It would have been tough for a full Free State High girls swimming squad to beat Shawnee Mission East.

So facing SM East without key swimmers made a victory almost impossible.

Because of the state music festival and a flu bug that has plagued the team all season, Free State had only 16 swimmers Thursday compared to SM East’s 50. The Firebirds did what they could, but fell, 101-81, to the Lancers at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center.

“I thought we competed well, especially because we were missing so many people,” Firebirds coach Jama Crady said. “We knew it was going to be tough, because they could beat us on sheer numbers alone.”

Teams win points based on how their swimmers finish each race, with first place earning six points on down to fifth place earning one. SM East scored more points in almost every event – even if they didn’t win – because they had more swimmers.

“Even if you win an event, but they finish in second, third, and fourth, they are going beat you point-wise,” Free State’s Becca Glass said. “I was really happy with how we performed considering the obstacle that was in front of us.”

The team also battled fatigue caused by a rough schedule the past few days. After a meet Tuesday, the Firebirds had a hard practice Wednesday afternoon then practiced at 5:15 a.m. Thursday.

Despite the fatigue, some Free State swimmers still put up good performances. Glass won the 200-yard freestyle and the 500 free, then teamed with Sarah Clark, Kelsi Mishler and Ashley Robinson to win the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay.

Robinson also won the 200 IM and the 100 fly.

Mishler missed qualifying for the state tournament by two hundredths of a second in the 100 free, but Clark qualified for state in the 100 free and the 200 free.

“I thought we swam pretty well,” Crady said. “It was a long day for them, so for them to get up and swim well … it says a lot about them.”