Free State High’s girls basketball players proved Friday that they aren’t going anywhere, despite a season-ending injury to their leading scorer.

Madison Piper, a two-time Sunflower League player of the year, is expected to miss the remainder of the year with a broken left ankle.

Without her, the Firebirds played well on both ends of the court in a 48-39 victory over second-ranked Olathe South at FSHS, handing the Falcons their first loss in league play.

“I think they are on a mission,” Free State coach Ted Juneau said. “They miss Madison, no doubt about it, but hey, one down, who’s next? That’s their attitude and it’s been great.”

The Firebirds (10-6, 4-3 in league) took a 10-point lead in the third quarter when junior guard Jaelyn Two Hearts scored 10 straight points in a 12-3 run.

Two Hearts, who scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting, found her rhythm with a layup, assisted by freshman point guard Caely Kesten. Then she drained back-to-back 3-pointers on assists from senior Jaycie Bishop.

“Them being tight on me, I was getting a little frustrated,” said Two Hearts, who scored 17 points in the second half. “I was like, if I’m going to shoot it, I know nothing good will come out of it because nothing was there. Third quarter, I was just feeling a bit more myself.”

When Piper went down with an injury during a loss to Shawnee Mission Northwest last week, Juneau stressed to the Firebirds that they needed to focus on making up Piper’s rebounding and post defense — not her scoring.

Practicing against assistant coach Kimberli Schofield, who played volleyball at BYU, the Firebirds were prepared for Olathe South’s distinct height advantage with the 5-foot-7 Two Hearts and 5-7 junior Cameryn Thomas denying passes in the low post.

Freshman 5-11 forward Haley Hippe added eight points, including a four-point spark off the bench in the second quarter on isolation plays.

“I still want to play scrappy,” said Thomas, who completed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. “It’s definitely different. I’ve never played post defense before. I liked it, but I definitely still want to play scrappy and play as hard as I can.”

Olathe South (12-2, 6-1) closed its deficit to five points midway through the fourth quarter, but the Firebirds made enough free throws down the stretch and forced the Falcons to settle for 3-point attempts in the final minutes.

The Falcons shot 26 percent from the floor.

“Did not wilt. Did not panic,” Juneau said. “That’s what I was really proud of because they are a very good basketball team. We didn’t back down at all. That really feels good.”

The Firebirds will travel to Shawnee Mission South at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

OLATHE SOUTH (39)

Kaiti Butaud 5-11 0-0 14, Makayla Gooch 4-12 3-4 11, Kara Griswold 0-2 1-2 1, DejaNae Roebuck 0-3 4-4 4, Lindsey Bartels 1-4 1-2 3, Dani Winslow 1-6 3-4 6, Caroline Harshbarger 0-4 0-0 0, Sophie Reed 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-43 12-16 39.

FREE STATE (48)

Sam Lawrence 1-6 1-2 3, Cameryn Thomas 4-8 2-5 10, Jaycie Bishop 0-2 0-0 0, Caely Kesten 2-4 3-4 7, Jaelyn Two Hearts 6-7 5-6 20, Erin Cushing 0-3 0-0 0, Haley Hippe 3-4 2-5 8. Totals 16-34 13-22 48.

O-South 10 5 11 13 — 39

Free State 8 9 16 15 — 48

Three-point goals: Olathe South 5-20 (Butaud 4, Winslow); Free State 3-9 (Two Hearts 3). Turnovers: Olathe South 14, Free State 19.