photo by: Conner Becker/Journal-World

Free State head girls basketball coach Summer Frantz sets up a team drill during a summer practice on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Free State High School.

It’s hard to imagine tougher lessons than those learned by the Free State girls basketball team this past winter.

Summer Frantz, who was promoted from assistant coach to head coach a year ago, guided the Lady Firebirds through an 0-21 season, with plenty of disappointing box scores and several trips back to the drawing board.

A grind. A struggle. A rebuild. Whatever words are used to describe it, Frantz will be the last one to label the girls’ effort last season as discouraging.

“I was really proud of the way all of our kids responded to it,” Frantz said. “We were surprised at times by how well they bounced back. We’d have a really tough loss on Friday night and they’d come back on Saturday morning ready to go.”

Through the countless unknowns heading into her first year, Frantz seemingly found a piece of the puzzle with returning sophomore point guard Addie Fulscher.

Fulscher earned varsity minutes right away as a freshman and finished the season as Free State’s leading scorer — something she couldn’t have predicted when attending her first round of team workouts and conditioning a year ago.

The relationships with her teammates, and her trust in Frantz, kept Fulscher in the race.

“This connection with your teammates and your friends, it has to be like one big family,” Fulscher said. “(Frantz) is understanding about the situations, and she knows how to get us through those with experience and other coaching years.”

Fulscher’s performance landed her on the Journal-World’s All-Area First Team and the Sunflower League honorable mention list.

Free State freshman Addie Fulscher drives the ball against Wichita Northwest on Friday, January 27, 2023.

“She got thrown into some tough situations that we wish we wouldn’t have had to throw her into,” Frantz said. “I don’t think there are many people that could handle what she handled the way she did, much less a high school freshman. I think it made her stronger and tougher.”

Contributions like Fulscher’s have stirred up interest in the team, too. Free State’s roster, which was one of the state’s smallest when Frantz took over the team, welcomed 12 new additions at summer workouts and conditioning this month.

Working with new and familiar faces, Frantz is looking forward to a packed slate in June that includes a summer schedule against several Sunflower League opponents and a team camp at Missouri Western State.

Jumping back into the raging fire that is Sunflower League girls basketball is never easy, either.

“It’ll be tough, but it’s something we felt like we had to get back into to start being competitive,” Frantz said. “We’re just trying to give them a lot of different in-game experiences. June’s going to go really quick, so we’re taking advantage of every time we’re in the gym.”