If you blinked, you might have missed it. For most Lawrence high school basketball teams, about one-fourth of their regular seasons are over.


But what a way to head into winter break, with another chapter of the City Showdown in the books.


Free State’s girls basketball team started last season with an 0-4 record. This year, the Firebirds are 5-0. They beat Lawrence High, 59-47, behind an impressive game by sophomore Madison Piper. You can sense that they are having more fun playing this season (winning helps), and they are thriving in that loose and more relaxed environment.


Lawrence High’s girls basketball team has shown a lot of potential with its young roster. It’ll be interesting to see how big of strides the Lions can take during winter break when they get some extra practices under their belt.


Lawrence’s boys basketball team survived a strong effort from Free State with a 39-33 victory. The Lions deserve a lot of credit for going on the road and winning a game that wasn’t at all the style of game they wanted. It was their first close game down the stretch this season, and they played with poise and never panicked. That’s what separates good teams from average ones.

Full confession: When people asked me who I thought would win the boys basketball City Showdown, I was predicting LHS by 20 points. I figured the Lions would go on a big run at some point, and the Firebirds wouldn’t be able to recover.


Man, was I wrong. The Firebirds are playing great team defense right now (including the Mill Valley game last week), and they’re going to be a lot better than most people expected this year. FSHS coach Chuck Law knows the offense needs some seasoning, but if the Firebirds continue to buy into team defense concepts, they are going to be tough to beat in the Sunflower League.


I’m also a big fan of how the Firebirds used their eat-the-clock strategy against LHS. For less athletic teams, that’s the blueprint to competing with the Lions. But it’s a lot harder to do than the Firebirds made it look.


In case you missed it, we’re copying one of the popular features of KUsports.com, “Keegan’s Ratings,” where Sports Editor Tom Keegan ranks KU football and men’s basketball players after every game he attends and I’m bringing back the high school ratings for this basketball season. These individual rankings are just one person’s opinion, but it’s a good way to look at how each person impacted each game.

Free State boys basketball

1. Weston Hack, sr. — Hack carried the Free State offense, but also did a little bit of everything. He scored a game-high 18 points and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds. The Lions did all they could to stop him, placing their top defender, senior John Barbee, on him, but Hack still found ways to get the hoop.


“That’s my best friend,” LHS senior Anthony Bonner said. “I’ve known him since kindergarten. That’s the smartest kid I’ve ever played against. He finds angles. He finds ways to score. He fought his butt off. He played a great game. We didn’t have an answer for him.”


2. Hunter Gudde, jr. — He was Hack’s sidekick on offense, scoring 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Gudde also added four rebounds and three assists. He was matched up against LHS post players, but he’s versatile enough to guard on the perimeter or in the paint.


3. Andrew Keating, sr. — Keating had a tough matchup against LHS junior Justin Roberts, and he did pretty well. He only had three points, as he probably hesitated on a couple of shots, but he had four rebounds and just two turnovers. He also drew at least one offensive foul with good positioning on defense.

4. Justin Narcomey, sr. — Narcomey just couldn’t get a three-pointer to fall (0 for 4), but he didn’t let that affect him on the glass, grabbing four rebounds. It seemed like the Lions had him marked pretty early to force him to shoot contested threes.


5. Jack Raney, sr. — Raney didn’t shoot the ball well (0 for 5), but he played solid defense, drawing at least two charges.


6. Jay Dineen, so. — He can play strong defense and cause problems for opposing forwards, but wasn’t really able to contribute Friday because of foul trouble. Dineen also missed two shots.


7. Jacob Pavlyak, so. — Pavlyak didn’t attempt a shot, but he moved the ball when he was on offense and played solid help defense.


• Next up: 7 p.m. Jan. 2 vs. KC East. Record: 2-1.

Lawrence High boys basketball

1. Anthony Bonner, sr. — It seemed like every time the Lions needed a big bucket, Bonner was there for an answer. Down 7-2 early in the game, Bonner scored five straight points on back-to-back possessions. In the fourth quarter, he scored six points. He also finished with three rebounds, but he did have four turnovers.


2. John Barbee, sr. — Barbee played a solid all-around game. He scored eight points (six from the free throw line), picked up four rebounds and grabbed three steals. He was the one guarding FSHS senior Weston Hack during crunch time, and he did a great job denying him the ball on back cuts.


3. Price Morgan, jr. — The Firebirds packed the paint, forcing the Lions to shoot from the outside. That was no problem for Morgan, who drilled two jumpers from the free throw line. He scored eight points, had seven rebounds, and did a solid job protecting the rim on defense.


“The previous games I haven’t played as well as I would have liked to,” Morgan said. “But tonight, the City Showdown, what better night to go out, play hard, get some rebounds, get the crowd fired up? It’s great.”


4. Fred Brou, jr. — Brou was a big lift off of the bench, scoring four points, getting seven rebounds and blocking two shots. He was a little stagnant offensively (maybe had trouble hearing plays), but he grabbed some tough rebounds in traffic giving the Lions some very valuable possessions.


5. Justin Roberts, jr. — Roberts was hampered by foul trouble and just couldn’t get his shot going until draining a jumper in the fourth quarter. He only scored four points, but he didn’t let that stop him from playing great defense, providing good ball pressure. He also grabbed five rebounds and snagged a steal.


Perhaps his biggest play was with a four-point lead in the fourth quarter. Bonner was trying to save an inbounds pass from a backcourt violation, and Roberts sprinted across the floor to save Bonner’s desperation pass. Roberts then found Morgan underneath the basket for an easy layup and a six-point lead.


6. Ben Rajewski, sr. — Rajewski played solid help defense, grabbing two steals, and threw his body to the ground for some long rebounds. However, he just couldn’t get anything going offensively, going 0 for 4 from the field.


7. Anthony Harvey, jr. — With Roberts in some foul trouble, the Lions relied on Harvey for some major minutes throughout the game. He missed his only shot, but played solid defense and provided good ball control.


8. Tae Shorter, sr. — Shorter picked up some minutes in the third quarter and grabbed a rebound, but didn’t attempt a shot.


• Next up: 6 p.m. today vs. Barstow (Mo.) at Avila University. Record: 5-0.

Free State girls basketball

1. Madison Piper, so. — Piper singlehandedly took control of the game in the second quarter, giving the Firebirds an 11-point halftime lead. She scored 14 of her team-high 21 points in the quarter, going 5 of 5 from the field. She finished with a double-double, grabbing 13 rebounds.


2. Adriana Jadlow, sr. — When the Lions’ defense focused on Piper in the second half, Jadlow took advantage. She scored five straight points in the middle of the third quarter, keeping the Free State lead in double digits. She also snagged six rebounds and a steal. She just needs to improve at the free throw line (4 of 10).


3. Sarah Coversup, sr. — Coversup was quiet in the first half, but played well in the third quarter when she wasn’t attracting as much attention in the paint. She scored 15 points (9 of those from the free throw line), but also was dominant on defense with three blocks.


4. Cameryn Thomas, fr. — The freshman point guard never leaves the court because she’s so valuable to the team. Thomas had a tough matchup against LHS senior Marissa Pope, and she scored five points, grabbed three rebounds and dished a few assists.


5. Morgan Gantz, sr. — Gantz entered the game in the second quarter, but ended up starting the second half because of her reliability on defense and with the ball. She scored two points on a nice baseline drive and added one rebound.


6. Hannah Shoemaker, sr. — The senior forward scored four points and grabbed three rebounds. She was strong defensively, keeping the Lions’ forwards from catching the ball in the post.


7. Hannah Walter, jr. — Walter didn’t attempt a shot but was strong defensively and kept the ball moving on the perimeter. She also grabbed three rebounds.


8. Jaycie Bishop, so. — Not sure if it was nerves playing her old team, but Bishop had her worst shooting night of the season. She had a couple of airballs, but did dish an assist to Jadlow in the first quarter.


9. Calli Bowen (so.), Sophia Jadlow (so.) and Caroline Patton (fr.) — All of them entered in the final minute of the game when the Firebirds were running out the clock.


• Next up: 5:30 p.m. Jan. 6 vs. Shawnee Mission East. Record: 5-0.

Lawrence High girls basketball

1. Marissa Pope, sr. — Pope did her best to keep the Lions in the game, scoring eight of her team’s 13 points in the second quarter when FSHS sophomore Madison Piper was on a scoring spree. She drove and shot the ball well, scoring a game-high 22 points while grabbing three boards. Foul trouble probably cost her a chance of making a bigger impact defensively.


2. Skylar Drum, so. — In the second half, Drum was matched up with Piper, who is four inches taller than her. Drum didn’t let her do much, denying the ball and forcing her to give it up when she caught it. Drum didn’t shoot the ball well (1 of 7) but grabbed six rebounds and two steals.


3. E’lease Stafford, fr. — Stafford played well with nine points and six rebounds, and didn’t look like a freshman playing on the big stage during the City Showdown.


4. Madison McKinney, so. — She did a little bit of everything to help her teammates play better on Friday. McKinney only scored two points, but dished two assists and grabbed five rebounds. She also played good defense on the perimeter.


5. Alexis Boyd, jr. — She had a strong first quarter, scoring four straight points within 30 seconds. But Boyd didn’t make much of an impact afterward on offense, but did a solid job forcing Free State post players to take contested shots.


6. Olivia Lemus, so. — Lemus, once again, provided a nice spark off of the bench. She drilled a three-pointer, grabbed three rebounds and a steal.


7. Matia Finley, sr. — She scored two points, a layup at the end of the first quarter. Finley also played good defense in the first quarter, disrupting Free State shots in the paint.


8. Devon Spoonhunter, jr. — Spoonhunter had a tough matchup against FSHS senior center Sarah Coversup, and struggled from the field, missing all seven of her shots.


9. Talima Harjo, fr. — She made a few freshman mistakes, like stepping over the end line on a sideline out of bounds pass. Harjo scored two points but also had two turnovers.


10. Gracie Reinsch, jr. — Reinsch is starting to pick up a little more playing time. She didn’t record any stats in the City Showdown besides a few fouls, but her aggressiveness defensively isn’t going unnoticed.


11. Rebecca Finley, sr. — Finley entered at the end of the game and didn’t record any stats.

• Next up: 5:30 p.m. Jan. 6 vs. Leavenworth. Record: 1-4.

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