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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
LaDaysha Baird
LaDAYSHA BAIRD, Topeka High
A 5-foot-4 senior, Baird earned TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Second 10 recognition last season after helping Topeka High post a 16-6 record. Baird averaged 7.7 points as a junior and shot 50 percent from 3-point range with 32 made treys. Baird also averaged 1.3 assists for the Trojans.
Anna Becker
ANNA BECKER, Seaman
A 5-foot-10 junior point guard, Becker is a two-time TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick and was named the United Kansas Conference player of the year last season after helping lead Seaman to a 21-2 record and a Class 5A state tournament berth. Becker, who has made an oral commitment to Drake, averaged 12 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 3.7 assists last season.
Breezy Canady
BREEZY CANADY, Shawnee Heights
Canady, a 5-5 senior guard, is a top returner for Shawnee Heights after helping the T-Birds post a 15-7 record last season. Canady averaged 6.7 points, 2.6 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals as a junior for the T-Birds, earning All-Shawnee County and All-United Kansas Conference honorable mention.
Zoe Canfield
ZOE CANFIELD, Washburn Rural
A 5-foot-11 senior, Canfield's junior season was cut short after nine games by an ACL injury after helping lead the Junior Blues to the Class 6A state title as a sophomore. Canfield, who has signed with Kansas, averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, hit 18 3-pointers and shot 77.1 percent from the free throw line prior to her injury. As a sophomore Canfield earned TSN All-Shawnee County Top 10 TSN recognition.
Zoe Clark
ZOE CLARK, Topeka West
A 5-7 senior, Clark received TSN All-Shawnee County Second 10 and All-United Kansas Conference second-team honors last season for Topeka West, which posted a five-win improvement in the 2022-2023 campaign. Clark, who has played varsity basketball since her freshman year will be counted on to provide leadership for the Chargers this winter.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Tamir Anderson
TAMIR ANDERSON, Highland Park
A 6-foot-4 senior, Anderson earned TopSports.news All-Shawnee County honorable mention last season after helping Highland Park post a 24-1 record and a third-place finish in the Class 5A state tournament. Anderson was one of Shawnee County's top 3-point shooters, hitting 47 treys on the season.
Kaden Ballard
KADEN BALLARD, Washburn Rural
Ballard, a 5-10 junior, was a key player off the bench for the 15-6 Junior Blues last season, averaging 6.1 points, 2.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds. Ballard received TSN All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League honorable mention as a sophomore.
KaeVon Bonner
KAEVON BONNER, Seaman
Bonner, a sophomore, was named the TSN All-Shawnee County co-newcomer of the year as a freshman while also earning All-United Kansas Conference honorable mention. Bonner averaged 8.4 points for the 13-8 Vikings while canning 32 3-pointers and shooting 39 percent on 3-point attempts. Bonner shot 77.4 percent from the free throw line.
Brennon Dodge
BRENNON DODGE, Shawnee Heights
A senior guard, Dodge was the lone underclassman on the TSN All-Shawnee County Top 10 last season after helping lead Shawnee Heights to a 15-7 record. Dodge averaged 13.8 points a year ago to go with 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Dodge shot 52.5 percent on 2-point field goal attempts and hit 19 3-pointers on the season.
Jack Donovan
JACK DONOVAN, Rossville
Donovan, a sophomore, was named the TSN All-Shawnee County co-newcomer of the year and earned all-county honorable mention as a freshman for the Bulldawgs, who showed strides in a 7-14 season. Donovan also was named to the Valley Falls All-Tournament team and earned second-team All-Mid-East League recognition.
Malakyah Duncan
MALAKYAH DUNCAN, Topeka West
Duncan, a 6-4 sophomore, saw varsity action as a freshman for Rick Bloomquist's 14-8 Chargers and will be counted on to fill a more extensive role this season after Topeka West graduated several key players.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball scored the second most points in program history Saturday afternoon at Lee Arena, rolling to a 117-27 win over Barclay College.
The 90 point win was also the second largest margin of victory in program history as well.
Washburn women's basketball ran its winning streak to five games with a 117-27 romp past Barclay College Saturday at Lee Arena. [Photo by Braden Babcock/Washburn Athletics]
Washburn (5-1) won its fifth straight game, the longest running win streak in Lora Westling's two seasons at the Ichabod helm.
The Bears, who played the game as an exhibition, knocked down two baskets in the first 2:38 of the game to keep it at just a 6-4 Washburn advantage, but the Ichabods finished the first quarter on a 12-0 run with Aniah Wayne knocking down a pair of 3-pointers in that stretch.
Washburn started the second quarter eight of eight from the floor en route to a 38-point period, with the home squad hitting 14 of 18 overall and seven of 11 from 3-point range while holding Barclay to seven points in the quarter.
A 17-0 run in the middle of the quarter sparked by back-to-back triples by Mackenzie Gamble and Gabi Giovannetti spurred the burst as the Ichabods went into the locker room leading 64-15.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's men's basketball team scored a whopping 98 points, including 25 from Ichabod standout Andrew Orr.
But Washburn's work on the defensive end might have been the biggest bright spot in Saturday afternoon's 98-50 non-conference romp past Avila at Lee Arena.
Washburn junior Andrew Orr, working inside against Avila Saturday, scored a game-high 25 points in the Ichabods' 98-50 win. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn went into Saturday's game allowing 77.2 points per game, including 76 points in Tuesday's 97-76 win over Ottawa.
But Brett Ballard's 4-2 Ichabods wrapped up their non-conference slate with by far their stingiest defensive outing of the year, allowing 16 fewer points than they had in any of their previous five games.
"This team was similar to Ottawa and we knew that coming into today, so we knew that if we wanted to have the confidence that we needed to go play Emporia State (on Saturday), we needed to hold (Avila) to a very low number and 50 is a pretty low number in an entire basketball game,'' Orr said.
"At Washburn Ballard loves defense, so as long as we can keep our defensive pressure on, that's really what matters.''
- Details
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Hayden football team ran into tough sledding against the Cheney Cardinals and fell 34-7 in the Wildcats’ bid for a 3A championship Saturday in Hutchinson.
Hayden sophomore quarterback Connor Hanika loses the handle on a slick football as he attempts a pass in Saturday's 34-7 loss to Cheney in the Class 3A state championship game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden sophomore Logan Saenz (18) tackles a Cheney ball-carrier in Saturday's Class 3A state championship game at Hutchinson. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With the Gowans Stadium field at Hutchinson Community College blanketed with several inches of snow, Hayden was unable to tap into its diverse bag of offensive tricks and failed to match the handful of big plays mustered by Cheney.
Hayden kept the game tight for three quarters, trailing just 13-7. But the Cardinals took command with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
“It was just a tough day. We didn’t make the plays when we had our opportunities,” Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. “Cheney is a good team. I’m not going to take anything away from them whatsoever. They did a good job offensively, but at the same time, we missed some opportunities out there.
“It would have been nice if we could have utilized our speed a little bit more today. But it was tough getting your footing out here. The kids battled, but it just wasn’t our day.”
Hayden senior Finn Dunshee (33) follows Jude Konrade (52) in Saturday's Class 3A championship game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Jensen Schrickel looks for running room in Saturday's Class 3A championship game at Hutchinson. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Finn Dunshee and junior Jensen Schrickel, track stars who provided explosive plays for the Wildcats all season, were both bogged down by the snow. Dunshee amassed just 55 total yards on 16 touches while Schrickel was limited to 27 yards on seven touches.
“Any advantage of speed that we had, we lost,” Dunshee said. “It really leveled the playing field. Our line is a lot smaller than (Cheney’s) and they are a great team. We were both dealing with (the snow), so you can’t just blame it on that.”
