Topeka — The Free State girls basketball season concluded on Wednesday night as the Firebirds fell 72-26 to No. 3-seeded Washburn Rural.

It was the second time the Firebirds and Junior Blues had played this season; Washburn Rural also beat Free State 76-25 in the first round of the Capital City Classic on Jan. 23.

Free State head coach Summer Frantz said the strategy coming into the second meeting with Washburn Rural was to limit Kansas State commit Maddie Vickery, who scored just 10 points on 11 attempted shots.

“We know we have to pick our poison, especially with our lack of size,” Frantz said. “I thought we did a really good job battling for being so undersized.”

The Firebirds took an early 3-2 lead following a 3-pointer from junior Addie Fulscher before the Junior Blues scored the next seven points and never looked back.

Sophomore Sarai Preston cut the deficit for Free State to five points with a pair of free throws, but the relentless Washburn Rural defense made it difficult for Free State to find quality looks, and the Junior Blues got plenty of looks at their own end, finishing the first quarter with a 20-5 lead.

Washburn Rural began the second quarter with eight points, including two 3-pointers to stretch its lead to 28. Free State cut into the deficit behind its leader, Fulscher, who made a 3-pointer and a mid-range floater to make the score 28-10. Fulscher finished the first half with eight points.

“It was great seeing Addie being so aggressive and getting her shot going,” Frantz said. “She’s been doing a lot better job of that recently. It was great to see her end the season on such an aggressive note.”

Turnovers began to plague the Firebirds, as the Junior Blues continued to get good looks from the perimeter and made five 3s on eight attempts in the second quarter, ending the first half with a 45-12 advantage. The only points the Firebirds could manage in the final two minutes of the half were two more free throws from Preston.

The Junior Blues continued to dictate the pace in the second half, scoring 18 points in the third quarter, via a mix of 3-pointers, transition buckets and at the line. The Firebirds scored nine points in the quarter and looked to have settled in a little more. Fulscher dictated the offense with five points in the quarter, while Preston and freshman Marlea Copeland each added two points.

“We talked about getting more paint touches (in the second half), working inside-out,” Frantz said of the change in offensive strategy. “It’s hard with our lack of size, but Sarai (Preston) does a great job battling for position, so when we dump it our shooters can spot up.”

With a running clock in the fourth quarter, Washburn Rural outscored Free State 9-5 to advance to the substate championship. The Firebirds concluded their season with a 3-pointer from Fulscher, who finished with a team-high 16 points, and two free throws by Preston, who added eight points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Frantz said that she feels the program is trending in the right direction, but still has work to do heading into the offseason. She added that her and the coaching staff will miss this year’s group, especially seniors Chloe Clossen and Hadley Lonnberg.