Shawnee Mission East's Christina Davis, left, goes for a block against Free State junior Ashleigh Allam. The Firebirds lost, 43-36, Friday in Prairie Village.

Prairie Village ? Although its up-and-down season stayed true to form – win-loss-win-loss, etc. – the Free State girls basketball team turned a corner Friday night.

“Tonight we figured it out,” Free State coach Bryan Duncan said after his team’s 43-36 loss to unbeaten Shawnee Mission East. “Tonight we got a little angry and figured out how to play.”

Without senior guard Sarah Craft, who injured her knee one minute into the first quarter, the Firebirds struggled against the Shawnee Mission East pressure. Sloppy ball-handling on one end turned into easy buckets on the other, and the Lancers built a 13-point first-half lead.

After a spirited halftime message from Duncan, who was animated on the sideline all night, Free State flexed its muscles and climbed back into the game.

“We know what we can do,” junior Ashleigh Allam said. “We know we could have beaten that team. At halftime, we pumped each other up, and in the second half we really pulled it together.”

Allam, along with sophomore Ashli Hill, both finished the night with 10 rebounds, and Hill added 10 points, while Allam chipped in eight.

The effort from two of its newcomers was huge for the inexperienced Firebirds, who were forced to play with junior Taylor Manning saddled with foul trouble all night.

“Our goal was to come here and win,” said Hill. “So we are a little disappointed, but our intensity and aggressiveness was so good in the second half. It felt good to play like that.”

It also nearly led to victory.

After playing the Lancers’ game in the first half, Free State played its game in the second, using size, poise and smart play to dictate the pace. SM East scored just four points in the third quarter and was held to four points in the fourth until three free throws in the final 10 seconds turned a four-point game into a seven-point victory.

“I was a little fired up on the sideline, but I did that because I thought it would motivate our girls, and it did,” Duncan said. “The best thing was it wasn’t a false response from them. They played hard, and they played well enough to win that game.”

The loss dropped Free State to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in league play. SME improved to 7-0.

The Firebirds will travel Thursday to Olathe South.