TOPEKA — As Erin Cushing walked back to the bench following the pregame anthem, her eyes were already red. The lone Free State senior wiped away the tears from both sides of her face and took a deep breath.

She took her seat. Moments later she was introduced — for the final time with the girls’ basketball team.

“I’ve been kind of looking forward to this day a little bit, as like, to be done and to be happy,” Cushing said, choking up between words. “But I mean, it’s just, it’s really sad. I don’t even know.”

The Firebirds fell to Washburn Rural, 65-42, in the first round of sub-state, marking the end of their 2017-18 campaign.

Of all the teary-eyed moments that came with Tuesday, perhaps the most meaningful to Cushing, the team’s only senior, came after the final buzzer. After a quiet locker room — “There was not a lot of talking at the end of that,” Cushing said — the senior returned to the floor and hugged her mother, Chris.

The two broke down into tears. The day was part celebration, but it also marked a bitter end.

“She’s been (playing sports) since she was 3,” said Chris Cushing. “She doesn’t know how not to go to practice.”

For at least one of her three sports, there won’t be any more of them.

The Firebirds (5-16) jumped on Washburn Rural early. Haley Hippe (8 points) and Shannon Clarke each tabbed 4 first-quarter points. Cushing added three rebounds and an assist, as the Firebirds took a 12-5 lead.

But over the ensuing moments, things swung in the opposite direction. The Firebirds were outscored, 24-5, in a stretch that began in the first quarter and extended into the second. They allowed 29 points in the second quarter, allowing their opponent to dictate the pace up and down the floor. Washburn Rural had already made seven 3-pointers by the time the halftime buzzer sounded.

“It’s hard, I think, to try to explain how a team can go out and execute and do things so well one night, come back the next night and act like they haven’t done anything,” said Free State coach Ted Juneau. “But that’s what happens when you’re young. They start pressing a little bit. They want to please and do what they can, instead of being relaxed and free and easy.”

Any chance of the Firebirds getting back into the game was done shortly after. Clarke (10 for 10 on free throws) finished with 17 points and CK Kesten added a well-rounded six rebounds and four assists. But the Firebirds, who had won three of their last four contests, were held to just 5 points in the third quarter.

Down by 23 entering her final eight minutes of basketball, Cushing took control of the huddle.

“This is about to be the hardest quarter of your life,” Cushing said. “And if you can’t play like that, then you better get out, because I’m going to play the hardest. And I need teammates that are going to support me.”

The Firebirds played Washburn Rural (17-4) even over the final eight minutes, tying the quarter 13-13.

Cushing started the period on the bench — “I looked down and was like, I’m wearing this jersey for the last time,” she recalled — but soon checked into the game, smiling with teammate Sam Lawrence (8 points) as she pointed out, “This is my last time checking in.”

In a period that saw both teams empty their benches, there was never a letup from Free State. The Firebirds forced five turnovers in the final quarter and scrapped for loose balls until the final moments.

“(Cushing) exemplified that. I just couldn’t be any prouder of her,” Juneau said. “She was the glue that kind of kept things together with the young kids. … There’s a lot of intangibles that she has and that she brings to a team. Hopefully, our kids will continue to understand that as they get older. They’ll look back and say, ‘Hey, Erin showed me how to do this.'”

Free State (42)

Sam Lawrence 3-8 0-0 8, Caely Kesten 1-8 1-2 3, Shannon Clarke 3-8 10-10 17, Haley Hippe 4-6 0-0 8, Erin Cushing 1-2 0-0 2, Mayela Edwards 1-1 2-2 4, Liliana Keathley 0-1 0-0 0, Joy Nunoo 0-1 0-0 0, Lauryn Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Erin McClorey 0-1 0-0 0, Brooke Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Rose Pilakowski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-37 13-14 42.

Washburn Rural (65)

Baylie Sigmund 0-2 0-0 0, Sydney Houser 1-4 0-0 2, Carly Bachelor 5-8 3-4 14, Kendall Michalski 6-13 0-0 17, Britt Woolington 0-5 0-0 0, Kasey Hamilton 6-8 2-2 16, Shelby Ebert 2-4 0-0 4, Riley Bagshaw 3-3 0-2 6, Taylor Brunton 0-0 0-0 0, Lakhota Conklin 1-1 0-0 3, Snigddha 1-1 0-0 3, Shelbey Wichman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-49 5-8 65.

Free State 12 12 5 13 — 42

Washburn Rural 10 29 13 13 — 65

Three-point goals: Free State 3-12 (Lawrence 2, Clarke 1); Washburn Rural 10-24 (Michalski 5, Hamilton 2, Bachelor, Conklin, Snigddha, 1). Fouled out: none. Turnovers: Free State 20, Washburn Rural 15.