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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The wins have been hard to come by for the Topeka High boys basketball team.
But with the losses that stacked against them, the Trojans haven't let doubt shatter their confidence.
One thing that stands out about this particular Topeka High team in the 2022-2023 campaign is its mental toughness, with the Trojans finding ways to combat adversity and not crumble when things get rugged.
Topeka High boys basketball coach Geo Lyons talks to his team during Friday's 47-43 non-league win over Sunrise Christian Academy. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
And Topeka High's confidence was elevated Friday night after a 47-43 home victory over Sunrise Christian Academy.
"We've been right there all season long outside of the Blue Valley Northwest game," Topeka High coach Geo Lyons said. "I told the boys that from here on out, every game is a one-game tournament. This win helps us. We are on the bottom part of sub-state. Only the top 16 teams on your side get to go to sub-state, so we need to win games from here on out."
Two of Topeka High's most significant contributors, senior wing player Mason Gomez and sophomore guard Da'Mykel Hales, stole the show on Friday.
Gomez had a team-high 18 points while Hales added 17.
"The (win) was huge," Gomez said. "We desperately needed a big swing. We were tagging up losses. We needed change, and we got it tonight. We have to keep this together. We can get too high on ourselves. We have to stay humble and keep going."
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural girls basketball coach Kevin Bordewick didn't really have any complaints with his team's defensive performance in Friday night's Thunderbird Classic semifinal.
It was on offense where the No. 3-ranked (Class 6A) Junior Blues struggled, shooting 24.3 percent from the field and turning the ball over 23 times in a 47-37 loss to undefeated and top-ranked (6A) Shawnee Mission South at Shawnee Heights.
Brooklyn DeLeye (middle) scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Washburn Rural's 47-37 loss to top-ranked Shawnee Mission South Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior MaRyah Lutz (5), who scored nine points, drives to the basket in Friday's 47-37 Washburn Rural loss to No. 1-ranked Shawnee Mission South. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"We were turning the ball over at a remarkable rate,'' Bordewick said. "I thought our defense was really good and we worked so hard to get the ball and then would just give it back.
"Some of their turnovers were because of their pressure but some were just self-inflicted.''
Washburn Rural, which had its six-game winning streak snapped, held Shawnee Mission South to 17 first-half points and didn't allow the Raiders to get out of the 30s until there was just 1:25 left to play.
But the 8-3 Junior Blues managed just nine field goals on the night, including zero in the second quarter, and struggled against the South press most of the night.
Shawnee Mission South and Rural were tied at 9 at the end of the first quarter and the Raiders allowed just three Rural free throws in the second quarter while going up 17-12.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
After losing three straight games to state-ranked teams by a total of 10 points, Shawnee Heights' girls basketball team just wanted to get back on the winning side of the ledger in Friday's Thunderbird Classic consolation game against Shawnee Mission North.
Shawnee Heights seniors Taylor Rottinghaus (1) and Taylor Rantz defend Shawnee Mission North's Lidia Mojica in Thursday's 50-34 T-Bird win in the Thunderbird Classic. Rottinghaus scored a game-high 13 points to lead Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The ninth-ranked (Class 5A) T-Birds accomplished that goal in decisive fashion, going wire to wire for a 50-34 win over the Bison on Heights' home floor.
"It was nice to just get out and play and share the load, instead of one person trying to take it all on their back,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. "We just wanted to play as a group instead of having individual play now and then.
"That was our thing tonight, 'Let's go out and improve these next two games. Lets not take a step backwards.' ''
Shawnee Heights, which improved to 8-4, never trailed after jumping out to 6-0 and 11-1 leads over the first 5:13 of the opening quarter.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High rolled to a 69-34 first-round win over Wichita Northwest Thursday night at Free State, advancing to a Friday semifinal in the Firebird Classic.
Senior Kiki Smith scored 21 points in Topeka High's 69-34 win over Wichita Northwest Thursday in the first round of the Firebird Classic. [File photo/TSN]
The seventh-ranked (Class 6A) Trojans, who improved to 9-3, put the game away with a 24-8 first quarter and opened up a 39-17 halftime advantage over Northwest (5-7).
Topeka High used a 24-10 third quarter to take a 63-26 lead and force a running clock throughout the fourth quarter.
Trojan senior star Kiki Smith scored a game-high 21 points for the Trojans while sophomore Jo'Mhara Benning added 13 points and junior Ladaysha Baird 11.
Topeka High will face 8-2 Eisenhower in a 7:30 p.m. Friday semifinal, with the Tigers advancing with a 54-14 first-round win over Free State.
HAYDEN GIRLS 47, NEMAHA CENTRAL 40 -- No. 10-ranked (Class 4A) Hayden posted its third straight victory Thursday night in the Wellsville Top Gun Tournament, taking a 47-40 win over No. 3-ranked (3A) and previously-unbeaten Nemaha Central.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn bench came through with 31 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, as the Ichabod women defeated Rogers State on Thursday evening at Lee Arena, 60-53, to snap a four-game losing streak.
Nine of the 10 Ichabods who saw action Thursday night cracked the scoring column.
Freshman Yibari Nwidadah recorded a double-double in Washburn's 60-53 MIAA win over State Thursday night. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Freshman Yibari Nwidadah came off the bench to notch her second double-double of the season with a career-high 13 points and tied a career-best with 13 rebounds.
Macy Doebele came off the bench to hit four of six shots from the field and four for five from the free throw line to add 12 points.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start as Rogers State (4-16 overall, 2-12 MIAA) scored the first points of the evening on a free throw at the 6:28 mark. Washburn (7-10, 3-8 MIAA) answered with a 5-0 run before Rogers State reclaimed the lead with a 7-0 scoring stretch.
Emma Chapman went two for two at the free throw line with 19 seconds to go in the period to level the score at 8-all.
The Hillcats made a layup early in the second quarter to go back in front, but the Ichabods put together an 8-2 run over the course of three and a half minutes to lead to take a 16-12 advantage.
