It wasn't Thursday's victory over Shawnee Mission East that impressed Lawrence High girls basketball coach Kristin Mallory the most.
Sure the Lions will take the 48-42 Sunflower League victory at Lawrence High which improved their record to .500 (3-3).
Lawrence's Cherrale Ricks, front, reaches for the ball while being guarded by Shawnee Mission East's Danielle Dixon, left, and Tina Haris. LHS won Thursday's home game.
But it was the way Lawrence won the game completely controlling the last minute and a half and executing Mallory's late-game plan to perfection.
"It was a great win," Mallory said. "They did everything we asked them to do at the end."
Hanging on to a 43-41 lead with 1:53 left in the fourth quarter, it was as if the Lions just flipped a switch.
No longer was this the team intimidated by SM East's half-court trap, which had caused the Lions fits the majority of the game.
Nor was there any resemblance to the team that lost its last game before winter break in the waning seconds despite a ferocious comeback.
Something was different.
Lawrence High's Leigh DeBiasse, right, looks for an open teammate while being pressured by Shawnee Mission East's Jenny Logan (42) and Tina Haris. The Lions defeated the Lancers on Thursday night at LHS.
The Lions easily advanced the ball up court after SM East's Tina Haris closed Lawrence's lead to two.
Then the Lions, showing a new found passing confidence, ran nearly 45 seconds off the clock throwing bounce passes and lobs that would have made Bob Cousy proud.
The Lions played stingy defense too, allowing only off balance shots and bad looks to a Lancers team that had no trouble establishing the post earlier in the quarter and gave up only a single point the rest of the way.
Lawrence High's Leigh DeBiasse, who scored a team-high 16 points, sealed the victory by hitting five of six free throws in those final 45 seconds.
"It just goes to show people that we're a different team," DeBiasse said. "We've been practicing hard lately, especially the close-game-type situations. It's a huge win for us after the Free State game, and now we have to keep things going."
While it seemed like it was DeBiasse who was the major spark plug for the Lions on Thursday coming up with a plethora of key shots, Mallory said the key was players filling their roles. Like sophomore Josie Polk, who scored 10 points and hit key shots when the Lions had little else going offensively.
Or Cherrale Ricks' presence inside allowing Lawrence to come back from an early first quarter deficit with a couple quick putbacks. Ricks finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
But just as important to the Lions were Audrey Pope and Rachel Klingler, who came off the bench and provided key free throws and second-chance points.
"People really played their roles tonight," Mallory said. "They knew what they had to do and did that. On paper many people might not have given us any chance for Shawnee Mission East, but we played hard and executed at the end."
Lawrence High 48
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| LANCERS (42) Leigh Polfer 0-0 0-0 0 Molly Cobb 1-2 0-1 2 Rebecca Parker 6-9 4-5 16 Jenny Logan 2-10 3-4 7 Jamie Miller 0-2 1-2 1 Tina Haris 2-6 4-9 8 Danielle Dixon 1-2 0-0 2 Sarah Creighton 0-1 0-0 0 Liz Wolfe 2-5 2-2 6 Totals 14-37 14-23 42. |
| LIONS (48) Josie Polk 4-10 2-2 10 Mandy Amyx 1-6 0-0 2 Jenna Wilcox 0-0 0-0 0 Hallie Fitzgerald 1-2 0-0 2 Leigh DeBiasse 4-14 6-8 16 Cherrale Ricks 3-4 5-7 11 Audrey Pope 0-2 2-2 2 Rachel Severence 0-1 0-0 0 Shari Lassister 0-0 0-0 0 Rachel Kingler 2-4 1-2 5 Totals 15-43 16-21 48. |
| Three-point goals SM East 0-10 (Logan 0-6, Miller 0-2, Haris 0-1, Creighton 0-1), Lawrence 2-8 (DeBiasse 2-7, Polk 0-1). Turnovers SM East 22, Lawrence 17. Total fouls SM East 16, Lawrence 20. |
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