Free State junior Shannon Clarke (3) dribbles past a Blue Springs defender Friday night at Olathe East High School on Dec. 13, 2019.

Olathe — Free State head coach Nick Wood is certain his team improved this week, even though things ended on a sour note.

The FSHS girls basketball team went 1-2 to notch sixth place in the 2019 Lady Hawks Classic, which was one spot higher than it did last year. Unlike last season, though, the Firebirds ended the event with a defeat.

Free State suffered a 73-42 loss to Blue Springs (Mo.) on Friday night during the fifth-place game at Olathe East. Yet that final score doesn’t tell the whole story about the Firebirds’ growth during the three-day tournament.

“We got a whole heck of a lot better this week,” Wood said. “This score unfortunately doesn’t show that. We played three really good basketball teams and we found a way to have successful moments throughout the week.”

That progress was even evident in what turned out to be a lopsided loss for the Firebirds, who fell to 2-2 on the year.

Free State struggled with Blue Springs’ ball pressure early on, committing 10 turnovers over the first two quarters. The Wildcats led by as many as 16 points late in the first half and appeared well on their way to breaking the game open.

That’s when FSHS started to become more aggressive, and play a full-court pressure defense as well. In the final three minutes of the second quarter, the Firebirds went on a 10-1 run to cut the lead to single digits.

Junior Evy Harrell provided a necessary spark on the defensive end, helping force Blue Springs into four turnovers late in the second quarter. Junior Shannon Clarke and senior Caely Kesten each scored a basket to get the run started. Harrell then drilled a 3-pointer off an assist by Kesten.

Clarke and junior Robin Todd combined for three free throws in the final minute, as Free State faced a 33-24 deficit at halftime.

“We started attacking the rim,” Wood said. “They were guarding us so hard on the ball, we were finally starting to run our stuff. That got us back in the game.”

Free State’s momentum was unable to carry over into the second half, however. Blue Springs scored 12 unanswered points to begin the third quarter, and the game was never really in doubt after that.

Clarke’s free throws at the 2:03 mark ultimately broke Free State’s scoring drought, though the team did not hit a single shot in the third period. The Wildcats, who had three double-digit scorers in the win, led by a 49-32 margin entering the final period, where they eventually pulled away.

“In the first half, we found a way to hang in there and compete,” Wood said. “It was important to come out and match their effort and try to have better effort than them. Unfortunately, it didn’t go that way.”

In the loss, Clarke led the way for Free State with 20 points. It was her second 20-point performance of the tournament. Kesten, a Northwest Missouri State signee, scored 10 points to join Clarke in double figures.

Still, FSHS had plenty of positive moments during the three-day tournament. Free State’s biggest highlight was a 57-54 win over Barstow in the consolation bracket.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we are better today than we were on Tuesday before we played our first game,” Wood said. “We are starting to learn what it takes as a team to be successful.”

Free State will travel to Shawnee Mission Northwest at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

FREE STATE (42)

Evy Harrell 2-6 0-2 5, Shannon Clarke 6-18 7-8 20, Caely Kesten 2-9 5-8 10, Joy Nunoo 0-7 2-2 2, Robin Todd 1-1 2-3 5, Macky Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Anna McIntire 0-1 0-2 0, Nyasha McVay 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 11-45 16-26 42.

BLUE SPRINGS (73)

Jada Williams 7-16 0-0 17, Ja’Cole Johnson 4-10 4-5 13, Jayla Sample 1-5 3-4 5, Aliyah Bello 5-9 1-2 11, Brooke Niemann 0-3 0-0 0, Kayleigh Jenkins 3-6 0-1 6, Abigail Grisolano 3-5 0-0 7, Taitlynn Afualo 0-3 0-0 0, Camryn Collins 2-4 0-1 4, Symiah Bradley 3-3 0-0 6, Autumn Shull 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 30-66 8-13 73.

Free State 9 15 8 10 — 42

Blue Springs 18 15 16 24 — 73

Three-point goals: FSHS 4-15 (Harrell, Clarke, Kesten, Todd); BS 5-12 (Williams 3, Johnson, Grisolano). Turnovers: FSHS 23; BS 14. Fouled out: Evy Harrell, FSHS.