The Free State girls and boys basketball teams faced trying times on Tuesday night, as both teams lost to Olathe North at home.

Free State’s girls team (3-6) began the night with an explosive offensive performance, making nine 3-pointers overall but struggling to slow down Olathe North’s offensive attack en route to a 74-42 defeat.

The victorious Eagles were led by 29 points from four-star recruit and Florida State signee Asia Lee, who scored all of her points in just three quarters of play.

“She’s a really, really good player,” Free State girls head coach Summer Frantz said. “I thought the people we had on her, whether it was Morgan (McClorey) or Mal (Hice) or Taylor (Hulcher), they all did a really good job. But, she’s such a good player that the one time we didn’t execute the game plan defensively, she was going to score on us, and she did.”

Despite hitting two 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the game, the Firebirds struggled to find offensive consistency, as turnovers prevented the team from comfortably getting into its offense.

Defensively, Free State played tough in half-court opportunities, but struggled to keep Olathe North off the offensive glass, resulting in multiple second-chance points. Free State went scoreless for the final five minutes of the period, allowing Olathe North to hold a 20-6 lead.

“Our first-shot defense was good,” Frantz said. “But, when you give a team multiple chances, it’s going to be hard to stay in the game.”

Freshman Quinlynn Vail got things rolling offensively for the Firebirds in the second, scoring nine of her team-high 20 points in the second quarter to get the Firebirds’ offense in a rhythm.

As a team, Free State got all of its field goals in the first half from beyond the arc, making six 3s in total and Vail knocking down three of the second quarter’s four.

“We probably shoot too many 3s, honestly, but we also know we’re going to live and die by the 3 a little bit,” Frantz said. “We have to make threes, and we spend a lot of time in practice shooting, so it was good to see.”

Despite an offensive rhythm, the Firebirds struggled to slow down the Eagles, who continued to score with ease, taking a 45-23 lead into the locker room after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Lee.

Free State’s struggles continued in the third quarter. Olathe North had a 10-0 run to make it a 32-point deficit for Free State. Freshman Morgan McClorey broke the scoring drought for the Firebirds with a 3-pointer, and teamed with Vail to score 13 of the team’s 14 third-quarter points as the Eagles took a 68-37 lead into the fourth.

Vail and McClorey (10 points) combined for 30 of the Firebirds’ 42 points to carry the load for the team.

“They’re a fun tandem, because Morgan can attack the paint, and Quin’s always ready to shoot,” Frantz said of her freshman starters.

Vail began the quarter with an old-fashioned 3-point play, but both teams struggled to score in the fourth with Olathe North outscoring Free State 6-5 to close out the win.

The Firebird boys (5-5) were neck-and-neck with the Eagles after the first quarter, but struggled the rest of the evening, resulting in a 71-39 loss.

Free State boys head coach Dwayne Paul said after the game that he felt like it was the first time in his three years at Free State that the team quit.

“I think everybody who came to the game tonight saw what it was,” Paul said. “(Olathe North) came in and they out-toughed us. We knew what they were going to do and how they were going to do it, and you know, knowing it and being able to stop it are two different things.”

Free State started slow and found itself down 12-6 before seven straight points, including five in that run by senior Bennett Nagel, gave the team a 13-12 lead late in the first quarter.

The Eagles went on to outscore the Firebirds 4-1 in the final 2:02, capped off by a layup with 14 seconds left to take a 16-14 lead.

After giving up six straight points to open the second period, Brendan Barrett got Free State on the board with a 3-pointer three minutes into the quarter to cut the deficit to five. The Firebirds couldn’t get any closer, as a 9-0 run by the Eagles followed Barrett’s 3-pointer for a 31-14 advantage.

Throughout the game, Olathe North deployed a 2-3 zone, inspired by Syracuse University, which favors teams with length who can keep teams out of the short corner and make it difficult to make cross-court passes.

“They’re long, they’re athletic, I would play a lot of zone if I were them, too,” Paul said. ”

Sophomore Brayden Debruin responded with a 3-point play, and senior Ethan Prescott added two points with a layup, but the Free State defense allowed easy buckets for Olathe North and fwas trailing 37-22 at halftime.

The Firebirds had found a little rhythm on the offensive early in the third, thanks to scores by Nagel, Barrett, and Prescott, but soon cooled off and continued to struggle defensively as the Eagles held a 56-32 lead after the quarter.

Six straight points to begin the fourth for Olathe North put the Eagles up by 30, while Jayden Williams got on a roll for Free State, scoring all seven of the team’s points in the quarter.

At that point, the deficit was too insurmountable as the Eagles held on for the win. The Firebirds will be back in action on Friday, hosting Olathe East.

“We’ve got to get back to our identity and follow the game plan,” Paul said.