Lions win seventh straight game – LHS 62, Shawnee Mission South 40

Polk paces Lawrence High with 22 points in lopsided victory against Raiders

Could it be that Lawrence High’s girls basketball team is sick of winning?

Probably not, but some bug is sure trying to hold the Lions back.

“We’ve had some troubles with sickness,” junior Cherrale Ricks said. “We’ve played three games in five days.”

Nothing — fatigue, illness and the Sunflower League included — seems to be stopping the Lions these days. They won their seventh straight game on Monday, rolling past Shawnee Mission South 62-40 at Lawrence High.

After dropping their season opener to Overland Park Aquinas on Dec. 5, nobody has been able to beat the scorching Lions. Add Shawnee Mission South to the list of teams who fell victim to a brutal LHS trampling.

Like all but one game during the Lions’ streak, this one was never in doubt.

“We’re real athletic, and we’re deep,” LHS coach Kristin Mallory said. “We’ve got lineups that can score, and we’ve got lineups that can defend.”

On Monday, the offense was the lineup that stood out. Junior Josie Polk dropped a game-high 22 points to pace LHS. She was joined by Ricks (14 points) and Rachel Klingler (12) as double-digit scorers.

Lawrence's Rachel Klingler shoots over Danielle Scott of Shawnee Mission South. The Lions won Monday at LHS.

“With a lot of teams in the league, you can pick up on one player,” Mallory said of her balanced scoring attack. “That’s not the case with us.”

It was the variety of weapons that allowed LHS (7-1 overall, 3-0 Sunflower League) to jump to a 7-0 lead.

Heck, Polk alone outscored the Raiders 9-8 in the first quarter.

The momentum went away somewhat, but the 12-point, first-quarter advantage still stood up. Even with a fatigued Lions squad, Shawnee Mission South couldn’t keep up. The Raiders managed just five fourth-quarter points, even with most of the LHS reserves in the game.

Still, Mallory said she’s seen better days.

A look at the Lawrence High girls seven-game winning streak:

LHS 65, KC Washington 44LHS 94, KC Harmon 37LHS 72, Free State 49LHS 84, KC, Mo., Northeast 21LHS 50, Shawnee Mission East 41LHS 72, Topeka High 57LHS 62, Shawnee Mission South 40

“It wasn’t the prettiest by any means,” Mallory said. “Defensively, we’re usually better than that.”

For the first time in a week, Lawrence will get two days of rest before they hit the road to take on Shawnee Mission Northwest on Thursday. The Lions hope to extend their big winning streak, whether they’re sick or not.

“We have to play through it,” Ricks said. “We should be all right.”