Free State girls get revenge on Vikings

Free State forward Hannah Walter (15) hypes the Firebirds for their game against Shawnee Mission West on Tuesday night at FSHS.

It took 354 days and two overtimes, but Free State High’s girls basketball players on Tuesday finally found revenge against Shawnee Mission West.

Playing for the first time since the Vikings ended Free State’s season last year in the sub-state title game, the Firebirds made sure history didn’t repeat itself in a 77-64, double-overtime victory at FSHS.

Trailing by one point with 20 seconds left in regulation, Free State sophomore point guard Cameryn Thomas was fouled on a drive to the rim, going to the free-throw line with a chance to tie. Last season, Thomas missed two free throws in the final minute when the Firebirds trailed by two.

“That’s all I thought about,” Thomas said after she went 1-of-2 at the line to send the game into overtime. “I wanted to prove everyone wrong.”

The Firebirds led for most of the first overtime when Thomas scored on a driving layup, and junior wing Madison Piper drilled a jumper at the free-throw line. But the Vikings (10-9, 6-4 in the Sunflower League) continued to feed the ball to their star junior forward, Kenzie Loe, the league’s leading scorer. Loe, who had 23 points and nine rebounds, scored all five points for SM West in the first overtime, including a game-tying, buzzer-beating layup.

A minute into the second overtime, the Vikings led, 64-60, before the Firebirds stepped up with their defense. The Vikings were called for an offensive foul and a technical foul for slamming the ball afterward. Free State followed with a 17-0 run for the final three minutes, forcing four straight turnovers.

The Firebirds (13-6, 6-4) took the lead for good when senior Hannah Walter found junior Jaycie Bishop in the right corner, and Bishop swished a three-pointer. From there, the Firebirds made 12 of their last 14 free throws, and five SM West players fouled out.

“At halftime, I know we were saying — we don’t like to lie out there — ‘We need to remember what happened last year and bring that fire on the court,'” said Piper, who guarded Loe and led the Firebirds with 27 points and 15 rebounds.

Facing SM West’s 1-2-2 zone, the Firebirds found their offensive rhythm in the second half. Piper scored seven straight points in the final three minutes of the third quarter, and Bishop added a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the top of the arc.

“She just had this look in her eyes,” Piper said of Bishop, who had 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting. “She was great out there.”

The schools traded leads four times in the fourth quarter. In the final two minutes, Bishop drained a baseline jumper to tie the game at 53, and senior forward Peyton Brown, who had 11 points and five rebounds, gave the Firebirds a one-point lead with a free throw.

But the Vikings went inside to Loe for a layup and 55-54 advantage before Thomas knocked down the game-tying free throw.

For the Firebirds, it finally ended a stretch of close losses and tossed away any bad memories from last season. In five of their six losses this year, the Firebirds were within four points in the fourth quarter.

“It’s so big for us because it gives us the motivation like, ‘Yes, we can win these games and we can do it,'” Piper said. “I think that will push us forward for sub-state.”

SHAWNEE MISSION WEST (64)

Addie Arner 2-9 2-4 7, Emma Van Donselaar 4-6 5-8 13, Alyx Kemp 4-9 0-0 8, Elena Artis 3-8 0-0 6, Kenzie Loe 9-14 5-8 23, Emma Beason 1-2 0-0 3, Jheda Kennedy 0-6 4-4 4, Ayiana Uhde 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Biehl 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Henrie 0-0 0-0 0, Macie Lee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 16-24 64.

FREE STATE (77)

Cameryn Thomas 3-7 8-12 14, Caiti Schlesener 3-9 3-7 10, Madison Piper 6-15 12-12 27, Hannah Walter 1-3 0-0 2, Peyton Brown 2-6 7-12 11, Jaycie Bishop 4-5 2-2 13, Jaelyn Two Hearts 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 32-45 77.

SM West 13 14 13 15 5 4 — 64

Free State 7 16 16 16 5 17 — 77

Three-point goals: SM West 2-9 (Arner, Beason); Free State 7-23 (Piper 3, Bishop 3, Schlesener). Fouled out: Van Donselaar, Kemp, Artis, Loe, Kennedy, Brown. Turnovers: SM West 21, Free State 15.