Nobody was pushing the panic button, but Free State High’s boys basketball players were relieved by their victory over Leavenworth on Tuesday. Finally, the offense got back on track.


The Firebirds stepped up in the second half and scored in a variety of ways, finding players cutting to the hoop, scoring off of the dribble, drilling threes and getting to the free throw line. Their 57-49 win over Leavenworth on Tuesday was a confidence booster, and it was a little reminiscent of how well their offense looked at the beginning of the year.


On paper, a zone defense would give the Firebirds problems with their struggles from behind the three-point arc. Packing the paint takes away their drives and forces them to shoot from outside. But they answered the bell on Tuesday, and had some impressive stretches in the second half.


Free State’s girls basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, losing 60-30 to Leavenworth.


The Firebirds played the Pioneers close for a half, but a couple of big runs in the third quarter helped Leavenworth run away with it by such a big margin. It was Free State’s first game against a team with a ton of size, and it showed. The Firebirds dominated in the paint this season, and just couldn’t produce the same production against a team with so much height and length.


Fortunately for the Firebirds, it’s a quick turnaround and they’ll get another test against a highly ranked team, facing Olathe Northwest (ranked No. 9 in 6A) on Friday.


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 girls basketball

1. Madison Piper, so. — Piper was the focus of Leavenworth’s defense, but she also made the biggest impact offensively for the Firebirds. She had to play through a lot of holding, which made it difficult for her to get open on cuts. She scored 11 points and grabbed three boards but also had five turnovers.


“They just pressured us and took away those shots,” Piper said of the team’s problems on offense Tuesday. “I think we need to learn how to get the ball. I, for one, need to learn how to drive the ball more. They took that away from me. I mean, kudos to them.”


2. Cameryn Thomas, fr. — Against a three-quarter court press for the majority of the night, Thomas was impressive with strong ball handling. She brought the ball up the court for about 30 minutes and only had two turnovers. That’s tough to do against the Pioneers, who jump passing lanes and have sneaky double teams. Thomas also was aggressive to the rack, scoring seven points to go along with two rebounds, an assist and a steal.


3. Sarah Coversup, sr. — Nothing came easy for Coversup, as she didn’t have the size advantage that she’s had against opponents all season. She shot 1 for 7 from the field and scored five points. She added four rebounds but also had five turnovers.


4. Adriana Jadlow, sr. — It was a tough night for Jadlow, who tried her best to play through Leavenworth’s height and length advantage. She scored three points (all from the free throw line, 0 for 6 shooting) and had just one rebound. Usually she can use her speed to her advantage, but against three Div. I forwards, that was an extremely tough task.


5. Jaycie Bishop, so. — Bishop didn’t shoot the ball but she played solid defense and was strong with the ball on the perimeter. The Pioneers did a good job cutting off her driving lanes.


6. Hannah Walter, jr. — Walter brought her usual energy off of the bench, scoring two points and adding a rebound and an assist.


7. Hannah Shoemaker, sr. — The 5-foot-11 senior did a good job against Leavenworth’s height when she was in the game. She scored two points, had two rebounds and a steal.


8. Morgan Gantz, sr. — Gantz had some good moments, providing good defense, grabbing a rebound and a steal. But eventually Leavenworth’s ball pressure caught up with her and she ended up with a few turnovers.


• Next up: 5:30 p.m. Friday vs. Olathe Northwest. Record: 7-1.

Free State boys basketball

1. Weston Hack, sr. — After the Firebirds struggled to shoot the ball over the past few games, Hack got them back on track on Tuesday. He scored a game-high 21 points, draining 6 of his 8 shots inside of the three-point arc. He also had three rebounds, two assists and two steals.


2. Hunter Gudde, jr. — When the Firebirds needed a boost offensively, Gudde kicked it into hyperdrive. He dominated in the second half, finishing with nine points, six rebounds and five assists. When he’s playing at his best, the Firebirds’ offense is usually playing at a high level.


3. Jacob Pavlyak, so. — At the beginning of the season, I thought the speed of the game was giving Pavlyak some trouble. Not anymore. He helped carry Free State in the first half, and was on the floor for the majority of the game, scoring nine points on 3 of 4 shooting. He added a rebound and an assist.


4. Chrision Wilburn, jr. — Wilburn is a great rim runner, and his teammates found him on Tuesday. He scored nine points on 4 of 4 shooting and grabbed two rebounds. I also thought he did a great job passing the ball from the middle of the offense against Leavenworth’s zone. He could have racked up a lot of assists if some more threes would have dropped.


5. Justin Narcomey, sr. — Narcomey scored five points on 2 of 6 shooting. He had some open looks against Leavenworth’s zone, but just couldn’t get them to fall.


6. Jay Dineen, so. — Dineen played a solid all-around game, scoring on a layup in transition and adding three rebounds and two assists. However, he didn’t have the best game in his family on Tuesday, as his brother Jax scored 14 points to lead Southwest Middle School to a win.


7. Andrew Keating, sr. — Keating didn’t score, missing his only three-point attempt, but he had an assist on a three by Hack in the first quarter.


8. Zion Bowlin, so. — Bowlin missed his only three against Leavenworth’s zone, but I thought he played solid defense.


9. Darian Lewis, jr. — His perfect free throw streak was snapped with a miss late in the fourth quarter. He also grabbed a rebound.


10. Jack Raney, sr. — He didn’t shoot the ball or record any stats, but he had good spacing against the Pioneers’ zone in the first quarter.


11. Sloan Thomsen, so. — Thomsen made some nice plays in the second quarter, but just couldn’t find his three-point stroke. He was 0 for 3 from deep and he had two rebounds.


12. Shannon Cordes, so. — He did a nice job bringing the ball up the court in the final minutes, but shot just 1 for 4 at the charity stripe.


13. Caleb Holland, sr. — He entered the game in the final minute and didn’t shoot the ball or record any stats.


• Next up: 7 p.m. Friday at Olathe Northwest. Record: 4-3.
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