Bonner Springs ? One more win and Free State High’s girls will defend their Metro Prep Classic basketball tourney championship.

It looks like the Firebirds will be one player short, however.

With 10 minutes remaining in Friday night’s 48-36 semifinal victory over Topeka Seaman, senior Jenna Brantley rolled an ankle and didn’t return.

“It’s probably a no-way,” Free State coach Bryan Duncan said about Brantley’s status for today’s 4:30 p.m. title clash against Junction City. “This early in the season, we’re not going to take any risks.”

The 5-foot-10 Brantley had to leave with exactly two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Up to that point, she had 10 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals.

The Firebirds led, 40-28, at the time, then finished the third period with a comfortable 43-30 bulge. But the Vikings slapped on a press in the fourth quarter, and the Firebirds struggled.

“We got a little too passive,” Duncan said. “I told them to hang on instead of attack, and we were passive doing it.”

Free State managed only five points in the last period, and all five were at the free-throw line. In effect, the only reason the Firebirds were able to hang on was because Seaman bricked 11 of its 12 shots in the last eight minutes.

With Free State missing all seven of its shots and Seaman going 1-12, the two teams were a combined 1-for-19 from the field during the final quarter.

“I think we were a little tired,” said senior Lauren Kimball, who led the Firebirds with 15 points but failed to score in the fourth quarter.

Kimball used most of her energy in the fourth quarter to bring the ball down court and she admitted she missed Brantley.

“Jenna definitely helps because she’s one of our best ball-handlers,” Kimball said. “The fourth quarter was a little hectic, but the first three quarters let us get up.”

Free State (3-0) took command with a 10-0 run late in the second quarter to post a 25-16 halftime lead after nursing a 12-10 advantage at the end of the first period.

Seaman shot miserably (10 of 41) and, curiously, only two Vikings – Aubree Gustin and Casey Hughes – recorded field goals, and each had five.

“It was a strange game,” Duncan said.

Sarah Craft, who came off the bench to score nine points, will move into a starting role today if Brantley is unable to play.

“It was tough in the fourth quarter because Jenna is such a tremendous ball-handler,” said Craft, a 5-9 junior, “but we’re a team and we can step up and play different roles.”

Ball-handling will be at a premium when the Firebirds meet Junction City, a team that presses all the time. The Bluejays blasted host Bonner Springs, 41-25, in Friday’s other semifinal by forcing turnover after turnover.

Duncan spent most of the post-game debriefing telling his players that injuries are part of the game and no one is really indispensable.

“We told them we don’t really have one or two people we have to have,” Duncan said. “We’ll see tomorrow.”

This is the third year of the Metro Prep Classic and Free State and Junction City, the only Class 6A teams in the eight-team field, have collided in the championship game every time. The Bluejays won in 2004, but the Firebirds prevailed last season.