Lawrence Free State senior Jaycie Bishop (12) launches a 3-point basket in the Firebirds 6A sub-state game against Topeka High at FSHS Thursday night.

Facing a 10-point halftime deficit Thursday in the first round of sub-state, Free State’s girls basketball players didn’t panic when they walked into the locker room.

Free State coach Ted Juneau told players they didn’t need to worry about the scoreboard. Injured senior Madison Piper reminded them that it was a win-or-go-home game, so leave everything out on the court.

The Firebirds took the message to heart. They responded with air-tight, dominant defense. Plus shots started dropping and they earned a 56-48 victory over Topeka at FSHS, advancing to Saturday’s sub-state championship game against Manhattan.

“If our heads are in it, then we can stop just about anyone,” FSHS senior guard Jaycie Bishop said.

Opting for a full-court press in the second half, the Firebirds surrounded Topeka ball-handlers like they were an angry wasp’s nest. Everywhere the Trojans turned, there was somebody in their face to poke the ball away.

Free State opened the second half with a 9-0 run in the first 80 seconds.

That included forcing turnovers on Topeka’s first five possessions — most before the Trojans (9-12) crossed mid-court — resulting in 3-pointers from Bishop and junior Jaelyn Two Hearts. Freshman point guard Caely Kesten, who scored a team-high 14 points, added an old-fashioned three-point play.

A little more than three minutes after trailing by double digits, Kesten scored on a layup for a lead the Firebirds (13-8) would never give up. That was in the middle of their 24-3 run through the first five minutes of the third quarter.

“I wanted to get in full-court pressure and get after them,” Juneau said after his team forced 23 turnovers, including 12 in the third quarter. “We were able to do that. The kids really played with some spirit. I was real proud of their effort in the second half especially.”

Bishop, a lefty sharpshooter, said she was on fire in the last few days of practice — “I couldn’t miss,” she said. After some early shots that clanked off the rim, she regained her confidence with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer heading into halftime.

The senior leader set the tone out in the third quarter by making a couple of shots, intercepting two inbounds passes and taking a charge. Bishop finished with 11 points and four steals.

“I just remember previous games when we’ve been losing and we came back and we won,” Bishop said. “I never really lost hope in our team. I just knew if we focused and held our ground, I knew we’d win.”

In the fourth quarter, the Firebirds went scoreless for a near five-minute window — which included four straight missed free throws — but never let Topeka climb closer than six points because of their strong defense.

The 5-foot-7 junior Cameryn Thomas, who spent most of the game guarding Topeka’s 6-2 center and leading scorer Erica Birch (16 points), had 13 points and five rebounds.

Free State will travel to top-seeded Manhattan (20-1) for the sub-state title game at 6 p.m. Saturday.

TOPEKA (48)

Ke’Shawn Wright 2-3 0-0 4, Ryle Burris 3-11 0-0 7, Corieann Emanuel 2-8 1-3 5, Jaryn Benning 2-4 2-3 6, Erica Birch 8-8 0-0 16, Asha Solis 0-0 0-0 0, Laryn Murry 1-2 1-2 3, Kalyn Sales 1-2 0-0 2, Kyia McWilliams 0-1 0-0 0, Jasmine Wheeler 2-3 0-0 5, Morgan Carranza 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-44 4-8 48.

FREE STATE (56)

Sam Lawrence 2-9 0-0 7, Cameryn Thomas 6-9 1-3 13, Jaycie Bishop 4-11 0-1 11, Caely Kesten 4-8 6-6 14, Jaelyn Two Hearts 2-10 0-2 6, Haley Hippe 1-4 1-2 3, Erin Cushing 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-52 10-20 56.

Topeka 9 25 5 9 — 48

Free State 14 10 24 8 — 56

3-point goals: Topeka 2-11 (Burris, Wheeler); Free State 6-19 (Bishop 3, Two Hearts 2, Lawrence). Fouled out: Wright. Turnovers: Topeka 23, Free State 11.