The Kansas Basketball Coaches Association has unveiled its new rankings for all classifications of high school basketball across the state.

Four of our area boy's teams were represented, with Abilene's boys checking in at #8 in Class 4A and Ell-Saline (#3), Sacred Heart (#4), and Bennington (#7), all making an appearance in Class 2A.

6A Girls 1. Blue Valley North 2. Wichita Heights 3. Washburn Rural 4. Derby 5. Olathe South 6. Shawnee Mission South 7. Shawnee Mission Northwest 8. Manhattan 9. Blue Valley NW 10. Olathe North

5A Girls 1. Topeka Seaman 2. Andover 3. St. Thomas Aquinas 4. St. James Academy 5. DeSoto 6. Kansas City Piper 7. Hays 8. Bishop Carroll 9. Blue Valley SW 10. Maize South

4A Girls 1. Wellington 2. Bishop Miege 3. Topeka Hayden 4. Eudora 5. Clay Center 6. Labette County 7. Fort Scott 8. Baldwin 9. Buhler 10. Rock Creek

3A Girls 1. Hesston 2. Halstead 3. Haven 4. Colby 5. Silver Lake 6. Girard 7. Goodland 8. Osage City 9. Holcomb 10. Cheney

2A Girls 1. St. Mary’s Colgan 2. Eureka&nbsp; Hillsboro&nbsp; 3. Moundridge 4. Wichita County 5. Inman 6. Ellinwood 7. Hoxie 8.&nbsp; Berean Academy 9. Doniphan West 10. Hillsboro

1A Div. 1 Girls 1. Little River 2. Centralia 3. South Gray&nbsp; 4. Clifton Clyde 5. St. John - Hudson 6. Rawlins County 7. Central Plains 8. Madison-Hamilton 9. Troy 10. Olpe&nbsp;

1A Div. 2 Girls 1. Hanover 2. Wallace County 3. South Haven 4. Lebo 5. Marias des Cygnes 6. Hodgeman County 7. Hartford 8. Cheylin 9. Attica 10. Ingalls&nbsp;

6A Boys 1. Shawnee Mission Northwest 2. Wichita Heights 3. Wichita Northwest 4. Olathe North 5.&nbsp; Shawnee Mission South 6. Mill Valley 7. Junction City 8. Blue Valley North 9. Derby 10. Blue Valley Northwest

5A Boys 1. Highland Park 2. Andover Central 3. Kansas City -Piper 4. Shawnee Heights 5. Kapaun Mt. Carmel 6. Valley Center 7. Topeka Seaman 8. St. Thomas Aquinas 9. Topeka West 10. Great Bend

4A Boys 1. Baldwin 2. Ottawa 3. McPherson 4. Rock Creek 5. Concordia 6. Atchison 7. Augusta 8. Abilene 9. Clay Center 10. Bishop Miege

3A Boys 1. Wichita Collegiate 2. Goodland 3. Hesston 4. Cheney 5. Haven 6. Lakin 7. Scott City 8. Wellsville 9. Burlington 10. Holcomb

2A Boys 1. Moundridge 2. Sterling 3. Ell-Saline 4. Salina-Sacred Heart 5. Rossville 6. Whitewater-Remington 7. Bennington 8. Pitt-Colgan 9. Berean Academy 10. Medicine Lodge

1A Div. 1 Boys 1. South Central 2. South Gray 3. Lawrence-Bishop Seabury 4. Oxford 5. Central Plains 6. Olpe 7. Macksville 8. Central Burden 9. Frankfort 10. Clifton-Clyde

1A Div. 2 Boys 1. Cunningham 2. Axtell 3. Logan-Palco 4. Elyria Christian 5. Weskan 6. Hodgeman Co 7. Hanover 8. Dighton 9. Otis-Bison 10. St. John’s Tipton

The Kansas Basketball Coaches Association has unveiled its new rankings for all classifications of high school basketball across the state.Four of our area boy's teams were represented, with Abilene's boys checking in at #8 in Class 4A and Ell-Saline (#3), Sacred Heart (#4), and Bennington (#7), all making an appearance in Class 2A.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715807615208.jpeg" alt="Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here." />
 <figcaption>Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here.</figcaption>
 </figure>6A Girls 1. Blue Valley North 2. Wichita Heights 3. Washburn Rural 4. Derby 5. Olathe South 6. Shawnee Mission South 7. Shawnee Mission Northwest 8. Manhattan 9. Blue Valley NW 10. Olathe North5A Girls 1. Topeka Seaman 2. Andover 3. St. Thomas Aquinas 4. St. James Academy 5. DeSoto 6. Kansas City Piper 7. Hays 8. Bishop Carroll 9. Blue Valley SW 10. Maize South4A Girls 1. Wellington 2. Bishop Miege 3. Topeka Hayden 4. Eudora 5. Clay Center 6. Labette County 7. Fort Scott 8. Baldwin 9. Buhler 10. Rock Creek3A Girls 1. Hesston 2. Halstead 3. Haven 4. Colby 5. Silver Lake 6. Girard 7. Goodland 8. Osage City 9. Holcomb 10. Cheney2A Girls 1. St. Mary’s Colgan 2. Eureka&nbsp; Hillsboro&nbsp; 3. Moundridge 4. Wichita County 5. Inman 6. Ellinwood 7. Hoxie 8.&nbsp; Berean Academy 9. Doniphan West 10. Hillsboro1A Div. 1 Girls 1. Little River 2. Centralia 3. South Gray&nbsp; 4. Clifton Clyde 5. St. John - Hudson 6. Rawlins County 7. Central Plains 8. Madison-Hamilton 9. Troy 10. Olpe&nbsp;1A Div. 2 Girls 1. Hanover 2. Wallace County 3. South Haven 4. Lebo 5. Marias des Cygnes 6. Hodgeman County 7. Hartford 8. Cheylin 9. Attica 10. Ingalls&nbsp;6A Boys 1. Shawnee Mission Northwest 2. Wichita Heights 3. Wichita Northwest 4. Olathe North 5.&nbsp; Shawnee Mission South 6. Mill Valley 7. Junction City 8. Blue Valley North 9. Derby 10. Blue Valley Northwest5A Boys 1. Highland Park 2. Andover Central 3. Kansas City -Piper 4. Shawnee Heights 5. Kapaun Mt. Carmel 6. Valley Center 7. Topeka Seaman 8. St. Thomas Aquinas 9. Topeka West 10. Great Bend4A Boys 1. Baldwin 2. Ottawa 3. McPherson 4. Rock Creek 5. Concordia 6. Atchison 7. Augusta 8. Abilene 9. Clay Center 10. Bishop Miege3A Boys 1. Wichita Collegiate 2. Goodland 3. Hesston 4. Cheney 5. Haven 6. Lakin 7. Scott City 8. Wellsville 9. Burlington 10. Holcomb2A Boys 1. Moundridge 2. Sterling 3. Ell-Saline 4. Salina-Sacred Heart 5. Rossville 6. Whitewater-Remington 7. Bennington 8. Pitt-Colgan 9. Berean Academy 10. Medicine Lodge1A Div. 1 Boys 1. South Central 2. South Gray 3. Lawrence-Bishop Seabury 4. Oxford 5. Central Plains 6. Olpe 7. Macksville 8. Central Burden 9. Frankfort 10. Clifton-Clyde1A Div. 2 Boys 1. Cunningham 2. Axtell 3. Logan-Palco 4. Elyria Christian 5. Weskan 6. Hodgeman Co 7. Hanover 8. Dighton 9. Otis-Bison 10. St. John’s Tipton

Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Rankings - January 7

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals this morning announced a one-year contract with right-handed pitcher&nbsp;Michael Lorenzen. The deal also includes a mutual option for 2026. Kansas City now has 39 players on its Major League Reserve List.

Lorenzen, who turned 33 last week, completed his 10th season in the Majors in 2024. He began the season with Texas and was acquired by Kansas City on July 29. In 7 appearances (6 starts) with the Royals, Lorenzen went 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA (5 ER in 28.2 IP). He also made 2 appearances in the American League Division Series vs. the Yankees.

In 26 appearances (24 starts) in the 2024 regular season with Texas and Kansas City, Lorenzen went 7-6 with a 3.31 ERA (48 ER in 130.1 IP), his lowest in any season since 2019, when he had a 2.92 ERA (27 ER in 83.1 IP) in 73 relief appearances with Cincinnati.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals this morning announced a one-year contract with right-handed pitcher&nbsp;Michael Lorenzen. The deal also includes a mutual option for 2026. Kansas City now has 39 players on its Major League Reserve List.Lorenzen, who turned 33 last week, completed his 10th season in the Majors in 2024. He began the season with Texas and was acquired by Kansas City on July 29. In 7 appearances (6 starts) with the Royals, Lorenzen went 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA (5 ER in 28.2 IP). He also made 2 appearances in the American League Division Series vs. the Yankees.In 26 appearances (24 starts) in the 2024 regular season with Texas and Kansas City, Lorenzen went 7-6 with a 3.31 ERA (48 ER in 130.1 IP), his lowest in any season since 2019, when he had a 2.92 ERA (27 ER in 83.1 IP) in 73 relief appearances with Cincinnati.

Royals Sign Michael Lorenzen to One-Year Contract

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– Kansas State senior center Ayoka Lee has continued to garner accolades for her efforts on the floor this season, as the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the John R. Wooden Award presented by Principal Midseason Top 25 Watch List with Lee as one of the 25 to receive the distinction this evening.

Lee is a four-time candidate for the John R. Wooden Award, as she was a preseason watch list selection in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025 seasons. She was named to the Midseason Top-25 in 2022, 2024 and 2025 and has been named to the national ballot in 2022 and 2024.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year presented by Principal. Players not chosen to the preseason or midseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award.

Voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament.

The winners and the All-Americans of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Principal, will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Friday, April 11, 2025.

Lee, a 2024-25 Preseason All-America selection by The Athletic and Associated Press, has had a strong start to the 2024-25 season, as she is averaging 17.3 points on a career-best .669 field goal percentage, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots. She ranks fifth in the nation and leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage. Lee is third in the Big 12 in blocks per game and seventh in scoring average.

In her career, Lee holds the school records for career points (2,436) career rebounds (1,211) and career blocks (340). She is just one of three players in Big 12 history to register 2,000 or more points, 1,000 or more rebounds and 300 or more career blocks.

Lee is also a candidate for the 2025 Women’s Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy and the Lisa Leslie Award, given to the nation’s top center.

(12/10) K-State makes a two-game swing through the Beehive State, as the Wildcats face Utah on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. (CT).

Wednesday’s game will air on ESPN+ and will also be available on the K-State Sports Network and the flagship stations of K-State women’s basketball in Manhattan, Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN.

Wooden Award Presented by Wendy’s 2024-25 Midseason Top 25

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– Kansas State senior center Ayoka Lee has continued to garner accolades for her efforts on the floor this season, as the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the John R. Wooden Award presented by Principal Midseason Top 25 Watch List with Lee as one of the 25 to receive the distinction this evening.Lee is a four-time candidate for the John R. Wooden Award, as she was a preseason watch list selection in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025 seasons. She was named to the Midseason Top-25 in 2022, 2024 and 2025 and has been named to the national ballot in 2022 and 2024.The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year presented by Principal. Players not chosen to the preseason or midseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award.Voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament.The winners and the All-Americans of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Principal, will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Friday, April 11, 2025.Lee, a 2024-25 Preseason All-America selection by The Athletic and Associated Press, has had a strong start to the 2024-25 season, as she is averaging 17.3 points on a career-best .669 field goal percentage, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots. She ranks fifth in the nation and leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage. Lee is third in the Big 12 in blocks per game and seventh in scoring average.In her career, Lee holds the school records for career points (2,436) career rebounds (1,211) and career blocks (340). She is just one of three players in Big 12 history to register 2,000 or more points, 1,000 or more rebounds and 300 or more career blocks.Lee is also a candidate for the 2025 Women’s Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy and the Lisa Leslie Award, given to the nation’s top center.(12/10) K-State makes a two-game swing through the Beehive State, as the Wildcats face Utah on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. (CT).Wednesday’s game will air on ESPN+ and will also be available on the K-State Sports Network and the flagship stations of K-State women’s basketball in Manhattan, Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN.Wooden Award Presented by Wendy’s 2024-25 Midseason Top 25Georgia Amoore, KentuckyRaegan Beers, OklahomaLauren Betts, UCLAMadison Booker, TexasPaige Bueckers, UConnAudi Crooks, Iowa StateYvonne Ejim, GonzagaHannah Hidalgo, Notre DameKiki Iriafen, USCAziaha James, NC StateFlau’jae Johnson, LSUTa’Niya Latson, Florida StateAyoka Lee, Kansas StateCotie McMahon, Ohio StateOlivia Miles, Notre DameAneesah Morrow, LSULucy Olsen, IowaTe-Hina Paopao, South CarolinaKhamil Pierre, VanderbiltSedona Prince, TCUJJ Quinerly, West VirginiaSarah Strong, UConnHarmoni Turner, HarvardHailey Van Lith, TCU

K-State’s Lee Named to Wooden Award Midseason Top-25 Watch List

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Abou Ousmane scored 27 points and reserve Marchelus Avery scored 13 points and Oklahoma State took control late in the second half and went on to beat Kansas State 79-66 on Tuesday night.

Ousmane finished 11-for-15 shooting and Bryce Thompson added 10 points for the Cowboys (9-5, 1-2 Big 12), which ended their two-game losing streak. Oklahoma State shot 47.5% (28 for 59) including 43% (9 for 21) from 3-point range.

Coleman Hawkins scored 18 points for Kansas State. David N'Guessan added 12 points to go with 12 rebounds, and Max Jones scored 10 points for the Wildcats (7-7, 1-2) who have lost consecutive games and five of their last six.

With Oklahoma State up 23-22 with 5:30 before halftime, Thompson made a jump shot, Ousmane buried a 3-pointer and the Cowboys proceeded to outscore Kansas State 20-2 for a 43-24 halftime lead.

Oklahoma State led by double figures the entire second half. Avery's 3-pointer four minutes into the second half gave Oklahoma State its first 20-point lead at 50-30.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736302103072.png" alt="Photo K-State Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo K-State Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Abou Ousmane scored 27 points and reserve Marchelus Avery scored 13 points and Oklahoma State took control late in the second half and went on to beat Kansas State 79-66 on Tuesday night.Ousmane finished 11-for-15 shooting and Bryce Thompson added 10 points for the Cowboys (9-5, 1-2 Big 12), which ended their two-game losing streak. Oklahoma State shot 47.5% (28 for 59) including 43% (9 for 21) from 3-point range.Coleman Hawkins scored 18 points for Kansas State. David N'Guessan added 12 points to go with 12 rebounds, and Max Jones scored 10 points for the Wildcats (7-7, 1-2) who have lost consecutive games and five of their last six.With Oklahoma State up 23-22 with 5:30 before halftime, Thompson made a jump shot, Ousmane buried a 3-pointer and the Cowboys proceeded to outscore Kansas State 20-2 for a 43-24 halftime lead.Oklahoma State led by double figures the entire second half. Avery's 3-pointer four minutes into the second half gave Oklahoma State its first 20-point lead at 50-30.

🏀 Ousmane scores 27 points to help Okla. State beat Kansas State

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– Kansas State Athletics will host a pregame clinic from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., on Saturday, February 15, in the Ice Basketball Training Facility in conjunction with the women's basketball game against UCF to celebrate National Girls &amp; Women in Sports Day.

The clinic is open to kids in the first through eighth grades and will be hosted by K-State women's athletic teams. All participants will receive a free K-State fitness towel courtesy of Furniture Mall and free admission to the game at 4 p.m.

To register your school, team or individual for this event, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/NGWSD" target="_blank">www.kstatesports.com/NGWSD</a>. All participants must pre-register by Friday, February 7. Act fast, as registration has filled up prior to the deadline the past three seasons.

All general admission tickets for the Big 12 matchup against UCF are available for just $14 plus tax. To purchase tickets, please contact the K-State Athletic Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/" target="_blank">www.kstatesports.com</a>.

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– Kansas State Athletics will host a pregame clinic from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., on Saturday, February 15, in the Ice Basketball Training Facility in conjunction with the women's basketball game against UCF to celebrate National Girls &amp; Women in Sports Day.The clinic is open to kids in the first through eighth grades and will be hosted by K-State women's athletic teams. All participants will receive a free K-State fitness towel courtesy of Furniture Mall and free admission to the game at 4 p.m.To register your school, team or individual for this event, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/NGWSD" target="_blank">www.kstatesports.com/NGWSD</a>. All participants must pre-register by Friday, February 7. Act fast, as registration has filled up prior to the deadline the past three seasons.All general admission tickets for the Big 12 matchup against UCF are available for just $14 plus tax. To purchase tickets, please contact the K-State Athletic Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/" target="_blank">www.kstatesports.com</a>.

K-State to Host 7th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day Event

LAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;Kansas Football was represented by eight individuals on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, including Tabor Allen, JB Brown, Jared Casey, Leyton Cure, Jalon Daniels, Dylan Downing, Bryce Foster and Dylan Wudke.

The Academic All-District Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Academic All District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot, with first, second and third team honorees announced on Jan. 28, 2025.

In 2024, Kansas’ Mason Fairchild was named CSC Academic All-America, marking Kansas’ fourth Academic All-America distinction over the past three seasons. Daniels, along with Earl Bostick Jr., and Sam Burt were named CSC Academic All-America following the 2022 season.

This year’s Academic All-District honors marks the third for Daniels and Casey, second for Allen and Brown and first for Cure, Downing, Foster and Wudke.

To qualify for the Academic All-District teams, student-athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50, be at least a sophomore athletically and academically with a year in residence at the school and appear in 90 percent of all contests.

For more information on the CSC All-America program,&nbsp;<a href="https://academicallamerica.com/news/2025/1/7/academic-all-america-2024-csc-academic-all-district-football-teams-announced.aspx" target="_blank">click here</a>. See below for a list of Jayhawks on the CSC Academic All-District Teams:

Jared Casey, Sports Management, Business Minor

Jalon Daniels, Sports Management, Business Minor

LAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;Kansas Football was represented by eight individuals on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, including Tabor Allen, JB Brown, Jared Casey, Leyton Cure, Jalon Daniels, Dylan Downing, Bryce Foster and Dylan Wudke.The Academic All-District Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Academic All District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot, with first, second and third team honorees announced on Jan. 28, 2025.In 2024, Kansas’ Mason Fairchild was named CSC Academic All-America, marking Kansas’ fourth Academic All-America distinction over the past three seasons. Daniels, along with Earl Bostick Jr., and Sam Burt were named CSC Academic All-America following the 2022 season.This year’s Academic All-District honors marks the third for Daniels and Casey, second for Allen and Brown and first for Cure, Downing, Foster and Wudke.To qualify for the Academic All-District teams, student-athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50, be at least a sophomore athletically and academically with a year in residence at the school and appear in 90 percent of all contests.For more information on the CSC All-America program,&nbsp;<a href="https://academicallamerica.com/news/2025/1/7/academic-all-america-2024-csc-academic-all-district-football-teams-announced.aspx" target="_blank">click here</a>. See below for a list of Jayhawks on the CSC Academic All-District Teams:Tabor Allen, Business AdministrationJB Brown, Sports ManagementJared Casey, Sports Management, Business MinorLeyton Cure, Liberal Arts and SciencesJalon Daniels, Sports Management, Business MinorDylan Downing, Leadership StudiesBryce Foster, Liberal Arts and Sciences

Eight Jayhawks Selected to CSC Academic All-District Teams

WICHITA, Kan. - An outstanding effort on the defensive end of the floor for Kansas Wesleyan's <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/87bd6f58-3ab9-4018-ae25-fac1bff34bf9?elinkdata=17101">Angel Lee</a> has earned her the KCAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week honor as announced on Monday by the conference office. Student-athletes were selected for their performances by a vote of conference sports information directors for all KCAC Player of the Week honors and are presented at the conference level by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/1a895dd1-5ecf-486f-a961-a07093fc6def?elinkdata=17101">Equity Bank</a>.

Lee was huge on the defensive end of the floor for the Coyotes in KWU's 62-47 win over Tabor. KWU as a team held Tabor to 30.2 percent shooting (44.4 on the season), 7.7 3-point percentage (36.5 on the season), and just 47 points (69.0 on the season) in the win. Specifically, Lee was charged with guarding Tabor's leading scorer Lillie Veer (12.5 per game) and held her to three points on 1 of 7 shooting. Lee also was outstanding offensively with 16 points for the Coyotes in the win. This marks the second time this season Lee has been named the KCAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week.

KWU won its 10th straight game with Friday's win over Tabor, and remain unbeaten in the KCAC at 8-0 and are 12-2 overall.

WICHITA, Kan. - An outstanding effort on the defensive end of the floor for Kansas Wesleyan's <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/87bd6f58-3ab9-4018-ae25-fac1bff34bf9?elinkdata=17101">Angel Lee</a> has earned her the KCAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week honor as announced on Monday by the conference office. Student-athletes were selected for their performances by a vote of conference sports information directors for all KCAC Player of the Week honors and are presented at the conference level by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/1a895dd1-5ecf-486f-a961-a07093fc6def?elinkdata=17101">Equity Bank</a>.Lee was huge on the defensive end of the floor for the Coyotes in KWU's 62-47 win over Tabor. KWU as a team held Tabor to 30.2 percent shooting (44.4 on the season), 7.7 3-point percentage (36.5 on the season), and just 47 points (69.0 on the season) in the win. Specifically, Lee was charged with guarding Tabor's leading scorer Lillie Veer (12.5 per game) and held her to three points on 1 of 7 shooting. Lee also was outstanding offensively with 16 points for the Coyotes in the win. This marks the second time this season Lee has been named the KCAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week.KWU won its 10th straight game with Friday's win over Tabor, and remain unbeaten in the KCAC at 8-0 and are 12-2 overall.

Angel Lee earns KCAC Women's Basketball weekly defensive honor

DENVER (AP) — Rookie Bo Nix set a franchise record by completing his first 18 passes and the Denver Broncos ended an eight-year playoff drought Sunday with a 38-0 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs' bevy of backups.

The Broncos (10-7) snapped a two-game skid and buried nearly a decade’s worth of futility and frustrations by returing to the postseason party for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.

They'll visit Buffalo (13-4) in the wild-card round next weekend after handing the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (15-2) their first shutout since Dec. 16, 2012, at Oakland.

Having already secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed and sole first-round bye in their quest for an unprecedented three-peat, Chiefs coach Andy Reid sat Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and a host of other starters.

Carson Wentz got the start at quarterback and fizzled in his first extended action since Week 18 with the Rams last season. He was 10 of 17 for 98 yards and was sacked four times by the league's best pass rush (62 sacks).

Nix threw for four touchdowns, giving him 29 for the season, second-most by a rookie in NFL history, behind only Justin Herbert's 31 in 2020.

He finished 26 of 29 for 321 yards, and his 18 consecutive completions also were the most ever by a Broncos QB. Nix hit Marvin Mims twice, Courtland Sutton (five times for 98 yards) and Devaughn Vele for scores.

Vele's TD was intended for Adam Trautman but ricocheted off cornerbacks Nazeeh Johnson (twice) and Keith Taylor before&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/NFL/status/1876031097215009092">Vele cradled the catch</a>&nbsp;just before tumbling out of the back of the end zone, giving Nix 17 consecutive completions at that point and extending Denver's lead to 21-0.

That wild conclusion capped an 18-play, 89-yard drive that lasted more than 11 minutes, keeping Wentz cooling his cleats on the sideline next to Mahomes, who was decked out in a white hoodie.

After Harrison Butker was wide left on a 51-yard field goal — his first miss in 18 tries at Empower Field at Mile High — Wil Lutz gave Denver a 24-0 halftime lead by nailing a 33-yarder with 3 seconds left.

The Broncos made it 31-0 on Mims' second TD catch late in the third quarter and Audric Estime punched it in from the 1 in the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs won't play again until Jan. 18 or 19, meaning Mahomes, who last played on Christmas Day, and other stars who sat this one out will have at least 24 days between games.

The Broncos are back in the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 after the 2015 season. That’s the longest playoff drought for a team after raising the Lombardi Trophy.

The Broncos' clincher came 3,255 days after Von Miller led them to a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers on Feb. 7, 2016, and their reward as the AFC's seventh and final seed is a trip to Buffalo next weekend to face Miller in the first round of the playoffs.

The Bills were the only other team to beat Kansas City this season, 30-21 in Week 11.

The Chiefs' loss ended their six-game win streak but eliminated the prospect of them having to possibly face Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow at some point in the playoffs. The Bengals, who won their fifth consecutive game Saturday night at Pittsburgh, needed Denver to lose to have a chance to sneak into the playoffs at 9-8.

The Chiefs, who had won 17 of their previous 18 games against the Broncos, were planning on staying in Denver for the night because of a winter storm that also delayed their flight into Colorado for several hours Saturday.

Chiefs DB Chamarri Conner injured a shoulder in the first half and was ruled out at the start of the third quarter. Also sitting out for Kansas City were RB Isiah Pacheco (ribs), RT Jawaan Taylor (knee), CB Jaylen Watson (ankle), WR Mecole Hardman (knee), DE George Karlaftis, CB Trent McDuffie and DT Chris Jones (calf), among others.

The Broncos came out of the game healthy. WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey left briefly with an ankle injury in the first half but only missed a few snaps.

Chiefs: A first-round bye as they get healthy for the AFC divisional round Jan. 18-19.

Broncos: A visit next weekend to Buffalo for a wild-card game against the Bills.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736123443624.png" alt="Photo Kansas City Chiefs" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas City Chiefs</figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — Rookie Bo Nix set a franchise record by completing his first 18 passes and the Denver Broncos ended an eight-year playoff drought Sunday with a 38-0 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs' bevy of backups.The Broncos (10-7) snapped a two-game skid and buried nearly a decade’s worth of futility and frustrations by returing to the postseason party for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.They'll visit Buffalo (13-4) in the wild-card round next weekend after handing the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (15-2) their first shutout since Dec. 16, 2012, at Oakland.Having already secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed and sole first-round bye in their quest for an unprecedented three-peat, Chiefs coach Andy Reid sat Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and a host of other starters.Carson Wentz got the start at quarterback and fizzled in his first extended action since Week 18 with the Rams last season. He was 10 of 17 for 98 yards and was sacked four times by the league's best pass rush (62 sacks).Nix threw for four touchdowns, giving him 29 for the season, second-most by a rookie in NFL history, behind only Justin Herbert's 31 in 2020.He finished 26 of 29 for 321 yards, and his 18 consecutive completions also were the most ever by a Broncos QB. Nix hit Marvin Mims twice, Courtland Sutton (five times for 98 yards) and Devaughn Vele for scores.Vele's TD was intended for Adam Trautman but ricocheted off cornerbacks Nazeeh Johnson (twice) and Keith Taylor before&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/NFL/status/1876031097215009092">Vele cradled the catch</a>&nbsp;just before tumbling out of the back of the end zone, giving Nix 17 consecutive completions at that point and extending Denver's lead to 21-0.That wild conclusion capped an 18-play, 89-yard drive that lasted more than 11 minutes, keeping Wentz cooling his cleats on the sideline next to Mahomes, who was decked out in a white hoodie.After Harrison Butker was wide left on a 51-yard field goal — his first miss in 18 tries at Empower Field at Mile High — Wil Lutz gave Denver a 24-0 halftime lead by nailing a 33-yarder with 3 seconds left.The Broncos made it 31-0 on Mims' second TD catch late in the third quarter and Audric Estime punched it in from the 1 in the fourth quarter.The Chiefs won't play again until Jan. 18 or 19, meaning Mahomes, who last played on Christmas Day, and other stars who sat this one out will have at least 24 days between games.The Broncos are back in the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 after the 2015 season. That’s the longest playoff drought for a team after raising the Lombardi Trophy.The Broncos' clincher came 3,255 days after Von Miller led them to a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers on Feb. 7, 2016, and their reward as the AFC's seventh and final seed is a trip to Buffalo next weekend to face Miller in the first round of the playoffs.The Bills were the only other team to beat Kansas City this season, 30-21 in Week 11.The Chiefs' loss ended their six-game win streak but eliminated the prospect of them having to possibly face Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow at some point in the playoffs. The Bengals, who won their fifth consecutive game Saturday night at Pittsburgh, needed Denver to lose to have a chance to sneak into the playoffs at 9-8.The Chiefs, who had won 17 of their previous 18 games against the Broncos, were planning on staying in Denver for the night because of a winter storm that also delayed their flight into Colorado for several hours Saturday.<h2>Injuries</h2>Chiefs DB Chamarri Conner injured a shoulder in the first half and was ruled out at the start of the third quarter. Also sitting out for Kansas City were RB Isiah Pacheco (ribs), RT Jawaan Taylor (knee), CB Jaylen Watson (ankle), WR Mecole Hardman (knee), DE George Karlaftis, CB Trent McDuffie and DT Chris Jones (calf), among others.The Broncos came out of the game healthy. WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey left briefly with an ankle injury in the first half but only missed a few snaps.<h2>Up next</h2>Chiefs: A first-round bye as they get healthy for the AFC divisional round Jan. 18-19.Broncos: A visit next weekend to Buffalo for a wild-card game against the Bills.___

🏈 Nix leads Broncos past Chiefs' reserves and into the playoffs

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Hunter Dickinson scored 21 of his 27 points in the first half and No. 7 Kansas posted the second-largest margin of victory in program history Sunday, beating UCF 99-48 in a Big 12 matchup.

Dickinson, a 7-foot-2 senior center, shot 12 for 17 from the field and had nine rebounds while limiting UCF's Moustapha Thiam, a 7-2 freshman who was slowed by foul trouble, to four points.

Flory Bidunga had 12 points and five rebounds, Rylan Griffen scored 14 points and Dajuan Harris Jr. and AJ Storr each had 11 for the Jayhawks (10-3, 1-1).

Kansas went on a 23-8 run after Thiam's second foul in the first half and held UCF without a field goal for more than seven minutes. The Knights missed 11 straight shots during that run and made only three of their final 19 shots in the first half. UCF shot 20.6% in the game and was 7 for 30 from 3-point distance.

Keyshawn Hall had 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting as UCF (10-3, 1-1) suffered its worst home loss.

Kansas: Bounced back from a 62-61 loss to West Virginia in its Big 12 opener.

UCF: The Knights have plenty of length and athleticism, yet looked outclassed after an impressive win over Texas Tech in their conference opener.

UCF was down 30 midway through the second half when Kansas had some emphatic plays. Bidunga blocked a jumper and scored a runout dunk. After a steal on the next possession, Kansas got a 3-pointer from Griffen to make it a 77-38 lead with about eight minutes to play.

Kansas dominated the interior with 22 offensive rebounds and 37 second-chance points.

Both teams have Big 12 games Wednesday. Kansas hosts Arizona State and UCF welcomes Colorado.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736118300329.png" alt="Photo Kansas Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Hunter Dickinson scored 21 of his 27 points in the first half and No. 7 Kansas posted the second-largest margin of victory in program history Sunday, beating UCF 99-48 in a Big 12 matchup.Dickinson, a 7-foot-2 senior center, shot 12 for 17 from the field and had nine rebounds while limiting UCF's Moustapha Thiam, a 7-2 freshman who was slowed by foul trouble, to four points.Flory Bidunga had 12 points and five rebounds, Rylan Griffen scored 14 points and Dajuan Harris Jr. and AJ Storr each had 11 for the Jayhawks (10-3, 1-1).Kansas went on a 23-8 run after Thiam's second foul in the first half and held UCF without a field goal for more than seven minutes. The Knights missed 11 straight shots during that run and made only three of their final 19 shots in the first half. UCF shot 20.6% in the game and was 7 for 30 from 3-point distance.Keyshawn Hall had 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting as UCF (10-3, 1-1) suffered its worst home loss.<h2>Takeaways</h2>Kansas: Bounced back from a 62-61 loss to West Virginia in its Big 12 opener.UCF: The Knights have plenty of length and athleticism, yet looked outclassed after an impressive win over Texas Tech in their conference opener.<h2>Key moment</h2>UCF was down 30 midway through the second half when Kansas had some emphatic plays. Bidunga blocked a jumper and scored a runout dunk. After a steal on the next possession, Kansas got a 3-pointer from Griffen to make it a 77-38 lead with about eight minutes to play.<h2>Key stat</h2>Kansas dominated the interior with 22 offensive rebounds and 37 second-chance points.<h2>Up next</h2>Both teams have Big 12 games Wednesday. Kansas hosts Arizona State and UCF welcomes Colorado.

🏀 KU posts 2nd-largest margin of victory in program history in win over UCF

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– With a winter storm forcing the adjustment of the game time, (12/11) K-State used a tempest of steals, made field goals and free throws in the third quarter to secure a 77-57 win on Saturday afternoon against Texas Tech at Bramlage Coliseum.

The win improves K-State’s win streak to 10. This is the first time since the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons that the Wildcats have registered double-digit win streaks in consecutive seasons.

K-State improved its overall record to 15-1 for the second time under the direction of head coach Jeff Mittie. This is the second straight season K-State has opened with a 15-1 record. In its history, K-State has opened a season 15-1 or better five times.

The Wildcats saw four players reach double figures on Saturday, led by All-America candidate Ayoka Lee with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, a block and a steal. With her 19 points, Lee improved her career total to 2,436 and passed Nina Davis of Baylor (2014-17) for seventh on the Big 12 career scoring list.

With her eight rebounds, Lee moved into sixth on the Big 12 career rebounds list (1,211) and passed Iowa State’s Angie Welle (1999-02; 1,209).

Senior guard and All-America candidate Serena Sundell recorded her team-best fifth double-double of the season with 13 points, 11 assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

Lee and Sundell have now reached double figures in points in the same game in 44 of 73 career games together.

The bench tandem of senior forward Kennedy Taylor and Taryn Sides added 13 and 11 points, respectively. The duo helped the Wildcats to a 30-15 advantage in bench points on Saturday.

- With the game time moved ahead three hours to avoid a larger issue with an incoming winter storm, K-State (15-1, 3-0 Big 12) held a 38-32 lead at halftime and shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field and registered 13 assists on its 15 made field goals in the first half.

- K-State used a 24-4 run in the first eight minutes of the third quarter and built a 62-36 lead with 2:10 to play in the frame. During the squall, the Wildcats received points from six different players led by six from Taylor.

- The Wildcats would win the third quarter, 28-9, and hold Texas Tech (12-4, 1-2) to 14.3 percent shooting (2-of-14). K-State would register eight steals which led to a 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers in the third quarter. The Wildcats shot 56.3 percent (9-of-16) in the frame and handed out eight assists on the nine made field goals.

- K-State shot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) for the afternoon, which included a 44-26 edge in points in the paint, and a 76.2 percent (16-of-21) effort from the free throw line. The Wildcats dished out 25 assists on its 29 made field goals. This was the seventh time this season K-State has handed out 25 or more assists in a game.

- K-State forced the Lady Raiders into 24 turnovers, 16 by way of a steal, which resulted in a 29-19 advantage in points off turnovers.

- Texas Tech shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the field and were held to 14.3 percent (3-of-21) from beyond the arc.

- K-State leads the series with Texas Tech, 31-17. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 21-8 (.724) in his career against Texas Tech.

- The Wildcats are 235-242 (.493) in Big 12 games.

- K-State is 407-156 (.723) in its 37-season history inside Bramlage Coliseum, including an 11-0 record this season. This is the 34th&nbsp;season in program history with 10 or more home wins in a season, including the 26th&nbsp;season at Bramlage Coliseum.

- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 659-371 (.640), including a mark of 205-136 (.601). Mittie needs two wins to move into second on the K-State career wins list.

- K-State owns a record of 263-96 (.733) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 20-4 (.833) all-time when ranked 12th in the nation.

- The Wildcats are 261-193 (.575) in games played in the month of January. Under Mittie, K-State is 41-41 (.500) in games during the first month.

- K-State's starting five consisted of guards: Zyanna Walker, Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell; forward Temira Poindexter and center Ayoka Lee. This was the 14th time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 128th career start for Lee, the 119th career start for Sundell, the 115th career start for Jaelyn Glenn, the 103rd career collegiate start and 16th at K-State for Poindexter and the 16th career start for Walker. With her 128th career start at K-State, Lee rmoves into a tie for third in program history with Kendra Wecker (128; 2001-05) for career starts. With her 119th&nbsp;career start, Sundell is ninth in program history for career starts.

- The Wildcats held a 38-32 lead at halftime on Saturday. Under Mittie, K-State is 164-19 (.896) when leading at halftime. The Wildcats have led at the half in 14 games this season (14-0).

- K-State has scored 20-or more points in a quarter 38 times this season, including the first and third quarters on Saturday. Since the start of the quarter-system in 2015-16, the Wildcats are 147-62 (.703) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter of a game.

- K-State shot 50.0 percent or better in a quarter in three quarters on Saturday (first, second and third quarters). The Wildcats have 40 quarters this season of 50.0 percent or better shooting.

- K-State improved to 104-8 (.929) when handing out 20 or more assists in a game. The Wildcats have dished out 20 or more assists in 12 games this season (12-0).

- K-State improves to 59-3 (.952) over the last four seasons when holding foes to 60 points or less.

- With her 19 points on Saturday, Lee boosted her career total to 2,436 and moves into seventh on the Big 12 career scoring list. Lee registered her 117th career game with 10 or more points. Her 117 career games with 10 or more points is tied with Nicole Ohlde (2000-04; 117) for second in program history. Lee has scored in every game of her career,128 games, and remains in school history for consecutive games scoring.

- Lee hauled in eight rebounds on Wednesday. This was the 83rd&nbsp;time in her career leading K-State rebounding. Lee’s career total for rebounds stands at 1,211, improving upon her own school record for career rebounds and moving into sixth in Big 12 history for career boards. She owns 111 career games with five or more rebounds.

- Lee registered a block on Saturday and boosted her career total to 340. Lee is fourth in Big 12 history for career blocks.

- Sundell notched her 83rd career game with 10 or more points. Sundell owns 1,464 career points and remains in 14th&nbsp;on the K-State career scoring list.

- Sundell made nine free throws, on 10 attempts, on Saturday. This was a season-high for free throws made by a Wildcat this season. This was her fifth game this season and her fourth straight with five or more made free throws.

- Sundell’s 11 assists on Saturday improved her career total to 668. This was her ninth career game&nbsp; and her fifth this season with 10 or more assists. This was her 78th career game with five or more assists and her 13th&nbsp;this season including her 10th&nbsp;straight.

- Sundell hauled in three rebounds on Saturday to improve her career total to 493.

- Sundell sent back two shots on Saturday. Sundell boosted her career total to 88 and ranks ninth in school history for career blocks and owns the school record for blocks by a guard. This was Sundell’s 20th&nbsp;career game with two or more blocks.

- Sides reached double figures for points for the eighth time this season and for the 11th time in her career.

- Sides connected on two 3-pointers on Saturday. This was her 19th&nbsp;career game and her 11th&nbsp;this season with two or more made 3-pointers.

- Taylor reached double figures for the seventh time this season and the 50th&nbsp;time in her career.

- Sophomore guard Zyanna Walker tied her career-high with five steals. This was her fifth career game with four or more steals and her 19th&nbsp;with two or more steals.

- Senior Jaelyn Glenn pocketed two steals on Saturday. She improved her career total to 230 and remains in sixth in school history for career steals.

On how good the team is right now…

“I haven’t been real happy with our urgency in practice over the last couple of days. One of my biggest concerns, quite honestly, was how we finished before the break. We gave up a 21–2 run in one game and a similar run against Houston, which was really concerning. But today, I was proud of how we dug in defensively. We didn’t let them go on any big runs. They had one run sparked by some turnovers, but that was stopped quickly by some good offensive play. That’s been my main focus, if you want to be a great defensive team, you can’t let those kinds of runs happen often. And if you want to be a strong offensive team, you have to respond when they do. In those previous games, we didn’t do that. Today, I told the team in the locker room that if we bring that same urgency to practice, our bench will keep improving, and all 10 players who stepped on the floor today have the potential to make a real impact. I believe we can be really good, but we’re not there yet. Today was a typical Big 12 physical game, a grind-it-out win. I liked how we responded in the third quarter, especially coming out of the break. We played extremely well and did a lot of good things.”

On what specifically changed during the 3rd quarter run…

“In the third quarter, there were two key adjustments coming out of halftime. Defensively, we wanted our helpers to step up and be more aware of Bailey Maupin, who had a strong first half. I think we improved in that area. Offensively, I wasn’t happy with how we handled their press in the middle of the floor in the first half, it felt like they were getting a free press at times. We focused on making them pay for that and getting the ball to Lee in the half-court, as she was playing really well. Foul trouble in the second quarter hurt us, but Kennedy gave us a big lift. Overall, there was a lot to like about today’s performance, I thought it was a good, hard-fought win.”

On performing better against high-pressure defenses…

“I saw glimpses of it, but we still had 17 turnovers, including some late ones. Individually, we need to do a better job in that area, individual players need to take better care of the ball, protect it, and have greater awareness of the game, especially when the other team is gambling and taking risks. We’ve got to be able to punish teams when they play that way. [Texas] Tech got very active when they were down, they were willing to bump, hold, and try to create chaos. When we handled it well, we did some good things. But when we didn’t, it got sloppy, and that’s what we have to improve.”

On going on large runs to put teams away…

“Well, it’s rare. We’ve won games in a variety of ways, but it’s rare to do it the way we did today, without making threes. In other games, we’ve gone on a barrage of threes and gotten it done. Today, it was all about creating turnovers. That’s something we haven’t done very well, we haven't been getting steals. There are a couple of things I haven’t liked recently. I haven’t felt like we’ve had a killer instinct in our traps. I think we’ve let teams off the hook, and I haven’t been happy with our positioning. It hasn’t felt like those small details have mattered enough in practice. But today, I feel like we were in the right spots most of the time. I’ll look back at the film, but my impression is that we improved. That was a big focus in yesterday’s practice. I kept harping on the fact that we needed to get this right because we’re going to face better teams that will make us pay if we don’t. Today, my eyes tell me we were much better. And it showed in the results. We’ve won in different ways before, through [Ayoka] Lee, through three-pointers from [Taryn] Sides and [Temira] Poindexter, or from the corners. But today, it was the steals and extra possessions that made the difference.”

Texas Tech Head Coach Krista Gerlich

On how hard it is to come back once Kansas State goes on a run…

“Obviously, they have a really complete roster. I mean, they're really good players, one through five and then six, seven, eight, coming off the bench. When you have to spend so much of your game plan on one player, which is obviously [Ayoka] Lee, but then Jeff [Mittie] has done a fantastic job of getting all these shooters around her, right? Like, you've got to decide if you want to give up twos or threes, like what poison do you want to pick? And so they've just played really well together for a long time. And they've got great chemistry, and they make you pay, you know, you might cover up one thing but, they turn around and expose you somewhere else. For us, I felt like, particularly in the third quarter, we got too careless with the basketball and turned it over too much and gave them easy looks. And, you know, they're too good of a basketball team for them to get easy looks. We can't give them free points. We got to make them earn everything that they get, and they're just too good for us to be able to turn the basketball over that many times and give them that many extra opportunities.”

On pressuring K-State’s guards…

“Our pressure is what we're trying to build our system around and just playing in the full court. I think that the only way that you can protect the post defense is to have ball pressure. You've got to make it really difficult for them to enter the ball into the post. Because if you don't [Ayoka] Lee is going to score it every time you know? And secondly if you put two around her, and you don't have ball pressure, then they're going to pick you apart and shoot the three ball. So, you know, our defense is three-tiered. We got to have ball pressure. We got to not allow post entry passes, and then we got to have some backside help. And, you know, they exposed us pretty good at times.”

On if they were ready to come out hot in the 2nd half…

“Yeah I absolutely believe that. I think when we get transition going, when we're hitting from the perimeter, and when we're getting looks inside, it feels like we're clicking in every area.”

On how they are able to pull away from teams…

“I think we do a really good job of feeding off one another. When we're excited for Serena’s {Sundell] and-one or like Temira’s [Poindexter] three. I think that stuff just gets us going, especially like, going back down on defense, and then it's like the little touches on defense, and then we're just like, we're just in it connected.”

On her positioning and finishing…

“I thought it was pretty good today. Personally, I thought that we did a good job getting it inside. We did a good job reading when they were sending help, when they weren't sending help, we had to adjust a little bit because they started playing behind. That was communication, not just like with me, but with the guards as well. Like Serena [Sundell] was really on point talking to me about that. So it just made my job easier. I think we did a good job just playing off of it.”

“We're getting better, since our first game that we played this year. So that's always the goal is to get better every game and get better every practice. I think you saw a glimpse of how good we can be in that third quarter. We have a lot of opportunities to be good. It's just the little things right now that we're having issues with. We're doing a good job of figuring it out as the game goes on. We can be pretty good.”

On Kansas State’s big 3rd quarter…

“Everybody was making the right cuts and moving the ball to the open player. We were finding Ayoka [Lee] in the paint. She was doing a great job of bringing two to her, and then our guards, if they were helping out on Ayoka, they were doing a good job of making plays off my skip passes and getting to the rim, then we hit some shots in that third quarter. So, yeah, it was just fun basketball. We were playing together.”

“I mean, I wish we had the simple answer to give you. Every time I think it's really just our focus. It takes every single player on the floor to be committed to the things that coach [Jeff} Mittie is saying, to be on the same page. But I know that this team just wants to win. We have a lot of girls who love to compete. We have a lot of girls who want to make the right play. I don't know what the switch is, yet, still figuring that out, it's nice to have.”

On if there was any emphasis on trying to draw fouls …

“No, I just felt like you could tell right from the beginning of this game that it was physical. That was a Big 12 basketball game. So I just knew that I needed to be strong, because if you're kind of shying away from the basket, the refs aren't going to give you those calls. Obviously I didn't shoot super well tonight, but if I can get to the free throw line. I've worked on my free throws, so that was exciting for me to shoot well from the free throw line. But not really an emphasis.”

K-State makes a two-game swing through the Beehive State, as the Wildcats face Utah on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. (CT).

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– With a winter storm forcing the adjustment of the game time, (12/11) K-State used a tempest of steals, made field goals and free throws in the third quarter to secure a 77-57 win on Saturday afternoon against Texas Tech at Bramlage Coliseum.The win improves K-State’s win streak to 10. This is the first time since the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons that the Wildcats have registered double-digit win streaks in consecutive seasons.K-State improved its overall record to 15-1 for the second time under the direction of head coach Jeff Mittie. This is the second straight season K-State has opened with a 15-1 record. In its history, K-State has opened a season 15-1 or better five times.The Wildcats saw four players reach double figures on Saturday, led by All-America candidate Ayoka Lee with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, a block and a steal. With her 19 points, Lee improved her career total to 2,436 and passed Nina Davis of Baylor (2014-17) for seventh on the Big 12 career scoring list.With her eight rebounds, Lee moved into sixth on the Big 12 career rebounds list (1,211) and passed Iowa State’s Angie Welle (1999-02; 1,209).Senior guard and All-America candidate Serena Sundell recorded her team-best fifth double-double of the season with 13 points, 11 assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal.Lee and Sundell have now reached double figures in points in the same game in 44 of 73 career games together.The bench tandem of senior forward Kennedy Taylor and Taryn Sides added 13 and 11 points, respectively. The duo helped the Wildcats to a 30-15 advantage in bench points on Saturday.HOW IT HAPPENED- With the game time moved ahead three hours to avoid a larger issue with an incoming winter storm, K-State (15-1, 3-0 Big 12) held a 38-32 lead at halftime and shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field and registered 13 assists on its 15 made field goals in the first half.- K-State used a 24-4 run in the first eight minutes of the third quarter and built a 62-36 lead with 2:10 to play in the frame. During the squall, the Wildcats received points from six different players led by six from Taylor.- The Wildcats would win the third quarter, 28-9, and hold Texas Tech (12-4, 1-2) to 14.3 percent shooting (2-of-14). K-State would register eight steals which led to a 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers in the third quarter. The Wildcats shot 56.3 percent (9-of-16) in the frame and handed out eight assists on the nine made field goals.- K-State shot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) for the afternoon, which included a 44-26 edge in points in the paint, and a 76.2 percent (16-of-21) effort from the free throw line. The Wildcats dished out 25 assists on its 29 made field goals. This was the seventh time this season K-State has handed out 25 or more assists in a game.- K-State forced the Lady Raiders into 24 turnovers, 16 by way of a steal, which resulted in a 29-19 advantage in points off turnovers.- Texas Tech shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the field and were held to 14.3 percent (3-of-21) from beyond the arc.QUICK FACTS- K-State leads the series with Texas Tech, 31-17. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 21-8 (.724) in his career against Texas Tech.- The Wildcats are 235-242 (.493) in Big 12 games.- K-State is 407-156 (.723) in its 37-season history inside Bramlage Coliseum, including an 11-0 record this season. This is the 34th&nbsp;season in program history with 10 or more home wins in a season, including the 26th&nbsp;season at Bramlage Coliseum.- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 659-371 (.640), including a mark of 205-136 (.601). Mittie needs two wins to move into second on the K-State career wins list.- K-State owns a record of 263-96 (.733) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 20-4 (.833) all-time when ranked 12th in the nation.- The Wildcats are 261-193 (.575) in games played in the month of January. Under Mittie, K-State is 41-41 (.500) in games during the first month.TEAM NOTES- K-State's starting five consisted of guards: Zyanna Walker, Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell; forward Temira Poindexter and center Ayoka Lee. This was the 14th time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 128th career start for Lee, the 119th career start for Sundell, the 115th career start for Jaelyn Glenn, the 103rd career collegiate start and 16th at K-State for Poindexter and the 16th career start for Walker. With her 128th career start at K-State, Lee rmoves into a tie for third in program history with Kendra Wecker (128; 2001-05) for career starts. With her 119th&nbsp;career start, Sundell is ninth in program history for career starts.- The Wildcats held a 38-32 lead at halftime on Saturday. Under Mittie, K-State is 164-19 (.896) when leading at halftime. The Wildcats have led at the half in 14 games this season (14-0).- K-State has scored 20-or more points in a quarter 38 times this season, including the first and third quarters on Saturday. Since the start of the quarter-system in 2015-16, the Wildcats are 147-62 (.703) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter of a game.- K-State shot 50.0 percent or better in a quarter in three quarters on Saturday (first, second and third quarters). The Wildcats have 40 quarters this season of 50.0 percent or better shooting.- K-State improved to 104-8 (.929) when handing out 20 or more assists in a game. The Wildcats have dished out 20 or more assists in 12 games this season (12-0).- K-State improves to 59-3 (.952) over the last four seasons when holding foes to 60 points or less.PLAYER NOTES- With her 19 points on Saturday, Lee boosted her career total to 2,436 and moves into seventh on the Big 12 career scoring list. Lee registered her 117th career game with 10 or more points. Her 117 career games with 10 or more points is tied with Nicole Ohlde (2000-04; 117) for second in program history. Lee has scored in every game of her career,128 games, and remains in school history for consecutive games scoring.- Lee hauled in eight rebounds on Wednesday. This was the 83rd&nbsp;time in her career leading K-State rebounding. Lee’s career total for rebounds stands at 1,211, improving upon her own school record for career rebounds and moving into sixth in Big 12 history for career boards. She owns 111 career games with five or more rebounds.- Lee registered a block on Saturday and boosted her career total to 340. Lee is fourth in Big 12 history for career blocks.- Sundell notched her 83rd career game with 10 or more points. Sundell owns 1,464 career points and remains in 14th&nbsp;on the K-State career scoring list.- Sundell made nine free throws, on 10 attempts, on Saturday. This was a season-high for free throws made by a Wildcat this season. This was her fifth game this season and her fourth straight with five or more made free throws.- Sundell’s 11 assists on Saturday improved her career total to 668. This was her ninth career game&nbsp; and her fifth this season with 10 or more assists. This was her 78th career game with five or more assists and her 13th&nbsp;this season including her 10th&nbsp;straight.- Sundell hauled in three rebounds on Saturday to improve her career total to 493.- Sundell sent back two shots on Saturday. Sundell boosted her career total to 88 and ranks ninth in school history for career blocks and owns the school record for blocks by a guard. This was Sundell’s 20th&nbsp;career game with two or more blocks.- Sides reached double figures for points for the eighth time this season and for the 11th time in her career.- Sides connected on two 3-pointers on Saturday. This was her 19th&nbsp;career game and her 11th&nbsp;this season with two or more made 3-pointers.- Taylor reached double figures for the seventh time this season and the 50th&nbsp;time in her career.- Sophomore guard Zyanna Walker tied her career-high with five steals. This was her fifth career game with four or more steals and her 19th&nbsp;with two or more steals.- Senior Jaelyn Glenn pocketed two steals on Saturday. She improved her career total to 230 and remains in sixth in school history for career steals.FROM THE HEAD COACHK-State Head Coach Jeff MittieOn how good the team is right now…“I haven’t been real happy with our urgency in practice over the last couple of days. One of my biggest concerns, quite honestly, was how we finished before the break. We gave up a 21–2 run in one game and a similar run against Houston, which was really concerning. But today, I was proud of how we dug in defensively. We didn’t let them go on any big runs. They had one run sparked by some turnovers, but that was stopped quickly by some good offensive play. That’s been my main focus, if you want to be a great defensive team, you can’t let those kinds of runs happen often. And if you want to be a strong offensive team, you have to respond when they do. In those previous games, we didn’t do that. Today, I told the team in the locker room that if we bring that same urgency to practice, our bench will keep improving, and all 10 players who stepped on the floor today have the potential to make a real impact. I believe we can be really good, but we’re not there yet. Today was a typical Big 12 physical game, a grind-it-out win. I liked how we responded in the third quarter, especially coming out of the break. We played extremely well and did a lot of good things.”On what specifically changed during the 3rd quarter run…“In the third quarter, there were two key adjustments coming out of halftime. Defensively, we wanted our helpers to step up and be more aware of Bailey Maupin, who had a strong first half. I think we improved in that area. Offensively, I wasn’t happy with how we handled their press in the middle of the floor in the first half, it felt like they were getting a free press at times. We focused on making them pay for that and getting the ball to Lee in the half-court, as she was playing really well. Foul trouble in the second quarter hurt us, but Kennedy gave us a big lift. Overall, there was a lot to like about today’s performance, I thought it was a good, hard-fought win.”On performing better against high-pressure defenses…“I saw glimpses of it, but we still had 17 turnovers, including some late ones. Individually, we need to do a better job in that area, individual players need to take better care of the ball, protect it, and have greater awareness of the game, especially when the other team is gambling and taking risks. We’ve got to be able to punish teams when they play that way. [Texas] Tech got very active when they were down, they were willing to bump, hold, and try to create chaos. When we handled it well, we did some good things. But when we didn’t, it got sloppy, and that’s what we have to improve.”On going on large runs to put teams away…“Well, it’s rare. We’ve won games in a variety of ways, but it’s rare to do it the way we did today, without making threes. In other games, we’ve gone on a barrage of threes and gotten it done. Today, it was all about creating turnovers. That’s something we haven’t done very well, we haven't been getting steals. There are a couple of things I haven’t liked recently. I haven’t felt like we’ve had a killer instinct in our traps. I think we’ve let teams off the hook, and I haven’t been happy with our positioning. It hasn’t felt like those small details have mattered enough in practice. But today, I feel like we were in the right spots most of the time. I’ll look back at the film, but my impression is that we improved. That was a big focus in yesterday’s practice. I kept harping on the fact that we needed to get this right because we’re going to face better teams that will make us pay if we don’t. Today, my eyes tell me we were much better. And it showed in the results. We’ve won in different ways before, through [Ayoka] Lee, through three-pointers from [Taryn] Sides and [Temira] Poindexter, or from the corners. But today, it was the steals and extra possessions that made the difference.”Texas Tech Head Coach Krista GerlichOn how hard it is to come back once Kansas State goes on a run…“Obviously, they have a really complete roster. I mean, they're really good players, one through five and then six, seven, eight, coming off the bench. When you have to spend so much of your game plan on one player, which is obviously [Ayoka] Lee, but then Jeff [Mittie] has done a fantastic job of getting all these shooters around her, right? Like, you've got to decide if you want to give up twos or threes, like what poison do you want to pick? And so they've just played really well together for a long time. And they've got great chemistry, and they make you pay, you know, you might cover up one thing but, they turn around and expose you somewhere else. For us, I felt like, particularly in the third quarter, we got too careless with the basketball and turned it over too much and gave them easy looks. And, you know, they're too good of a basketball team for them to get easy looks. We can't give them free points. We got to make them earn everything that they get, and they're just too good for us to be able to turn the basketball over that many times and give them that many extra opportunities.”On pressuring K-State’s guards…“Our pressure is what we're trying to build our system around and just playing in the full court. I think that the only way that you can protect the post defense is to have ball pressure. You've got to make it really difficult for them to enter the ball into the post. Because if you don't [Ayoka] Lee is going to score it every time you know? And secondly if you put two around her, and you don't have ball pressure, then they're going to pick you apart and shoot the three ball. So, you know, our defense is three-tiered. We got to have ball pressure. We got to not allow post entry passes, and then we got to have some backside help. And, you know, they exposed us pretty good at times.”FROM THE FLOORAYOKA LEE, SENIOR CENTEROn if they were ready to come out hot in the 2nd half…“Yeah I absolutely believe that. I think when we get transition going, when we're hitting from the perimeter, and when we're getting looks inside, it feels like we're clicking in every area.”On how they are able to pull away from teams…“I think we do a really good job of feeding off one another. When we're excited for Serena’s {Sundell] and-one or like Temira’s [Poindexter] three. I think that stuff just gets us going, especially like, going back down on defense, and then it's like the little touches on defense, and then we're just like, we're just in it connected.”On her positioning and finishing…“I thought it was pretty good today. Personally, I thought that we did a good job getting it inside. We did a good job reading when they were sending help, when they weren't sending help, we had to adjust a little bit because they started playing behind. That was communication, not just like with me, but with the guards as well. Like Serena [Sundell] was really on point talking to me about that. So it just made my job easier. I think we did a good job just playing off of it.”SERENA SUNDELL, SENIOR GUARDOn how good the team is…“We're getting better, since our first game that we played this year. So that's always the goal is to get better every game and get better every practice. I think you saw a glimpse of how good we can be in that third quarter. We have a lot of opportunities to be good. It's just the little things right now that we're having issues with. We're doing a good job of figuring it out as the game goes on. We can be pretty good.”On Kansas State’s big 3rd quarter…“Everybody was making the right cuts and moving the ball to the open player. We were finding Ayoka [Lee] in the paint. She was doing a great job of bringing two to her, and then our guards, if they were helping out on Ayoka, they were doing a good job of making plays off my skip passes and getting to the rim, then we hit some shots in that third quarter. So, yeah, it was just fun basketball. We were playing together.”On how they are able to pull away from teams…“I mean, I wish we had the simple answer to give you. Every time I think it's really just our focus. It takes every single player on the floor to be committed to the things that coach [Jeff} Mittie is saying, to be on the same page. But I know that this team just wants to win. We have a lot of girls who love to compete. We have a lot of girls who want to make the right play. I don't know what the switch is, yet, still figuring that out, it's nice to have.”On if there was any emphasis on trying to draw fouls …“No, I just felt like you could tell right from the beginning of this game that it was physical. That was a Big 12 basketball game. So I just knew that I needed to be strong, because if you're kind of shying away from the basket, the refs aren't going to give you those calls. Obviously I didn't shoot super well tonight, but if I can get to the free throw line. I've worked on my free throws, so that was exciting for me to shoot well from the free throw line. But not really an emphasis.”UP NEXTK-State makes a two-game swing through the Beehive State, as the Wildcats face Utah on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. (CT).

K-State Uses Third Quarter Blizzard to Down Texas Tech

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Noah Reynolds scored 18 points and made the go-ahead basket during TCU's game-ending 7-0 run to defeat Kansas State 63-62 on Saturday.

<a href="https://x.com/CBSSportsCBB/status/1875681082202292581">Reynolds worked off the dribble from the left side to the right, ducked inside and hit a one-hander off the glass for the go-ahead basket with 12.8 seconds remaining.</a>

A 3-pointer from Max Jones gave the Wildcats a 62-56 lead near the 3-minute mark of the second half but the Wildcats did not score again. A tip-in by Vasean Allette and a 3 from Brendan Wenzel made it 62-61 with 1:17 left.

Coleman Hawkins missed in the paint for Kansas State, then blocked a layup at the other end. David N’Guessan rebounded, was fouled and missed the front end of the one-and-one with 24 seconds left. Reynolds then put the Horned Frogs ahead and K-State's Dug McDaniel was unable to finish a contested layup before time ran out during the battle for the rebound.

Allette and Trazarien White each scored 14 points for TCU (8-5, 1-1 Big 12) and Ernest Udeh Jr. grabbed 12 rebounds.

N’Guessan had 17 rebounds and scored 10 points for K-State (7-6, 1-1). McDaniel scored 12 points, Coleman Hawkins 11 and Brendan Hausen 10.

TCU pushed its three-point halftime lead to six points early in the second half before Kansas State took the lead at 45-43 with 11 minutes remaining. The Wildcats held the lead for close to 11 minutes before Reynolds' game-winner.

TCU improved to 8-0 at home and Kansas State's road losing streak reached 51 weeks and 11 games.

TCU will play at No. 14 Houston for the first time since 2011 on Monday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736032768028.png" alt="Photo K-State Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo K-State Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Noah Reynolds scored 18 points and made the go-ahead basket during TCU's game-ending 7-0 run to defeat Kansas State 63-62 on Saturday.<a href="https://x.com/CBSSportsCBB/status/1875681082202292581">Reynolds worked off the dribble from the left side to the right, ducked inside and hit a one-hander off the glass for the go-ahead basket with 12.8 seconds remaining.</a>A 3-pointer from Max Jones gave the Wildcats a 62-56 lead near the 3-minute mark of the second half but the Wildcats did not score again. A tip-in by Vasean Allette and a 3 from Brendan Wenzel made it 62-61 with 1:17 left.Coleman Hawkins missed in the paint for Kansas State, then blocked a layup at the other end. David N’Guessan rebounded, was fouled and missed the front end of the one-and-one with 24 seconds left. Reynolds then put the Horned Frogs ahead and K-State's Dug McDaniel was unable to finish a contested layup before time ran out during the battle for the rebound.Allette and Trazarien White each scored 14 points for TCU (8-5, 1-1 Big 12) and Ernest Udeh Jr. grabbed 12 rebounds.N’Guessan had 17 rebounds and scored 10 points for K-State (7-6, 1-1). McDaniel scored 12 points, Coleman Hawkins 11 and Brendan Hausen 10.TCU pushed its three-point halftime lead to six points early in the second half before Kansas State took the lead at 45-43 with 11 minutes remaining. The Wildcats held the lead for close to 11 minutes before Reynolds' game-winner.TCU improved to 8-0 at home and Kansas State's road losing streak reached 51 weeks and 11 games.TCU will play at No. 14 Houston for the first time since 2011 on Monday.

🏀 TCU scores the final 7-points to edge Kansas State

By TYLER HENRY Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post

The Southeast of Saline basketball teams started the new year with a bang, sweeping Republic County on the road in a pair of confident wins.

Southeast would take the girl’s game 50-28 and the boy’s game 69-43 in a great all-around night for the purple and white.

Girls: SE of Saline 50, Republic County 28

The Lady Trojans made the most of their two weeks off during the winter break and re-entered the fray with a flurry of points, outscoring Republic County 25-8 in the opening quarter and never looking back.

“We wanted to get out and keep the tempo up early and I thought we changed some things up that worked for us in our press,” SES head coach Shauna Smith said. “They adjusted and fought through some things but we only gave up one layup off our press all night.”

While the offense slowed down a bit over the final three quarters, Southeast maintained their defensive standard of excellence, holding the Lady Buffs to just 11 second-half points and allowing just three second-half field goals.

Six different Lady Trojans got in on the scoring fun but it was Aba Pearson who shone the brightest, splitting 20 points evenly between the two halves.

Pearson was joined in double figures by Reese Heinrich (11) with five more teammates contributing at least four points in the win.

Just four Lady Buffaloes scored in this game, led by Kylie Stone (12) and Avery Stindt (11)

With this victory the Lady Trojans advance to 3-2 on the year and remain undefeated in league play at 0-2 while Republic County falls to 1-4 and 0-3.

Boys: SE of Saline 69, Republic County 43

The boy’s game saw Southeast of Saline set a new high watermark on the year and collect their first win against an ailing Buffalo foe, leading 31-14 at halftime and pulling away from there.

“We were really good in the first quarter, we let up a little bit near the end of the half but we came out strong out of halftime after that,” SES head coach Francis Flax said. “We did a lot of good things tonight and I liked that we didn’t have a lot of turnovers tonight.”

Southeast forced 15 turnovers in this game while taking care of the ball themselves, surrendering just six.

Gannon Jacobson carried the torch in the first half, scoring 16 points in the first two quarters as part of a game-high 20-point performance.

In the second half, Owen Bailey started to heat up from all over the floor, tallying 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter alone.

By the final buzzer eight different Trojans had contributed at least one bucket with four players chipping in eight or more.

Republic County also had two players in double figures on a night where Aden Morris scored 13 and Conner Martin dropped 10.

Southeast gets their first notch in the win column at 1-4 overall and 1-1 in league play while the Buffaloes continue their search for a first win at 0-5 and 0-3.

Both SES teams will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Salina to battle Sacred Heart.

By TYLER HENRY Lead Sportswriter - Salina PostThe Southeast of Saline basketball teams started the new year with a bang, sweeping Republic County on the road in a pair of confident wins.Southeast would take the girl’s game 50-28 and the boy’s game 69-43 in a great all-around night for the purple and white.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715807615208.jpeg" alt="Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here." />
 <figcaption>Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here.</figcaption>
 </figure>Girls: SE of Saline 50, Republic County 28The Lady Trojans made the most of their two weeks off during the winter break and re-entered the fray with a flurry of points, outscoring Republic County 25-8 in the opening quarter and never looking back.“We wanted to get out and keep the tempo up early and I thought we changed some things up that worked for us in our press,” SES head coach Shauna Smith said. “They adjusted and fought through some things but we only gave up one layup off our press all night.”While the offense slowed down a bit over the final three quarters, Southeast maintained their defensive standard of excellence, holding the Lady Buffs to just 11 second-half points and allowing just three second-half field goals.Six different Lady Trojans got in on the scoring fun but it was Aba Pearson who shone the brightest, splitting 20 points evenly between the two halves.Pearson was joined in double figures by Reese Heinrich (11) with five more teammates contributing at least four points in the win.Just four Lady Buffaloes scored in this game, led by Kylie Stone (12) and Avery Stindt (11)With this victory the Lady Trojans advance to 3-2 on the year and remain undefeated in league play at 0-2 while Republic County falls to 1-4 and 0-3.Boys: SE of Saline 69, Republic County 43The boy’s game saw Southeast of Saline set a new high watermark on the year and collect their first win against an ailing Buffalo foe, leading 31-14 at halftime and pulling away from there.“We were really good in the first quarter, we let up a little bit near the end of the half but we came out strong out of halftime after that,” SES head coach Francis Flax said. “We did a lot of good things tonight and I liked that we didn’t have a lot of turnovers tonight.”Southeast forced 15 turnovers in this game while taking care of the ball themselves, surrendering just six.Gannon Jacobson carried the torch in the first half, scoring 16 points in the first two quarters as part of a game-high 20-point performance.In the second half, Owen Bailey started to heat up from all over the floor, tallying 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter alone.By the final buzzer eight different Trojans had contributed at least one bucket with four players chipping in eight or more.Republic County also had two players in double figures on a night where Aden Morris scored 13 and Conner Martin dropped 10.Southeast gets their first notch in the win column at 1-4 overall and 1-1 in league play while the Buffaloes continue their search for a first win at 0-5 and 0-3.Both SES teams will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Salina to battle Sacred Heart.

Southeast sweeps Republic County to open new year

By ADAM COULTER Salina Post Contributor

By ADAM COULTER Salina Post ContributorSacred Heart welcomed Minneapolis to Salina Friday night as the 2024-25 high school basketball season resumed following the holiday break.In two closely-contested games, the Minneapolis girls held off Sacred Heart 52-47 while the Knights pulled away in the boys game for a 60-44 win and a doubleheader split.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715807615208.jpeg" alt="Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here." />
 <figcaption>Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here.</figcaption>
 </figure>The Minneapolis girls took an early 3-0 lead in the first game of the evening, but the Lady Knights finished the opening quarter on a 9-2 run to go up by two possessions.The Lady Lions came back in the second frame to regain the lead by as many as six points and held a 21-18 advantage at halftime.Sacred Heart fell behind by as many as nine points in the third quarter, but refused to let Minneapolis pull away. Heading into the final period the Lady Knights trailed 34-29.The two teams traded baskets for much of the fourth quarter with the Lady Lions still leading 50-44 and, down the stretch, just 4.3 seconds on the clock. It was then that Sacred Heart's Skylar Douglas was fouled while attempting a three-point basket. She calmly made all three free-throws to cut the six-point deficit to three.The Lady Knights quickly fouled Maci McClure who sank her 13th and 14th free-throws to seal the five-point win for Minneapolis.&nbsp;Sacred Heart was led by Douglas and her game-high 22 points. Adelyn Lee tallied 11 and Bethany Campa added a season-high eight points. Minneapolis was led by McClure and Baylee Randall-Hurt scoring 18 points apiece.In the boys game, the Lions came in with just one win while the Knights were unbeaten. Despite that, Minneapolis gave Sacred Heart a battle that wasn't out of reach until the fourth quarter.The Knights found themselves looking up at a 18-15 deficit after the opening quarter before taking a 29-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.On top by a 42-35 score after three quarters, Sacred Heart took a double-figure lead in the final period and pulled away for a 16-point victory to remain perfect.The Knights were led by Will Tuttle and Noah Hines with 18 points each. Owen Just led Minneapolis and all scorers with an even 20 points.