Bonner Springs ? Free State High’s girls basketball team ran out of time Saturday in the finals of the Bonner Springs Invitational. Junction City hit a basket with 1.3 seconds left and escaped with a 46-44 victory.

Free State (2-2) scored just 16 points in the first half, but the Firebirds rallied and tied the game at 44 on Jenna Brantley’s shot in the lane with 40 seconds left.

“We didn’t make shots that we’d been hitting in the first half, but we hung in there and kept playing,” FSHS coach Bryan Duncan said. “We fought all the way back and tied it. It showed a lot of guts by our kids.”

After Junction City reclaimed the lead, Jamie Stanclift threw the ball the length of the court to Brantley, whose contested shot at the buzzer went in-and-out.

After suffering a 74-36 loss in the season opener at Washburn Rural, Free State bounced back with victories over Lansing and Topeka Seaman at Bonner.

“This three-day event was big for us confidence-wise,” Duncan said. “We were very pleased. It’s the first time Free State’s girls have played in a championship game. We certainly would have like to have won, but we were proud of our efforts.”

Brantley, Tricia Dunham and Stanclift were named to the all-tournament team. Stanclift, who led all players with 20 points, also was named the tournament’s defensive MVP.

The Firebirds will meet city rival Lawrence High at 5:30 p.m. Friday at LHS.