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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball will put its three-game winning streak on the line Saturday as the Ichabods head to St. Joseph, Mo. for a 1:30 p.m. contest against Missouri Western.
MIAA player of the week Yibari Nwidadah leads Washburn in scoring and rebounding and leads the nation in field goal percentage. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods are11-8 on the year and 5-4 in the MIAA after beginning their road swing with a 71-60 win over Northwest Missouri on Wednesday.
Missouri Western fell to 11-6 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA with a 68-62 overtime battle to Central Missouri at home on Wednesday.
Saturday's contest against Missouri Western will be the 106th all-time meeting between the two teams.
Washburn opened up the 2025 calendar year inside Lee Arena with an 88-73 win over Missouri Western, snapping the Griffons' seven-game winning streak.
Junior Yibari Nwidadah leads Washburn with a 17.8 scoring average and 7.5 rebounds while also shooting a team-high 67.0 percent from the field. Nwidadah has started all 17 games she has played in, logging 27.5 minutes per game. She has shot at or above 50.0 percent in all but one game and has four double-doubles.
The Olathe North product has the best field goal percentage in the nation while ranking second in the MIAA in points per game and eighth in rebounds. She has 15-plus points in 12 games this year. She was named the MIAA Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week on Monday for the first time in her career.
With 194 career offensive rebounds Nwidadah is seventh in program history. She needs 23 offensive boards to move up to sixth. In overall rebounds she is 15th in Washburn history with 519. Her career field goal percentage of .585 is the best in program history. In scoring she ranks 38th with 807 career points.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High sophomore girls basketball standout Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton and Shawnee Heights junior bowler Henry Schattilly have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2024-2025 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Rayton and Schattilly over the past week:
Sophomore Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency female Rising Star of the week. [File photo/TSN]
AHSIEYRHUAJH RAYTON, Topeka High
Rayton scored 34 points last Friday in an 80-33 Centennial League home win over Junction City and had 19 points in a 53-45 non-league win over previously-unbeaten Highland Park on Tuesday in a matchup between USD 501 rivals.
Rayton, a 5-foot-6 guard, has helped lead Topeka High get off to a 5-3 record this season, with the Trojans already equaling their victory total for the entire 2023-2024 campaign.
Shawnee Heights junior Henry Schattilly, a Class 5A state medalist for the state-champion T-Birds last season, has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency male Rising Star of the Week. [File photo/TSN]
HENRY SCHATTILLY, Topeka West
Schattilly bowled a perfect 300 game in a meet at Lawrence on Tuesday and won individual titles in that meet and the Shawnee Heights quadrangular on Wednesday, leading defending Class 5A state champion Heights to team titles in both events.
Schattilly bowled his 300 in his second game at Lawrence to take individual honors with a 693 series while helping the T-Birds win the team title by a 2,703-2,342 margin over Free State. Schattilly won his second individual championship in as many days on Wednesday at Gage Bowl, rolling a 643 series to claim top honors as the T-Birds finished first as a team by a 2,479-2,306 margin over Piper.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Seaman boys basketball advanced to the semifinals of Valley Center's January Jam Thursday, with the Vikings posting a 74-64 first-round win over Maize.
Junior KaeVon Bonner (3) led Seaman with 26 points in Thursday's 74-64 January Jam tournament win over Maize. [File photo/TSN]
The No. 7-ranked (Class 5A) Vikings, now 7-2, will face No. 9-ranked (6A) Olathe Northwest in an 8 p.m. semifinal Friday night.
Junior KaeVon Bonner paced Seaman with 26 points, backed by senior Bryer Finley with 17 points and junior Landon Wiltz with 10 points.
Seaman's semifinal opponent, Olathe Northwest, is also 7-2 on the season after Thursday's 58-20 tournament rout over Garden City.
Senior Deacon Pomeroy led Shawnee Heights with 16 points in Thursday's 67-39 Viking Classic win over SM West. [File photo/TSN]
T-Bird boys roll past SM West, 67-39
No. 4-ranked (Class 5A) Shawnee Heights posted a 67-39 first-round win over tournament host Shawnee Mission West Thursday in the Viking Classic, earning a 7:30 p.m. semifinal matchup with Ozark, Mo. Friday night.
The 7-2 T-Birds were led by senior Deacon Pomeroy's 16 points while senior Jaret Sanchez added 14 points and junior Tyren Parker 11.
Junior Ontarius Emmot narrowly missed double figures with 8 points while junior Da'Quan Lee had 6 points.
Ozark improved to 8-6 on the season with a 63-32 first-round win over Louisburg.
Junior Blues advance in Pittsburg tourney, 65-58
Washburn Rural improved to 7-2 on the season Thursday night with a 65-58 quarterfinal win over Joplin, Mo. in the Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament.
With Thursday's win the Junior Blues advanced to a 7:30 p.m. Friday semifinal, facing the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal between Webster Groves, Mo. and Branson, Mo.
Washburn Rural jumped out to an 18-7 first-quarter lead and held on the rest of the way as Joplin outscored Rural 51-47 over the final three quarters.
Senior Amare Jones led five double figure scorers for the Junior Blues with 15 points, followed by senior Kaden Ballard and junior Simon Rowley with 13 points apiece, junior Draden Chooncharoen with 11 points and junior John Hoytal with 10.
Both Ballard and Hoytal went 4 of 4 at the free throw line for Rural.
Junior Maddie Gragg (32) led Seaman with 16 points in Thursday's 59-44 UKC road win at De Soto. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman girls take crucial UKC road win at De Soto
Seaman, the top-ranked team in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, improved to a perfect 10-0 Thursday night with a 59-44 United Kansas Conference road win over No. 4-ranked De Soto.
Now 9-0 in the UKC, the Vikings posted the double-digit win over the Wildcats (9-2) after posting a 3-point 53-50 win over De Soto on Dec. 20 at Seaman.
Seaman got 16 points from junior Maddie Gragg, followed by seniors Anna Becker and Jaida Stallbaumer with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 1-ranked Washburn University men's basketball returns to the road on Saturday to face Missouri Western in a 3:30 p.m. in St. Joseph, Mo.
The Ichabods moved to 18-0 overall and 9-0 in the MIAA after rallying from a 3-point halftime deficit at Northwest Missouri to win 80-69 on Wednesday.
Senior Andrew Orr and the Washburn Ichabods will be looking for their 19th straight win Saturday in a road matchup with Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Missouri Western is 13-6 overall and 5-4 in MIAA play after an 81-62 win over Central Missouri on Wednesday, with the Griffons winning their second straight contest.
The Ichabods won the first meeting this season with the Griffons 92-74 in Topeka.
Washburn is off to its best start to begin at season at 18-0 since starting the 2003-04 season 16-0 en route to the MIAA regular- season championship.
The Ichabod record for the most wins to start the season is 19 coming in the 1992-93 season. WU is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA Division II ranks, joining No. 2 Daemen (14-0).
Senior Andrew Orr became the 28th member of the Ichabod 1,000 point club earlier this season and now has 1,143 career points, sitting 17th all-time. Next on the chart is Jemi Johnson with 1,215 career points from 1992-95. Orr will be playing in his 100th career game on Saturday.
Senior Michael Keegan has 922 career points in 114 career games as an Ichabod and he has moved into a tie for fifth all-time at Washburn in career blocks with 94, tying Bobby Chipman who had 94 from 2009-13. Keegan is also fifth all-time in steals with 144.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Topeka High boys’ bid for their first win of the season slipped just out of their grasp Thursday night in the Topeka Invitational Tournament on the Trojans’ home floor. Topeka High took Olathe East to overtime before falling, 77-70.
Junior Elisha Guest tied for team-high honors with 20 points in Topeka High's 77-70 overtime Topeka Invitational loss to Olathe East Thursday night. [Photo by
Junior Jalen Aldridge scored 20 points for Topeka High in Thursday's 77-70 Topeka Invitational overtime loss to Olathe East. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
After leading 12-10 after one period, the Trojans fell into a 36-25 hole at the intermission. But the home team chipped away at the deficit, eventually tying the score at 59-59 near the end of regulation on a bucket by freshman Mar’Saun Redmond. The Trojans held at the defensive end and had chances to win the game in regulation but came up short.
In the extra period, the Hawks converted nine free throws to pull away. They were led by Carter Gooding’s 27 points.
Topeka High coach Geo Lyons wasn’t about to be content with a near miss.
“I told the guys when we got down to the locker room that every fan, every parent is going to tell them, you know, we played great…their record is better than ours…they’re bigger than us, and all that stuff,” Lyons said. “But I told them, 'It’s not a moral victory. You guys were supposed to win a basketball game.’ And they really feel like they were supposed to win. They feel like they let one get away today.”
The Trojans were led with 20 points each from juniors Elisha Guest and Jalen Aldridge. Coming off the bench to hit big shots and ignite the defense was Redmond.
“That’s a lot of moxy from a young man,” Lyons said of Redmond. “He acts and walks like he’s supposed to belong. He’s beyond his years already.”
