After the second quarter of last week’s game against Topeka High, it became clear: the Free State High girls basketball team can play defense.

That might actually be an understatement. Free State gave up only two points in the second quarter of last week’s 20-point victory. For tonight’s 6 p.m. crosstown clash against Lawrence High, expect the same defensive mindset from coach Bryan Duncan’s team.

“You have to play defense like you’ve never played before,” Free State senior guard Allie Hock said. “You have to tell yourself, ‘This is the Lawrence High game and I really have to step it up. I have to play my best game because they’re going to be gunnin’ for us.'”

Duncan said he stressed defense all week leading up to the game.

“In practice yesterday, we went for well over two hours,” Duncan said about Monday. “The whole thing was stressing defense.”

Last week, Free State (4-1) forced 19 Topeka turnovers. Many of those occurred in the second quarter from a full-court press in which Free State defenders had active hands on defense.

“Most of our offense is created from defense,” Duncan said. “On offense, we don’t run a whole lot. We say, ‘If you get the ball, go score.’ But defense is ultimately what we expect to win games for us.”

Across town, Lawrence High (2-2) is coming off a 65-59 home loss to Shawnee Mission Northwest in its first Sunflower League game of the season.

“We’ve definitely been working on our press break,” Lawrence senior guard Katelyn Hobbs said. “I think that’s the main thing. If we can break the press, I think we’ll be O.K. because that’s really what killed us those last two games.”

Last season, Lawrence won the first game in the Jungle, 47-39. The Firebirds responded to win the final game of the regular season, 50-31. The two teams met again in a Class 6A Sub-State game, which saw the Firebirds win, 46-29.

When asked what first came to mind when she thought of Free State, LHS coach Kristen Mallory was quick to respond.

“When you face Free State, you have to acknowledge their press,” Mallory said. “I think every team in the Sunflower League would give you the same answer.”

Another interesting aspect of tonight’s game should be tempo. Mallory said taking care of the ball would be one of the biggest keys to an LHS victory, based upon Free State’s attempts of manipulating a fast-paced game.

“They take you out of the tempo that you want to play in,” Mallory said of Free State. “For us, that’s going to be the biggest change. They don’t really allow you to get in your halfcourt sets and run the types of things you want to run. They make you run a fullcourt game.”

As for Duncan, he said one of the top priorities for Free State would be trying to stop LHS standouts Danielle and Taylor Bird. Taylor Bird is coming off a 21-point performance against Shawnee Mission Northwest, where she drained three three-pointers.

This season, Free State has more experience, returning five seniors. The Firebirds will start four – Hock, Lauren Kimball, Kelsey Harrison and Jessica Scott – tonight. Junior forward Sarah Craft will also likely start.

Lawrence High will start two seniors, Hobbs and Sydnei Tolefree, along with two sophomores, Taylor Bird and Tania Jackson. Junior guard Danielle Bird will round out the Lions’ starting lineup.

Despite the Firebirds’ advantage in experience, Hock wasn’t about to take anything for granted.

“You can never expect to beat anybody, especially Lawrence High,” Hock said. “You never know who’s going to have the hot hand or who will somehow be cold that night. You can’t expect anything.”