During a timeout, head coach Sam Stroh talks with his team as Free State's boys basketball team played Mill Valley in Shawnee.

During the high school basketball season, I like to think of the year in three separate sections: pre-winter break, after winter break and post tournament week.


Throughout winter break and tournament week, teams usually get about a week to practice without any interruption for games. That’s usually when you see a lot of progress from each team’s biggest weaknesses.


So I wouldn’t judge any team as a finished product in the middle of December. But in the first three games, Free State’s boys basketball team has faced two ranked teams (both of whom played in their respective state title games last year). The Firebirds earned a 68-60 victory on the road against Mill Valley on Friday.


With several returners, the Firebirds can pick up in some aspects where they left off last season. The biggest question is scoring and they’ve had a different leading scorer in each of the first three games.


Free State’s girls basketball team suffered its first loss in a 54-42 defeat against Mill Valley. Similar to the boys team, the Firebirds are working on their scoring. I’d expect both programs to become a little bit better with their offenses following winter break, which will be a dangerous sign for opponents.


“We’ve got to get some consistency about our play,” FSHS girls basketball coach Ted Juneau said. “We’ve got to understand that we can score.”


For Lawrence High, the boys basketball team took third place in the Blue Valley Shootout with a 56-40 win over Highland Park. LHS senior Kobe Buffalomeat and sophomore Clarence King were named to the all-tournament team.


Lawrence’s girls basketball team posted a 2-0 record during the week, including a 51-39 win over Notre Dame de Sion with 28 points from sophomore center Chisom Ajekwu.


Outside of Lawrence’s two main public schools, Bishop Seabury’s boys basketball team took fourth place at the Shawnee Mission East Invitational, playing Class 6A and 5A teams. The Seahawks lost in the third-place game to SM East, 56-54 in OT. Mikey Wycoff and Zach McDermott were named to the all-tournament team.

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In case you missed it, we’re copying one of the popular features of KUsports.com, “Keegan’s Ratings,” where Sports Editor Tom Keegan ranks KU football and men’s basketball players after every game he attends. These individual rankings are just one person’s opinion, but it’s a good way to look at how each person impacted each game.

Free State girls basketball (rankings from Chris Duderstadt)

1. Jaelyn Two-Hearts, jr. — Two-Hearts was a handful for the Jaguars before getting into foul trouble. The Free State junior got her teammates involved early, as all five starters scored in the first quarter. The offense went stagnant while Two-Hearts was hampered with foul trouble, though. Two-Hearts led the Firebirds with 12 points.


2. Madison Piper, sr. — When Piper drove to the basket and drew the second foul on Mill Valley forward Evan Zars with 1:13 left in the first quarter, the Free State senior appeared to be her normal, aggressive self. Piper then showed off her range by knocking down a three-pointer to begin the second quarter to push the Firebirds’ lead to 16-11, but she didn’t score again until they trailed double digits early in the third. Piper was limited to just seven shots from the field, and finished with 10 points.


3. Caely Kesten, fr. — Kesten showed her ability to score with four of her eight points in the first quarter, but the freshman and the Free State offense in general struggled to get open looks the rest of the way against the Jaguars.


4. Cameryn Thomas, jr. — While shots weren’t falling for the Firebirds, Thomas stayed in attack mode to get to the line. Thomas got the line fives times to lead the Firebirds, and made three of her attempts. The junior guard also made two of her three shots from the field.


5. Sam Lawrence, soph. — Lawrence made her lone field goal to tie the game at 4-4 in the opening minutes, but she missed her other three attempts from the field. Free State coach Ted Juneau said after the game that Lawrence and Kesten are both capable of big games throughout the season despite being underclassmen, but there could be a few bumps along the way against good defensive teams.


6. Erin Cushing, jr. — Cushing came off the bench in the second quarter and knocked down both of her free-throw attempts to account for both of her points.


7. Jaycie Bishop, sr. — Bishop didn’t score, but she was active on the defensive end in her minutes off the bench.


• Next up: 7 p.m. Monday at Central Academy of Excellence. Record: 1-1.

Free State boys basketball (rankings from Chris Duderstadt)

1. Sloan Thomsen, sr. — Thomsen was locked in from long distance — hitting two of his four three-pointers in the third quarter shortly after the Jaguars had taken their first lead. The 6-foot-6 sharp-shooter also knocked down four free throws in the fourth quarter to help fend off a final charge from the Jaguars. Thomsen finished with a season-best 20 points,


2. Shannon Cordes, sr. — Cordes took early by scoring the first four points of the game, and the Firebirds fed off of his energy. The senior guard jump-started the Firebirds in the second quarter as well by scoring their first five points of the period. Cordes was one of three Firebirds in double figures with 16 points.


3. Jay Dineen, sr. — Dineen finished off the Jaguars by doing most of his damage at the free-throw line. The Firebird senior attacked the rim with a vengeance on his way to making three of four from the field and eight of 12 from the line to finish with 14 points.


4. Cameron Clark, sr. — The Jaguars didn’t have anyone inside that could match up with the 6-foot-7 Clark. He did a lot of the dirty work down low for the Firebirds, and made four of his eight shots from the field to give him eight points.


5. Jalan Robinson, jr. — Robinson helped set the tone in the paint with Clark down low. The 6-foot-4 forward made half of his shots from the field as well (two for four), but the Firebirds front court duo did struggle from the charity stripe — combining to make just one of eight.


6. Jacob Pavlyak, sr. — Pavlyak only scored four points, but his second field goal came at a big moment, as he tied the game back up at 36-36 after the Jaguars took their lone lead on a Mason Little three-pointer.


7. Simon McCaffrey, jr. — McCaffrey helped pick up the slack on defense after Pavlyak fouled out. The Firebird guards struggled to stop Cooper Kaifes — who led all scorers with 33 points — but the rest of the Mill Valley backcourt was held in check.


• Next up: 8:30 p.m. Friday vs. Lawrence at Allen Fieldhouse. Record: 2-1.
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