Free State High’s girls basketball team knew it had a big talent advantage against Topeka West on Thursday in the first round of the Firebird Winter Classic.


But give credit to the Firebirds. They didn’t go through the motions. They played hard, shot well, and looked sharp in their first game in 13 days. They beat the Chargers, 58-19, behind a huge game from sophomore Madison Piper.


Meanwhile, Lawrence High’s girls basketball team struggled in its return to the court in the first half. That cost them in a 61-51 loss to Wichita Heights. The Lions played well in the second half but you can tell that they don’t place much value in moral victories.


That game served as a nice microcosm of the Lions’ season so far. They’ve played well at times against some very good teams, but they’ve also had some stretches where they’ve played poorly which has probably cost them a couple of wins.


What did LHS coach Jeff Dickson say at halftime to get his team turned around?


“I don’t think you could print that in a family newspaper,” Dickson said. “But we talked about finding kids in that locker room that would go out and compete every single possession like the game depended on it. There was no stress about playing well. Just play hard. Just compete.”


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.

Lawrence High girls basketball

1. Marissa Pope, sr. — Pope was able to stay out of foul trouble, and that helped her make a big impact in the second half when the Lions were trying to make a comeback. She scored 14 points, hitting threes and getting to the rim for layups. She also had three assists and two steals.


2. Olivia Lemus, so. — The sophomore guard has been a great shooter in the past few games for the Lions. She shot 5-for-6 from behind the three-point arc, scoring a team-high 15 points. She also had three rebounds, three assists and a steal.


3. Alexis Boyd, jr. — Boyd was one of the big pieces in the Lions’ comeback bid in the second half. She scored 12 of her 14 points in the last two quarters, making four straight shots at one point in the second half. She also went a perfect 6 for 6 at the free throw line. She added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.


4. Skylar Drum, so. — The sophomore guard played solid defense and helped LHS get stops when it needed them. She didn’t have her best day shooting, 1 of 6 from the field for three points, but she had five rebounds and an assist off of the bench.


5. Matia Finley, sr. — Finley does a good job grabbing rebounds in traffic. She had a team-high 10 boards, and scored two points.


6. Devon Spoonhunter, jr. — She was a starter in the second half, and was aggressive on offense along with playing solid defense. She scored two points and had one rebound.


7. Asia Goodwin, fr. — Goodwin scored one point, grabbed one rebound and dished one assist.


8. Gracie Reinsch, jr. — Reinsch played aggressively on offense, but she missed all four of her shots. But when the Lions were looking for a boost in the second half, she helped with a rebound and an assist.


9. Emma Bentzinger, jr. — She started the second half for the Lions and played solid defense, grabbing one rebound. She didn’t attempt any shots.


10. E’lease Stafford, fr. — Stafford missed all three shots she took, but grabbed one rebound. She wasn’t able to make much of an impact with Wichita Heights marking her as a shooter early in the game.


11. Madison McKinney, so. — McKinney missed her only shot, a three-pointer. She had one rebound.


12. Rebecca Finley, sr. — Finley missed her two shots from the field, but she grabbed a rebound.


• Next up: 4:45 p.m. today vs. Wichita Northwest at Free State Winter Classic. Record: 1-9.

Free State girls basketball

1. Madison Piper, so. — In Piper’s two-year career at Free State, she’s had some memorable games. She scored a career-high 29 points against SM North last season, and scored 27 against Olathe North a few weeks ago. But I don’t think she’s ever shot as well as she did on Thursday. She scored 26 points in the first half on 8-of-11 shooting. But she wasn’t forcing shots, which was the most impressive thing about her play. She took advantage of the space she had and made defenders pay. She also had two rebounds and an assist.


2. Sarah Coversup, sr. — The 6-foot-1 senior was Piper’s sidekick in the first half. She scored 13 points, including a three from the top of the arc. She also had two steals. In a four-minute stretch in the second quarter, she scored eight points with two and-1’s.


3. Adriana Jadlow, sr. — Jadlow scored eight of her 10 points in the third quarter without Piper or Coversup on the floor. She showed her range with a pair of three-pointers, but she was also aggressive defensively in the low post. She grabbed four steals and had three rebounds.


4. Hannah Shoemaker, sr. — Shoemaker played a strong all-around game. She played solid post defense, grabbed five rebounds and scored two points. She also dished a pair of assists to Piper for three-pointers.


5. Morgan Gantz, sr. — The 5-foot-4 senior guard scored three points on a bucket-and-the-foul in the second quarter. She also had two rebounds, two assists and a steal.


6. Hannah Walter, jr. — Walter didn’t shoot the ball, but made plays elsewhere with four rebounds, two assists and a steal.


7. Jaycie Bishop, so. — Bishop played solid defense, jumping in the passing lane on the perimeter to grab one steal. She missed her three shots from the field but she had two assists.


8. Peyton Brown, jr. — Brown entered the game in the third quarter and scored two points to go along with three rebounds and a steal.


9. Calli Bowen, so. — The 5-foot-5 sophomore played point guard for the majority of the second half and scored two points on a nice drive past defenders to go along with two rebounds and a steal.


10. Erin Cushing, fr. — Cushing missed her only shot, a three-pointer, but she provided good ball security against Topeka West’s full-court press in the fourth quarter.


11. Caroline Patton, fr. — Patton didn’t take a shot, but she did grab a steal midway through the fourth quarter.


12. Sophia Jadlow, so. — She didn’t attempt a shot in the fourth quarter but grabbed two rebounds.


• Next up: 6:30 p.m. today vs. Hutchinson at Firebird Winter Classic. Record: 9-1.
*
As always, feel free to comment, email me, or find me on Twitter @nightengalejr.