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Olathe North wasn't kind to the tournament hosts.

Led by Tamara Whitaker's 20 points, the Eagles rallied for a 38-35 victory over Free State in the first round of the Firebird Winter Classic on Thursday at FSHS.

Free State's JAYME LISHER, left, and Ramona Daney, right, trap Olathe North's Tamara Whitaker. The Firebirds lost, 38-35, Thursday night at FSHS.

"Again, we're right in the game and we're in a position to win," said FSHS coach Craig Hershiser, whose squad dipped to 3-7 with its fifth consecutive loss. "I thought we should've been at the free-throw line a few more times. We weren't, so that's how it goes."

The Firebirds will play Tonganoxie, a 74-32 first-round loser to Hutchinson, at 7 tonight in the losers' bracket in the FSHS north gym. O-North will meet Hutchinson in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. today in the main gym.

Against O-North, LHS took a 32-29 lead with 5:07 left in the fourth quarter on Jamie Stanclift's stickback. The Eagles (8-3) scored eight unanswered points for a 37-32 lead and never trailed again. The Firebirds pulled within 37-35 on Kirby Beneventi's free throw with nine seconds remaining before Whitaker sealed the victory with a free throw with five seconds left.

Whitaker, a 5-foot-6 junior guard, made five of 12 field-goal attempts and 10 of 12 free throws.

"She's very good at dribble-penetration and can twist around you and get a shot off," Hershiser said. "Obviously she made a lot of points from the free-throw line."

	Thursday's Games Main Gym Olathe North 38, Free State 35 Lawrence 49, KC Schlagle 46 North Gym KC Sumner 63, KC Wyandotte 33 Hutchinson 74, Tonganoxie 32 Today's Games Main Gym Hutchinson v. Olathe North, 5:30 p.m. KC Sumner v. Lawrence, 7 p.m. North Gym KC Wyandotte v. KC Schlagle, 5:30 p.m. Tonganoxie v. Free State, 7 p.m.

FSHS had a chance to tie with 10 seconds left when its top scorer, Lauren Wright, launched a three-pointer from the baseline. Wright's shot was short.

"You have to shoot with confidence and it just didn't go in," said Wright, who had a team-high eight points.

With 4:46 left the second quarter, Wright's three-pointer fueled a 10-2 run that gave the Firebirds a 21-18 halftime advantage. Free State didn't trail again until 2:58 remained in the fourth quarter, when Whitaker's basket inside the lane provided the Eagles with a 33-32 lead.

"We didn't play well the whole night," said O-North coach Elizabeth Rulon, whose Eagles have won five in a row and started Free State's skid with a win over the Firebirds on Jan. 4. "Give credit to Lawrence Free State. Their intensity level was where ours should have been. We were not ready for tonight's game mentally and physically."

Olathe North's Tamara Whitaker collects a loose ball at the feet of Free State's Lauren Wright. O-North beat the Firebirds, 38-35, on Thursday at FSHS.

Senior Kara DeNoon chipped in 14 points for the Eagles. Whitaker and DeNoon accounted for 34 of O-North's 38 points.

The Firebirds, who haven't won since beating Lawrence High on Dec. 20, shot 40.5 percent from the field (15-for-37) and committed 20 turnovers.

"We really stood around a lot against their zone, which was kind of disappointing," Hershiser said. "They extended a little bit and we didn't take advantage of that in terms of penetrating in any gaps or finding some post entries that were available to us. I guess maybe that's my fault for not working enough against a zone in practice."

Jayme Lisher scored seven points for the Firebirds and Stacie Garland added six.

Free State's five-game skid is its longest since the Firebirds' inaugural season in 1997-98 when FSHS finished 0-21.

"We're hanging in there," Wright said. "We played very well, but we just didn't hang on at the very end."

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