HIGH-SCHOOL

Hot-shooting Trojan girls fight off Vikes

Brent Maycock
bmaycock@cjonline.com

Topeka High’s girls have shown plenty of prolific offense during their undefeated start.

A bulk of it the Trojans generate from a suffocating full-court press that creates easy baskets in transition.

Forced to score in the half court Friday night by Seaman, High showed it can be just as prolific in that setting, as well. The Trojans hit their first seven shots of the game, shot 66.7% percent in the first half and 59.6% overall.

And needed every bit of it to fight off an inspired Seaman team, which pushed High to the limit before the Trojans pulled out a thrilling 76-67 victory.

“Both teams just played their butts off,” High coach Hannah Alexander said. “At halftime, it felt like we’d already played a full game. ... They just wouldn’t go away.”

High jumped out to a 13-0 lead, feasting off three early Seaman turnovers, but when Raigan Kramer hit a 3-pointer with 2:19 left in the game, Seaman was within 71-65. High immediately answered with a bucket inside from NiJaree Canady, who was unstoppable, but Chloe Carter made two free throws with 1:36 left to keep the margin at six.

After High was called for an offensive foul, Seaman had a chance to put some serious pressure on the Trojans. Instead, the Vikings turned it over and High was able to close the door on a putback by Canady with 40 seconds left.

Seaman had gotten as close as three in the thrid quarter on a Kramer 3-pointer, but the early deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Vikings spent all night playing catch-up.

“I’m so proud of my kids,” Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. “Just the effort and after the first two minutes of the game, we responded. I told the girls, if you’re not intimidated by your opponent, you can play with a fever. We got hot and were in the game, but just a couple of plays here or there made the difference.”

So did Canady. Seaman had no answer for the six-foot sophomore in the post and she scored at will. Canady hit 11 of 12 shots in the game, including stepping out to hit two big second-half 3-pointers, and finished with 25 points.

Kiki Smith added 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and High went 8 of 13 as a team from 3-point range.

High opened the game by hitting its first seven shots and when the Trojans finally missed, they scored on a putback, building an early 19-6 lead. Seaman recovered, however, and Carter hit 4 of 7 first-half 3-pointers, scoring 20 points in the half, 26 in the game, to get Seaman back in it.

Camryn Turner added 18 for the Vikings, who lost their third straight after a 6-0 start.

TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 76, SEAMAN 67

Topeka High;23;17;22;14;—;76

Seaman;13;18;18;18;—;67

Topeka High (9-0, 7-0) — Grassity 0-3 0-0 0, L. Smith 2-6 0-0 5, K. Smith 6-7 7-8 21, Hendricks 2-3 0-0 5, Canady 11-12 1-3 25, Thomas 2-8 0-0 5, Murray 4-4 1-2 10, Lyons 1-4 3-4 5, Caryl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-47 12-17 76.

Seaman (6-3, 4-3) — Kramer 3-5 0-0 9, Steiner 2-3 0-0 6, Turner 5-9 8-10 18, Carter 6-14 10-10 26, Cowan 2-4 3-3 7, Sparks 0-1 0-0 0, Deeter 0-2 0-0 0, Anderson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 18-39 22-25 67.

3-point goals — Topeka 8-13 (K. Smith 2-2, Canady 2-2, L. Smith 1-3, Hendricks 1-1, Thomas 1-2, Murray 1-1, Grassity 0-2); Seaman 9-24 (Carter 4-11, Kramer 3-5, Steiner 2-3, Turner 0-3, Deeter 0-2). Total fouls — Topeka 20, Seaman 12. Fouled out — none. Technicals — Topeka: Murray.