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Freedom Prep senior Emily Perez dribbles up the court during the 2A first round game against Gunnison in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Freedom Prep players watch the action during the 2A first round game against Gunnison in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Freedom Prep senior Emily Perez gets tied up during the 2A first round game against Gunnison in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Freedom Prep junior Moeana Teaotea drives into the lane during the 2A first round game against Gunnison in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Freedom Prep senior Sadie Stilwell goes up for a shot during the 2A first round game against Gunnison in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Freedom Prep head coach Nicolee Quraishy (right) talks to senior Brooklyn Parent during the 2A first round game against Gunnison in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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What does playing girls basketball mean at a small charter school like Freedom Prep?

It’s more than just about winning and losing, according to Eagle head coach Nicolee Quraishy.

“I’m just hoping they are having fun,” Quraishy said. “I hope they are building a community because this is a small school and they see each other every day. I hope they are building a support system they can rely on outside of basketball or when the season is done.”

Freedom Prep did enough during the 2021-22 season to get the No. 16-seed in Class 2A and host a home game in the first round of the playoffs, welcoming No. 17-seed Gunnison to Provo on Tuesday night.

The Eagles led after the first quarter but struggled to handle the quick Bulldog guards and Gunnison pulled away to get the 48-28 win, ending Freedom Prep’s season.

“It was definitely a tough loss,” Quraishy said. “It was nice to have at least that first quarter where we were in the game with them. We just weren’t playing offense tonight. Gunnison took it away from us. We would have four points in a quarter and they would have 15.”

But even though she saw her team have a tough time in its final game of the year, she also saw a lot more.

She saw a group of seven seniors finishing their high school careers, which wasn’t easy.

“It’s definitely really sad,” Quraishy said. “Senior Night was a big ordeal because the boys team has like eight seniors as well. It’s like seeing family grow up and leave. This is just my second year but I got to see them progress and now graduate and move on.”

She said there is a sense of shared experience because a lot of them are still learning the game.

“I think most of the girls haven’t played basketball before,” Quraishy said. “This is a really small school, so it’s hard to girls who are competitive to want to be here. We would be at practice and a lot of my girls would tell me that this was their offseason sport for volleyball.”

It means that each season is a fresh challenge for both the girls and the coaches.

“It’s kind of like starting from scratch every year, which is really fun,” Quraishy said. “I think they have good time.”

The Eagles got a chance to see their year in basketball from a unique perspective, since they hosted the same Gunnison team in the first game of the season. In that game, the Bulldogs won by a larger margin, 65-29.

“Getting to see how we matched up against them at the beginning of the season and then the end of the season was really nice,” Quraishy said. “We saw the growth that we had and how much deeper my bench got. I was able to put more players in because I could trust them to get things done. That was really nice.”

She looks forward to having some size returning for 2022-23 but knows that once again it will be a challenge to mold the team into a cohesive unit.

Gunnison advanced and will now go back out on the road, hoping to upset No. 1-seeded Beaver when they play Friday night at 7 p.m.

In other Utah Valley 2A and 3A girls basketball first round action, San Juan won at Maeser, 56-34, and Ogden won at Juab, 53-45.