Olathe ? During the two-week holiday break, Christian Ballard noticed a lack of communication among the Free State High boys basketball team.

“People were doing their own thing, so I decided to call a meeting,” the senior center said. “The seniors and I talked to the rest of the team. It built team unity, which we desperately needed. We’re trying to build a brotherhood here.”

It’s safe to say the Firebirds responded to the meeting. Free State hit its first 13 field goals in a 78-59 victory at Olathe North on Friday night.

“The key to the whole game tonight was us sharing the basketball,” Free State coach Chuck Law said. “That was the first time in the seven games we’ve played this year that we actually played as a team. We passed the ball like we haven’t passed the ball all year.”

Prime example: With less than 15 seconds left in the first quarter, Ballard intercepted an Olathe North pass on the sideline, dove out of bounds and saved the ball to junior guard Kris Wilson near midcourt. Wilson fed the ball back to a streaking Ballard, who continued his out-of-bounds momentum down the left side. Ballard made a brilliant touch pass to junior forward Craig Rosenstengle, who finished a layup as time expired. Free State made three hot-potato passes in a span of roughly five seconds.

“That’s why you go 13-for-13,” Law said. “You don’t do that making one-on-one moves. You do that by sharing the basketball.”

The Firebirds didn’t miss a field goal in the entire first quarter. Their first missed shot came off a Ballard jump-shot attempt with 5:45 left in the second quarter.

Free State led, 25-13, after the first quarter, and 49-27 at halftime. At the midway point, Free State (4-3) shot 20-of-26 (nearly 77 percent) from the field.

Sharing the ball had other advantages, too. Four Free State players – Ballard, Rosenstengle, junior forward Weston Wiebe, and senior guard Kyle Schreiner – scored in double figures.

Wiebe led all scores with 20. Many of his buckets were a result of the Firebirds breaking the Eagles’ full-court press. Olathe North (3-4) pressed virtually the entire night.

Free State stayed away from the sidelines and routinely found guards – mainly Wilson and Schreiner – in the middle of the court. The Firebirds broke the press with ease and found post players – mainly Wiebe and Ballard – for layups.

“If we get that press break, it’s layups all day,” Wiebe said. “For the first three minutes of practice every day, we work on breaking the press.”

Friday night also represented a breakout performance from Rosenstengle, who contributed 10 points off the bench. No more than a minute after he entered the game, Rosenstengle hit a layup and a 15-foot jump shot from the left corner on back-to-back possessions. He also came up with a steal in the Firebirds’ full-court trap and found an open Wilson for a layup and the foul.

“I think he’s finally starting to understand being a role player on the basketball team versus being the man on the football team, which is a difficult transition for people,” Law said of the standout wide receiver. “Craig’s been in a little bit of a funk. I think he’s finally starting to get his legs under him.”

Free State girls 68, Olathe North 37

Free State’s power trio of seniors Lauren Kimball, Jenna Brantley and Kelsey Harrison typically produces the majority of the team’s points. On Friday night, the Firebirds (6-1) had a different trio light up the scoreboard.

Harrison (18 points), senior guard Allie Hock (11), and junior forward Sarah Craft (10) led Free State in the rout.

“I think that’s going to be great for later in the season,” Craft said. “We have six or seven kids who can score in double figures.”

Craft was one of the most versatile players on the floor. Most of her points came in the paint against outmatched Olathe North (0-6). But Craft handled the ball along the perimeter and even drained one of Free State’s six three-pointers.

But it was Harrison who stole the show. The senior forward simply dominated Eagles post players. She had considerably more height and more speed than the opposition. Harrison registered a double-double, pulling down 10 boards to go along with her 18 points.

“The tallest player they had was 5-8,” said Harrison, who stands 5-11. “We knew we needed to utilize that in the post. I was going to post up and take advantage of it. My guards were good enough and got the ball inside.”

Olathe North’s only lead of the night was 1-0. Free State went on a 17-0 run and blew the game open.

“We challenged our girls to bring some enthusiasm to the game early,” Free State coach Bryan Duncan said. “We didn’t want to allow them to hang around and stay in the game through the first and second quarter. We shared the ball and moved the ball very well, and that’s what allowed several people to get in the scoring.”