photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

The Free State boys basketball team huddles prior to the Firebirds' game against Olathe West on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at Free State High School in Lawrence.

The Free State girls and boys basketball teams returned to their home court on Friday night, but were both defeated by Olathe West in a Sunflower League doubleheader.

The Free State girls basketball team found itself in a close game at halftime before a sluggish second half on the offensive end resulted in a 60-29 loss.

“We knew (Olathe West was) going to be a physical team and just play really hard,” Free State girls coach Summer Frantz said. “They play a lot of subs, so they’re fresh, and then they just play hard start to finish.”

After recording 21 offensive rebounds against Lawrence on Tuesday, the Owls recorded 17 on Friday, something Frantz told her group they “couldn’t let happen.”

The Firebirds (7-10) quickly found themselves in a deficit after giving up six straight points to start the game, prompting a timeout. The timeout stalled the Owls’ momentum and allowed the Firebirds to cut the deficit to one point after a jump shot by freshman Taylor Hulcher and a 3-pointer by freshman Quinlynn Vail.

Freshman Morgan McClorey added the final four points of the quarter for Free State, all at the free-throw line, but Olathe West scored nine more points to lead 15-9.

Frantz credited junior Sarai Preston’s energy with helping the Firebirds maintain pace with the Owls in the first quarter.

“There were times she was first to loose balls, she was laying out for rebounds, her energy sparked us,” Frantz said.

McClorey and Vail provided all the offense for the Firebirds in the second quarter, each making a 3-pointer while combining for all 11 of the team’s points. Meanwhile, a pair of 3-pointers by the Owls, along with easy points in the paint, gave them a 29-20 lead at halftime.

The freshman tandem led Free State in scoring, with Vail scoring a game-high 15 points, while McClorey added nine.

The Owls did a good job throughout the first half of driving inside and making the defense help in the paint, allowing for kick-out passes to create open 3-point attempts, or dumping the ball down low for layups.

“They made really good ball-screen reads,” Frantz said. “We were tagging their roller pretty good, but then they were lifting from the back side and hitting the throw back for the 3(-pointer).”

Turnovers began to pile up for Free State, as the team turned the ball over five times in the first four minutes of the third quarter, allowing Olathe West to begin the quarter with 10 consecutive points, many of them in transition.

Hulcher scored the first two points of the quarter for the Firebirds with 3:32 remaining in the period before the Owls scored the next seven to take a 24-point lead. After a sluggish period overall, the Firebirds ended the quarter with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Vail to make the deficit 21 points.

Vail added one last 3-pointer, and junior Mallary Hice added a point at the free-throw line in the final quarter, but Olathe West continued to dictate the game’s tempo and finished the game with 14 points in the final eight minutes.

Moving forward, Frantz said that the game provided a valuable learning experience in matching opponents’ physicality, especially with Olathe South and Shawnee Mission South on the schedule next week. They are the second and third-ranked teams in 6A according to the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association.

“We just talked in the locker room about if we don’t play more physical, those are going to be tough games for us, but I know we will,” Frantz said.

BOYS’ COMEBACK FALLS SHORT

The Firebird boys (5-12) trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter and stormed all the way back to make it a two-point game, but couldn’t finish the comeback, falling 51-47 to the Owls.

“We didn’t quit, we kept fighting,” Free State boys head coach Dwayne Paul said. “We kept fighting, we kept scrapping, and we stuck to the gameplan that we wanted to do. But we cannot wait to play hard until we’re down 10 to 12.”

Sophomore Brendan Barrett paced the Firebirds’ offense with 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting, while sophomore Brayden DeBruin had 12, and seniors Bennett Nagel and Ethan Prescott chipped in nine points apiece.

Barrett and senior Bennett Nagel started the game with a 3-pointer and a field goal, respectively, which the Owls quickly matched to tie the score at five. Senior Ethan Prescott gave the Firebirds their final lead of the first half at 7-5 with a layup before the Owls led 11-9 after finishing the quarter on a 6-2 run.

Free State and Olathe West traded shot for shot to start the second quarter before an 8-1 stretch gave Olathe West its biggest lead of the half.

The Firebirds ramped up its defensive pressure, and while shots weren’t falling throughout the quarter, the tandem of Nagel and DeBruin was able to get to the free-throw line, as DeBruin scored five points, including an and-1, while Nagel added two points to cap the half on a 7-0 run, with Free State still trailing by two.

Paul said that what makes Olathe West a difficult opponent is its ability to play fast and speed teams up, which it did against Free State, forcing the Firebirds to rush possessions, something the team didn’t adjust to until late in the first half.

“We finally started passing (up) good shots to attack the rim and get to the great shots,” Paul said. “And we saw the result, getting to the free-throw line, and we were able to trim the lead over time.”

Out of the half, Free State allowed an 8-0 run. After a 3-pointer by DeBruin got the Firebirds back on the board, the Owls got back-to-back 3-point plays to extend their lead to 13 points.

A field goal by Nagel cut the deficit to 11, but another 3-pointer by the Owls gave them their biggest lead of the game, as they ultimately led 39-26 after three quarters.

The Firebirds were haunted by foul trouble late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter, with two starters, Nagel and sophomore Jayden Williams, each picking up their fourth foul in the third. Nagel fouled out early in the fourth and had to sit the rest of the game.

“I thought Bennett was good defensively tonight,” Paul said. “I thought some of those calls and some of the (fouls) he got were just some frustration fouls… It hurt not having him on the floor, it hurt not having (Williams) on the floor; I think he’s a defensive menace, and he’s been playing a lot better.”

Olathe West began the fourth quarter with a dunk before Free State’s comeback began. Barrett scored four straight points, and after another Owl bucket, Barrett and senior Ethan Prescott went on an 8-0 run to make the score 43-38.

The Owls extended their lead back to seven before two free throws by Prescott and a field goal by DeBruin made it just a 3-point game. The Firebirds cut the deficit to as little as two points, but the Owls were able to limit late turnovers and end the game at the free-throw line.

“I don’t want to change the way we play,” Paul said. “I think the way that we’re playing is fine. We have to play a little bit smarter at crucial times. We have to be able to trust more when things are not going ideal.”

Both Free State teams will return to action on Tuesday at Olathe South, with the girls game beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the boys game following at 7 p.m.