If thereâÂÂs a problem with winning by 53 points — to be sure, thereâÂÂs few — Free State High girlsâ basketball coach Bryan Duncan knows what it is.

âÂÂThe only problem with winning big early is overconfidence,â Duncan said. âÂÂWe know the schedule gets a little more difficult down the road.âÂÂ

A 72-19 victory against Kansas City Wyandotte on Thursday at Free State might have been DuncanâÂÂs first as a varsity head coach, but itâÂÂs clear he knows itâÂÂs a long season.

The Bulldogs were overmatched from the tipoff, having trouble even bringing the ball across halfcourt against the Firebirdsâ full-court press. Wyandotte (0-1) couldnâÂÂt even get off a shot until Free State (1-0) opened a 10-0 lead. That edge turned into a 40-8 halftime advantage, with Free State missing more shots (14) than the Bulldogs could take (11).

Certainly a dominating performance, but Duncan said it was all according to plan.

âÂÂI thought we were excellent on the defensive end of the floor, though we know thereâÂÂs always room for improvement,â he said. âÂÂDay one we stressed going in pressing teams. Most of our offense will be created with our defense.âÂÂ

That defense led to 33 Firebird steals and 48 Bulldog turnovers, most of which were turned into easy buckets. FSHS did so much running up and down the court that junior Kirby Beneventi — who had 16 points and 10 steals — found herself sucking air at times.

âÂÂThe first quarter I got a little winded running up and down,â Beneventi said. âÂÂBut we really like to run. ThatâÂÂs one of our strong points as a team.âÂÂ

FSHS sophomore Jamie Stanclift led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Emilie Humbarger added 10 points.

The Firebirds had 12 players score, helping a relatively young team — they only have two seniors — snag varsity playing time.

âÂÂWe were able to get all 13 girls into a varsity basketball game,â Duncan said. âÂÂWe also played a lot of girls in five quarters tonight. We want them to get a lot of on-court experience. ThatâÂÂs big.âÂÂ

Free State plays host to Junction City at 7 p.m. Dec. 13 at the FSHS gym.