The Chargers will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Koralee Jones, Highland Park
KANSAS CITY-SUMNER (2-6, 2-4 Meadowlark) at HIGHLAND PARK (2-5, 1-2 Meadowlark)
Highland Park dropped a 66-42 Meadowlark Conference decision to Atchison last Friday while KC-Sumner is coming off a 76-7 loss to KC-Wyandotte. Koralee Jones and Zayah Kincaid paced Highland Park with 14 points apiece against Atchison, with Kincaid draining three 3-pointers.
PIPER (6-2, 5-0 UKC) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (6-3, 5-1 UKC)
Shawnee Heights rolled to a 53-22 United Kansas Conference win over Leavenworth last Friday while league-leading Piper is coming off a 69-34 non-league loss to Blue Valley Northwest. T-Bird senior Imani McGlory scored 18 points with four 3-pointers against Leavenworth while juniors Pearmella Carter and KK Emmot scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Piper handed Shawnee Heights its lone UKC loss on Dec. 9, 50-45.
A look at Tuesday Shawnee County boys basketball games
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
TUESDAY'S GAMES
Connor Hanika, Hayden
Bryson McComas, Topeka High
TOPEKA HIGH (4-4, 0-1) at HAYDEN (3-7, 0-2)
Both the Trojans and Wildcats will be looking to bounce back from Friday night losses, with Topeka High dropping a 70-63 home Centennial League decision to Manhattan and Hayden dropping its second straight league game, a 79-62 decision at Washburn Rural. Mar'saun Redmond led Topeka High with 16 points against Manhattan while Jalen Aldridge and Bryson McComas added 14 points apiece. Carter Compton scored 20 points for Hayden against Washburn Rural while Connor Hanika added 15 points.
KaeVon Bonner, Seaman
Gad Munganga, Topeka West
SEAMAN (6-1, 5-1) at TOPEKA WEST (7-1, 6-0)
No. 2-ranked (Class 5A) Topeka West will host No. 5 Seaman in a key United Kansas Conference matchup. Seaman senior star KaeVon Bonner is coming off a 42-point performance in Friday's 65-46 UKC win at Lansing while Landon Wiltz added 10 points and Griffin Zuniga 9. West is coming off a 56-45 conference win at Basehor-Linwood, with senior guard Gad Munganga pacing the Chargers with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Senior Keimani Paul added 12 points and junior Prince Lassiter 10.
JoJo Kingcannon, Highland Park
KANSAS CITY-SUMNER (4-5, 2-2) at HIGHLAND PARK (2-5, 2-1)
Highland Park played No. 2-ranked (Class 4A) Atchison tough in a 57-51 Meadowlark Conference home loss Friday night. Junior JoJo Kingcannon led the Scots with 18 points. Highland Park will be facing a KC-Sumner team that is coming off a 59-40 Meadowlark loss to KC-Wyandotte, a team Highland Park beat earlier in the season.
PIPER (5-3, 3-2) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (4-4, 3-3)
Shawnee Heights jumped out to a 35-5 halftime lead on the way to a 60-24 home United Kansas Conference win last Friday while Piper is coming off a non-league loss to Lincon Prep, Mo. Freshman Quincy Dixon led the T-Birds with 19 points while junior Cam Ross added 18 points and senior Ja'Veon Alston 13.
