Free State's Caely Kesten (13) gets around a Shawnee Mission West player to pass to her teammate Erin Cushing (22) during the Firebirds' home game on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. Free State won, 47-38.

With about three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter Friday, Free State girls basketball coach Ted Juneau told his team in the huddle: “This is how championship games are.”

Battling back from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter, the Firebirds passed their final test before the start of the postseason with a 47-38 victory over Shawnee Mission West on Senior Night at FSHS.

The Firebirds took their first lead since the first quarter when junior guard Mayela Edwards made a shot with 5:12 remaining. On the next offensive possession, Edwards dished a pass to junior Sam Lawrence for a 3-pointer and Free State never trailed again.

With a firm lead and 11 seconds remaining, Juneau subbed out the team’s lone senior, Erin Cushing, to a big applause from the crowd. The student section followed with a “Thank you, Erin” chant.

“This year she had to step up,” Juneau said of Cushing, who made a 3-pointer at the start of the third quarter. “Not only start but really do some things and mentor our kids to really let them know how important playing basketball here is. I was real proud of her efforts. She means a lot to me and I know to her teammates as well.”

Playing almost exclusively in a 2-3 zone, the Firebirds (5-15, 5-8 in Sunflower League) focused on defensive rebounding and forcing the Vikings (12-8, 8-5) into shots from long range. SM West shot 23 percent from the 3-point arc while Free State forwards Shannon Clarke and Haley Hippe attacked the glass.

Clarke, who finished with a game-high 16 points and 13 rebounds, scored six points in the fourth quarter on passes from Hippe and Lawrence. Hippe added 11 points and seven boards.

“We got some momentum rolling on offense so that transitioned to our defense,” Clarke said. “It was awesome. That was probably the most (fans) we’ve had all year.”

An encouraging sign for the Firebirds’ offense was their interior passing. Sophomore point guard CK Kesten (six points, three assists) continued to find lanes to drive and then it turned into a game of finding the open shooter.

That was Hippe in the third quarter when she scored five points on back-to-back possessions. Clarke drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter.

When the Vikings defended the paint in the fourth quarter, Lawrence drilled a pair of triples.

“I thought offensively we played with some purpose and some understanding of where we needed to go,” Juneau said. “We made some good interior passes and then made free throws. That’s what it comes down to.”

Shawnee Mission West (38)

Jheda Kennedy 2-6 0-0 6, Kayla Henrie 0-0 5-6 5, Ashlyn Henrie 1-7 0-0 2, Kierra Prim 3-9 0-1 6, Megan Biehl 2-9 2-2 8, Aiden Moxness 0-0 0-0 0, Jasmine Patterson 2-9 0-1 5, Macie Lee 2-8 1-2 6, CC Carter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-48 8-13 38.

Free State (47)

Sam Lawrence 2-7 0-0 6, Caely Kesten 1-6 4-4 6, Shannon Clarke 7-11 1-3 16, Haley Hippe 4-8 3-3 11, Erin Cushing 1-1 1-2 4, Mayela Edwards 2-5 0-0 4, Liliana Keathley 0-0 0-0 0, Joy Nunoo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-38 9-12 47.

SM West 11 12 8 7 — 38

Free State 10 7 13 17 — 47

3-point goals: SM West 6-26 (Kennedy 2, Biehl 2, Patterson, Lee); Free State 4-9 (Lawrence 2, Clarke, Cushing). Fouled out: Hippe. Turnovers: SM West 10, Free State 14.