There’s more than pride on the line tonight when the Lawrence High boys and girls basketball teams play host to crosstown rival Free State in the regular season finale for all four teams.

A lot more.

Let’s start with the girls game, which tips off at 5:30 in the Jungle. The Firebirds (10-9) will take the floor hoping to end a three-game losing streak versus the Lions (9-10). The last time a Free State girls team knocked off LHS was in 2007, when the two met for the right to advance to the state tournament. Free State — led by seniors Jenna Brantley, Lauren Kimball and Kelsey Harrison — won that game and went on to finish third in Emporia.

Since then it’s been all Lions, with LHS winning both match-ups last year and coming from behind to win the first meeting this season, 39-37, back on Dec. 20.

Things have changed quite a bit for both teams since then — Free State junior Chantay Caron has taken over point guard duties, Lawrence High junior Cassie Potter has returned from injury — and both have won their share of big games along the way.

The fact that they’ll likely match-up next week in the opening round of sub-state makes this game a little different than most. Expect to see simpler gameplans from both teams, as they’ll be saving the good stuff for the game that really counts next Thursday.

This one counts plenty, though. The winner earns the right to host that sub-state contest.

Here’s a look at the keys for both teams:

For Free State

* Pace Pays — The Firebirds don’t want to get into a track meet tonight, not against Lawrence High’s terrific crop of guards. Free State will be best served by slowing things down and doing its best to control the tempo of the game.

* Caron The X-Factor — The last time these two met, Free State was still struggling to find its identity. Not so this time around. The Firebirds know exactly what kind of team they are and they know that their success — particularly offensively — is tied to how junior Chantay Caron performs. Caron has scored a combined 60 points in the Firebirds’ last two games. If she’s on tonight, Free State’s chances increase dramatically.

* Block Party — Junior Ashli Hill is an enforcer in the paint. The 6-foot-5 center alters shots simply by standing straight up and forcing others to shoot around her. She’ll get her share of blocks, too, but she must stay out of foul trouble for the Firebirds to have a chance.

For Lawrence High

* Take Good Shots — In the first meeting between these two, Free State built an early lead by forcing the Lions into bad shots. LHS came out of the gates in a hurry to blow the Firebirds out. It never happened. They shot a miserable percentage in the first half and trailed at the break. In the second half, the Lions calmed down, worked for better shots and scored the comeback win. If they start tonight’s game the way they finished the first meeting, they’ll be tough to beat.

* Limit Turnovers — In a game like this, against a team that will likely be trying to slow the tempo, possessions are key and cannot be given away. Last time out, the Lions turned the ball over all too often in a road loss at Shawnee Mission North. Look for Haley Parker and Cassie Potter to take better care of the ball tonight.

* Smother The Firebirds — If the Lions allow Hill or Caron to get the ball down low, they’ll have a hard time stopping them. Therefore, the best defense against that is to limit their touches. Playing a full-court man-to-man press or picking up the Free State guards as soon as they cross halfcourt will make it that much tougher for Hill and Caron to dominate in the paint.

Now let’s move on to the boys game, which will tip off 20 minutes after the end of the girls game, around 7 p.m.

This one features Free State (1-18) looking to break an 18-game losing streak against Lawrence High (11-8), winners of five straight.

On paper, it looks like a bit of a mismatch as the Lions have the edge in talent, experience, depth and confidence. But all four of those things were perceived advantages for the Lions in December, too, and they nearly lost that game. Bailed out by a Dorian Green three-pointer with less than 10 seconds to play, the Lions sent the game to overtime, where they dominated the extra frame, outscoring FSHS 11-1 to take a 74-64 victory.

The sub-state seeds for both teams are pretty much locked up. The Lions look like the 3-seed and will host a first-round game. Free State will be the No. 8 seed and will hit the road to take on the top seed in next week’s opening round. That makes this one about nothing more than pride.

For Free State, the chance to snap their losing skid by beating their crosstown rival in their gym is almost worth more than one game. It’s worth a season. Even though a win would only improve the Firebirds to 2-18, it would make them feel like a winning team, something they have not experienced since the opening game of the season in early December.

For the Lions, it’s Senior Night for a six LHS players, marking the last regular season game any of them will ever play in the Jungle. I can’t imagine going out with a loss is the way they envision it ending.

The Firebirds will be without starting point guard — and team MVP — Nick Hassig, who will be sidelined with mono. They’ll also be without senior guard Sean Brown, who was dismissed from the team earlier this week. That opens the door for a handful of JV players — Evan Manning, Bo Schneider and Ryan Scott — to have a big impact in this one.

Here’s a look at the keys for both teams:

For Free State

* Nothing To Lose — The Firebirds have nothing to lose tonight. What’s the difference between 1-19 and 2-18? Not a whole lot when you get right down to it. So expect them to play loose and to have fun, running and gunning from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

* Seniors Step Up — Ultimately, it’s the seniors who will have to walk around with this season on their minds for the next few years. The juniors and sophomores will be back next season and will undoubtedly be more successful. That puts the onus on guys like Connor Monarez, Chase Hoag, Jake Miller and Douglas Compton. How do they want to be remembered? Look for all four to play great games tonight.

* Weather The Storm — Because of the emotions attached to tonight’s game, Lawrence High will likely come out looking to bury the Firebirds early. That has been a problem throughout the season for Free State, as the Firebirds have fallen behind big only to scratch and claw their way back into it through heart, desire and effort. If they can stand up to the early onslaught the Lions no doubt will deliver, this one will likely come down to the end once again.

For Lawrence High

* Don’t Buy Into The Hype — One sure-fire way for the Lions to struggle tonight is for them to think too much about who they’re playing and what it means. The more they fear being “the team” that loses to Free State, the more likely the chances that it could happen become. Therefore, the Lions simply need to go about their business and play their game. They’ve played in this type of environment before. The crowd and atmosphere usually fuels them. As long as they can avoid the mental obstacles, they should be fine.

* Paging Mr. Green — This is the kind of game Dorian Green was built for. Throughout the season Green has shown a great deal of trust in his teammates and has done his best to get them all involved, knowing that it would benefit the team’s chances in the long run. Tonight, he should take over. It’s the last regular season game for one of the greatest players in Lawrence High history. Time for one more show.

* Three-Point Threats — Lawrence High has five guys on its roster who have the green light to shoot the three-pointer. The shot has become a regular – and critical – part of the LHS offense and has often been responsible for burying other teams, just as it was Tuesday when they hit five of their first six from downtown and seven total in a first-half that saw them take a 31-11 lead into the locker room. A similar three-point explosion tonight — say around 40 percent — would turn this one into an easy victory and would give the end of the bench a little PT in the city showdown.