MANHATTAN — The KSHSAA State Basketball Tournament is off and running after a busy day of action on Wednesday. First-round matchups took place, with four teams from Shawnee County taking part. Two of the Topeka-area teams advanced to Friday’s semifinals.

Here is everything that happened to Topeka-area teams in Wednesday’s first round.:

Big 3rd quarter lifts Seaman girls over conference foe

Familiarity brings the best out of two teams. No. 2 Seaman (23-0) and No. 7 Piper (18-5) know each other really well through both playing in the United Kansas Conference. The Vikings defeated the Pirates by two points and one point in the regular season.

In the Class 5A first round, the two teams delivered another incredible game, with Seaman coming out on top 66-54 in Emporia.

“It came down to pursuing. We didn’t want to be defensive, we didn’t want to just get through it,” Seaman head coach Matt Tinsley said. “We wanted to be in attack mode.”

The Vikings trailed 30-28 at halftime, but the third quarter was their masterpiece. They did everything right: They defended well and shot the ball flawlessly. They forced Piper to shoot 18.8% from the field, which was their worst quarter of the game. The Vikings were 10-for-20 from the field, which gave them a commanding 52-40 lead into the fourth quarter.

Piper continued to push the Vikings, but Seaman had a response every time, especially on defense, which Tinsley said won the team the game. Another big reason for the Vikings' victory was Jaida Stallbaumer.

The guard had her best game of the season. She scored 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. During the state tournament last year, Stallbaumer had some of her best performances of the year during that stretch, too. She’s come up big consistently.

“I don’t know, it feels like a normal game to me,” Stallbaumer said. “The state tournament is always the most exciting tournament with all of the fans; student section helps out a lot. In the state tournament, I guess I play my best, but it feels like a normal game to me.”

Her success inside White Auditorium is not hidden around the Seaman program. Tinsley approached her before the game, giving her confidence. It paid off in a big way.

“‘Hey, this is your gym.’ She gave me that little smile. I knew she was going to have a good night,” Tinsley said.

Maddie Gragg, a junior, continues to be another big force for Seaman’s offense. Over the past few weeks, when Seaman has needed a bucket, they have turned to Gragg. She tied a game-high 20 points on 5-for-8 shooting against Piper. Ava Esser also scored 10 points and had 11 rebounds for a double-double.

The win sends Seaman, to the semifinals where they will face No. 3 Andover (22-1) on Friday at 6 p.m.

Silver Lake girls continue title defense with first-round win

It was a wire-to-wire finish for the defending Class 3A State Champions in the first round. No. 4 Silver Lake (22-2) defeated No. 5 Girard (21-3) 56-45 in Hutchinson. It was a strong first quarter for the Eagles as they jumped out to a 17-8 lead.

They outscored Girard by five points over the next two quarters. Silver Lake’s offense was extremely efficient as they shot 47.2% from the field.

Junior guard Kailyn Hanni led the team with 22 points, shooting 3-for-8. She was unstoppable when getting to the free-throw line. Hanni went 16-for-19 from the charity stripe and also grabbed 15 rebounds for the double-double. Karys Deiter also had a big game, scoring 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field.

The win for Silver Lake move them to the Class 3A semifinal on Friday. They will face No. 1 Heston (24-0) at 6 p.m.

Rossville boys falls to Ell-Saline in a 'fist fight'

No. 6 Rossville (16-8) went toe-to-toe with No. 3 Ell-Saline (21-3) in the first round of Class 2A action in Manhattan. It was one of the best games in Class 2A as the lead changed throughout, but it was the Cardinals that put together a strong fourth quarter to seal an 82-78 win.

“It was a battle for 32 minutes, and that’s what we know,” Ell-Saline head coach Marty Wendel said. “We are from the HOA (Heart of America Conference); it’s a battle from every gosh dang night. We know you have to bring your best or you are going to leave the floor with a loss.”

The Bulldawgs put together a strong first half as they led 45-41 at halftime. Rossville started the third quarter with a 3-pointer that gave his team a seven-point lead, but Ell-Saline started to chip away at the lead after that. The Cardinals put together a 10-1 run to give them a 51-49 advantage midway through the third quarter.

Ell-Saline started to impose itself thanks to their defense, switching to a 1-3-1 zone, which caused Rossville problems. The Cardinals forced 15 turnovers that led to 21 points. In the fourth quarter, Ell-Saline went on a 20-9 run across five minutes. It gave them an 80-69 lead with a minute to play.

“It’s March; we’ve seen it before,” Rossville head coach Brandon McDonnell said about the zone defense. “At this stage, it did kind of shake us a bit. I applaud the switch.”

Rossville ended the game strongly hitting a few 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough for the miracle comeback. It was a big game from junior Jack Donovan, who scored 25 points on 7-for-19 shooting. Cameron Miller had a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

“I thought (it was) what it should have been, a nice close fist fight,” McDonnell said. “We came here together, went through a little adversity and we are still going to leave here together. The boys are already excited to get back here next year. We are going to work hard this offseason and bring our tail right back here and compete some more.”

Ell-Saline advances to Friday’s semifinal, where it will face No. 2 Sterling (21-3). Rossville’s season comes to a close.

Washburn Rural boys season comes to an end

The Junior Blues started strong, but the Falcons’ athleticism and 3-point shooting was too much in the end. No. 3 Wichita Heights (21-2) defeated No. 6 Washburn Rural (18-5) 64-44 in the first round of Class 6A play in Wichita.

Washburn Rural trailed by just two points at the end of the first quarter, but the Falcons pushed for a more commanding leading, going on a 16-3 run. The Junior Blues couldn’t find a way to erase the deficit. Amare Jones had an impressive night for Washburn Rural with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds.

Wednesday's Shawnee County state basketball results