Blazing. Torrid. Blistering. White hot. Flaming.

Pick an adjective, any adjective, and it underscores Lawrence High’s early shooting in Friday night’s 51-37 girls basketball victory over Free State in the LHS gym.

“That’s probably the best 10 minutes a team of mine has ever played,” fourth-year coach Kristin Mallory said. “They were really awesome.”

The Lions made seven of their first eight shots to bolt to a 15-0 lead and 12 of their first 15 attempts in racing to a 26-10 advantage a couple of minutes into the second quarter.

“They kicked us around real good early,” Free State coach Bryan Duncan said. “When you’re down 12 to 15 points, your game plan goes pretty much out the door.”

Megan Klingler and Lacey Elmore were the ringleaders in the Lions’ early blitz, each with three first-quarter baskets — Klingler from inside and Elmore from the left corner.

“I think we came ready to play,” said Elmore, a 5-foot-6 senior who didn’t have another basket the rest of the way.

Klingler, a 6-0 senior, was able to score even though Free State was concentrating on her.

“We knew they’d pack it inside,” Klingler said, “and Lacey did a really good job.”

Lawrence High's Drew Huff, left, and Shannon Worley surround Free State High's Lauren Kimball. The Lions knocked off the Firebirds, 51-37, Friday at LHS.

So did LHS junior guard Sydney Wilson, who contributed a pair of baskets in the Lions’ 21-point first quarter, including a three-pointer.

“When you’re down 15-0, it’s like trying to dig out of a hole,” said Jamie Stanclift, who led the Firebirds with 11 points. “That first quarter was the difference.”

Indeed, Free State outscored the Lions, 31-30, over the last three quarters.

Lawrence High’s sizz basically ended when Klingler had to go to the bench with two fouls. She sat for about seven minutes of the second quarter and 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter after being tooted for the third time.

“We probably held her out longer than we needed to,” Mallory said of Klingler, who still wound up with a game-high 13 points, “but we were doing all right.”

Free State cut the Lions’ bulge to 10 just before halftime (27-17), but the Firebirds never did slice the deficit to single digits.

6Sports video: LHS girls cruise past Free State Photo Gallery: Girls – Free State vs. Lawrence 12-17-04

“We were ready to play, and we were prepared,” Duncan said. “But the only way to combat their shooting was to hit our own shots, and we weren’t comfortable in our halfcourt offense. Their defense deserves credit for that.”

While the Lions were making 12 of their first 15 shots, the Firebirds were missing 13 of their first 16 attempts.

“We’ve struggled from the field the last few games,” Mallory said. “We were 9-of-29 in our last two quarters, so we made a point of shooting in practice. We really challenged them.”

Lawrence High's Sydney Wilson, right, drives on Free State's Lauren Kimball in the second half of the Lions' 51-37 victory. LHS claimed its eighth straight victory over FSHS on Friday at Lawrence.

Still, Mallory knew the furnace-like shooting couldn’t last forever.

“After we got that big lead, the kids started playing a little soft,” the Lion’s coach said. “And Free State showed a lot of heart. In a rivalry game, that’ll happen.”

Lately, however, it hasn’t been much of a rivalry. Friday’s win was the Lions’ eighth straight over its intracity cousin.

Elmore said the streak wasn’t as important as it was to protect the home turf.

“The main thing is they were coming to our place,” she said, “and we don’t like to get beat at our place.”

Lawrence (3-1) won’t play again until Jan. 7 at Leavenworth. Free State (2-3) is off until Jan. 6, when it will travel to face Shawnee Mission South.