photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior Addie Fulscher makes a 3-point shot in the first half against Atchison on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

The Free State girls basketball team opened its 2024-25 campaign with a convincing 62-46 win over the Atchison Phoenix on Friday night at Free State.

The Firebirds (1-0) led from start to finish, using a 22-6 first-quarter advantage to create separation throughout the final three periods.

“I just liked how everybody contributed. We stuck together,” head coach Summer Frantz said after the win. “We did things that we haven’t always done in the past few years. When they went on runs, we responded, when they amped up the pressure, we handled it and it was just a complete team effort.

Addie Fulscher led the way for the Firebirds with 18 points, 13 of which came in the second half after the junior committed three fouls in the first half of play.

“She’s been through the fire for us the last few years,” Frantz said. “She’s one of our seasoned veterans, and we knew it was a chance for her to show that she could play with foul trouble, which she’s going to have to because we need her on the floor and she responded.”

Fulscher steps into a crucial role as an upperclassmen with a youthful Free State roster. As impressive as Fulscher is on the court, she has just as big of an impact during pauses in action.

“We’ve really stressed being more vocal, and I saw that tonight from her which was awesome to see,” Frantz said.

A balanced offensive approach in the game’s first three minutes put the Firebirds ahead 8-4 while causing five turnovers on the defensive end.

Free State continued to apply pressure defensively, forcing Atchison into difficult shots and turnovers. The Free State defense held up for the entirety of the first quarter, as Atchison shot 3-for-12 from the field and committed nine turnovers as Free State led 22-6 after the first.

Sarai Preston got things started for the Firebirds with the first with seven points, while Aedri Grooms added six with Fulscher on the bench after committing two early fouls.

“What was awesome is that when Addie had to be on the bench in the first half, everybody stepped up. Everybody was willing to step up and handle the ball and just give full effort,” Frantz said.

The stout defensive effort continued into the second quarter for Free State, forcing difficult possessions for Atchison. Free State capitalized on the offensive end, as Chloe Clossen extended the lead to 20 with a fast-break layup, forcing an Atchison timeout early in the quarter.

Atchison cut the lead to 15 with under a minute to go before Clossen beat the buzzer with a three-pointer to give the Firebirds a 34-16 lead at the break.

Clossen led all scorers in the first half with nine points, while Grooms added eight and Preston contributed with seven. Free State shot 12-for-27 from the field, while Atchison was successful on six out of 24 tries.

While shots from beyond the arc came at a premium in the first half for the Firebirds, as they shot 3-for-15 from distance, the Firebirds hit their first two attempts from distance in the second half courtesy of Fulscher and Libby Easter to to take a 40-20 lead.

The two teams traded points for the remainder of the quarter before the Phoenix ended the period on a 4-0 run in the last minute to cut the Firebird lead to 47-29 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Phoenix opened the fourth quarter using a 5-0 run to cut further into the Firebird lead.

Clossen stopped the run moments later with a second chance three, then Preston scored in the post for her first points of the half to extend the lead back to 18.

Another quick run by Atchison cut the Free State lead to 13, the lowest it had been since the first quarter, but the lead built by Free State was insurmountable.

Fulscher and Clossen combined for three more points at the free-throw line to close out the 62-46 opening-night victory.

Clossen added 13 points in the win, sinking two three-pointers, while Preston added 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Free State (62): Addie Fulscher 5-8 4-4 18; Chloe Clossen 4-16 3-4 13; Sarai Preston 4-5 3-4 11; Marlea Copeland 4-8 0-1 9; Aedri Grooms 4-8 0-0 8; Libby Easter 1-4 0-0 3. Totals: 22-51 10-13 62.

Atchison (46): Alondra Herrera 7-18 3-6 18; Ashlynn Housh 4-12 0-5 8; Kaiyanna Downing 3-7 1-2 7; Zay’Onna Seymore 2-5 0-0 5; Arayah Boldridge 2-6 0-1 4; Holly Banks 1-3 1-3 3. Totals: 19-52 6-19 46.

3-point field goals: FSHS 8-30 Addie Fulscher (4), Chloe Clossen (2), Libby Easter (1), Marlea Copeland (1); AHS 2-14 Alondra Herrera (1), Zay’Onna Seymore (1).

Score by quarters

Free State (1-0) 22 12 13 15 – 62

Atchison (0-1) 6 10 13 17 – 46

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Free State sophomore Aedri Grooms puts up a jump shot over an Atchison defender on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Free State sophomore Aedri Grooms maneuvers through the defense against Atchison on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Chloe Clossen drives the paint against Atchison on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Chloe Clossen blocks an Atchison layup attempt late in the first half on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Free State sophomore Aedri Grooms makes a layup in the first quarter against Atchison on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.